Srtraight Bonnie or America for big rig?
 

I'm planning a roadie through/around Australia for next year and want to do it on a Bonnie. Long distances and dusty roads. Any ideas as to what would be the better bike for a big lad (6"2" and 250lb+), and suggestions for upgrades to the standard 07 models of either of these bikes would be welcome.

I would think the Standard or T100 would be better if you are doing gravel roads .The Scrambler would be ok too but the high pipes might be a pain in the arse for mounting panniers.
Here is a link that might give you some ideas :
DRF's new butt jewelery - ADVrider

Fit some dual sport type tyres and you should be good to go !

A long time back, say early sixties, the average bike was expected to meet off tarmac situations, so the tyres of the day coped. for the rear I used to use a Dunlop , It was square sectioned, with quite pronounced block treads at the corners. if you drove with lots of lean these would round off. But I think this shape tye would be usefull today. On the flat good roads, there would be lots of contact area, and off tarmac the blocked edges would give good grip,
I am not well up on tyre, probably there are 'universal types still available'. Although many things seem to have become more specialised.

tyre types
 

Ah the good old Dunlop Universal !
Yep ,a good tyre for low powered bikes on all surfaces .

I put some Kenda tyres on my Yamaha because a friend sells them cheaply .
They perform great on gravel roads and tarmac .
I wear the rear Avon AM18 [19"] super stickys away very fast on my Norton Commando ,so I thought what the heck ,I'll try a Kenda , surprised me that it performed very well -instead of falling effortlessly into corners the bike now has to be pushed down into the corner [ I'm not a natural countersteerer] but all in all very good for a tyre 1/3 the price of an Avon and with a much longer life expectancy .
I imagine that the more expensive Annakees and Tourances would be even better so maybe they are the new Dunlop Universals ?

ps I'm glad that you didn't mention the Avon Skidmaster tyres - or was that Speedmaster ? I've several memories of sliding down the road on my arse thanks to them .

I remember Avon introducing a 'rain tyre', it ran like a greasy marble on the back, not so bad on the front. I cant remember the name.. XX3 ???

bike was not that low powered for the time, about 340 lbs and 42 hp. ( T100 ss slightly tuned)

I knew I had seen a similar tyre to the old Dunlop somewhere ,here 'tis
Total Motorcycle Tire/Tyre Guide - Bridgestone TW25


I don't think 42 hp for a 500cc bike is too shabby even today !

If you are planning to ride long distances over gravel/dirt roads you might want to consider a bike with suspension to suit days of nothing but corrugations. If you must do this with a roadbike then the standard Bonnie will be better than an 'America. An 'America' would be a terrible choice for rough roads, because of the 'feet forward' riding position all your weight is on your arse, unlike 'conventional' footrests which allow you 'carry' your weight with your legs. Essentially you would experience every corrugation, pothole, & washout as a jarring straight up your back. Not nice.
If Triumph is your love then a Tiger would be a far better choice.
However if you will be travelling mainly on bitumen, with only occasional forays off the black stuff, then the Bonnie will do the trick.

One further thought - I don't know the fuel range of the Bonnie, I'd expect there would be times you would need to carry extra fuel (& water). When I rode around Oz on my Thunderbird I stuck mainly to bitumen, & still had to carry extra fuel on a couple of days.

Hmmmm, come to think of it, having just re-read your post, with your size & weight a Thunderbird might suit better? More oomph & physically bigger.

regards
Cuppa

Agree that the standard Bonnie will be better suited to anything less-than-perfectly tarmac-ed. As for Cuppa's point about the range of the tank, I get 170-80 miles out of my '06 Bonnie, fully loaded and ridden nice and slow on-road.