2017 TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE BOBBER
FIRST RIDE
P70
cred in a bike with such front-
loaded styling that the semi-
detached-looking rear wheel
seems to be still rolling through
the last town you just left. But at
a 25.8° rake it's far from exces-
sive, especially combined with a
mere 3.46 inches of trail—these
are sportbike stats. Though the
rangy 59.44-inch wheelbase
calms everything down prop-
erly, the Bobber is very much at
home cranking from side to side
through a succession of sweep-
ing fourth-gear turns, and thanks
to its long stride is super-stable
at any kind of speed. Because
of its low-down CG that further
helps it ride bumps well, plus
the reduced contact patch of
its skinny front 100/90-19 tire,
the Bobber's also pretty nimble
in rounding tighter turns in city
streets or mountain hairpins. It
has no right to handle as well as
it does.
Triumph's HT/High Torque
version of the new-for-2016
liquid-cooled 1197cc eight-
valve T120 Bonneville 97.6 x
80mm parallel-twin engine, with
270° crank and chain-driven
single overhead cam, has been
adapted to play a key role in the
Bobber's rideability. This retuned
version employing twin Keihin
throttle bodies that, as usual,
are cleverly disguised as carbu-
retors, plus a new dual airbox
intake system, has an ultra-flat
torque curve which makes it
almost irrelevant which gear you
throw at the Bobber out of the
six available.
In fact, that's two too many—a
four-speed gearbox would be
sufficient on a bike that will let
you gas it wide open in top gear
from just 2300 rpm upwards
with zero transmission snatch,
and on which 76 lb-ft of torque is
already delivered at 3000 rpm.
Peak grunt of 78 lb-ft is obtained
just a thousand revs higher, but
although it makes 10 percent
more torque at 4500 rpm than
the T120 (which peaks with 74
lb-ft at just 3100 rpm), this then
falls away beyond 5500 revs,
and there's just 56 lb-ft avail-
able by the time the rev-limiter
(that you have no business ever
encountering in real world riding)
Wanna dress
your Bobber
up in apes?
You can via the
aftermarket
Triumph
catalog.
