First Look Review: 2016 Triumph Bonneville Street Twin

- December 14, 2015

2016 Triumph Bonneville Street Twin

Triumph Street Twin

Engine 900cc liquid-cooled parallel twin

Power 54bhp @ 5900rpm

Torque 59 lb ft @ 3200rpm

Fuel 75mpg

Price £7,300

Release date On sale February 2016

Verdict The discerning biker’s fashion statement

CRITIC'S RATING

The new base Bonneville is called the Street Twin. It looks smaller than the current one and just a hint more modern with a more waisted look where the narrower back of the new fuel tank meets a narrower front of a new seat. Sargent (the renowned seat maker) confirmed that the seat is marginally lower than the outgoing model as well.

The new engine is a 900cc parallel twin with the signature 270° firing order. It makes 80Nm of peak torque at 3,200rpm. That is not only about 20 per cent more but the outgoing model also peaked at 5,500 rpm whereas the torque peak is significantly early now. Triumph didn’t discuss the engine in detail but we know that the 900 is the only engine that uses a single throttle body and that’s why the brushed covers of the Street Twin don’t have a pair of ‘fake’ carburettors showing.

In the wonderful acoustics of the hangar we were in, the motorcycle sounded terrific (and practically anything would, to be honest). The bike felt smaller and more friendly and I suspect that it will be even easier to ride than the current base Bonnie, which is terrific. Triumph has added ride-by-wire, traction control and ABS to the Bonneville’s specification, which is again terrific. Also new is a slip-assist clutch which makes clutch effort lighter, a USB charging socket in the headstock, engine immobiliser, LED tail light, smart new switchgear and a single dial that shows everything via an included LCD screen.

AT LAST, all is revealed. For four years Triumph owner John Bloor has had a team of design engineers working behind locked doors in an atmosphere of secrecy that has drawn comparisons between his factory in Hinckley, Leicestershire, and Bletchley Park, while outsiders speculated wildly on his intentions. Last week, for the first time, the world threw its leg over the result: the Street Twin.
Bloor has jacked up the “Bonneville” nameplate and slid a new range of bikes underneath. These are not special editions — each has been reworked from the tyres up. The idea is to make them Bonnie enough to carry the heritage, but 21st century enough to put the whole hipster culture on two wheels.
The Street Twin, the entry-level in the new Bonneville range, boasts all the mod cons that make riding a breeze — antilock braking, traction control, ride-by-wire throttle, slip-assist clutch — and the 900cc parallel twin has been tweaked to produce maximum torque at just 3200rpm. This means you can bimble along in most circumstances without having to trouble the gearshift.

The bike weighs in at under 200kg, and the lightness is complemented by a degree of poise and balance that makes it child’s play to manoeuvre. Comfort is enhanced to match — bars, pegs and seat position call for no sporty contortions, and they’ve managed to improve the padding substantially without altering the dimensions of the seat. After a 175-mile jaunt along twisty Spanish mountain roads on last week’s launch, I can testify to its tenderness. The fuel tank has been made smaller to improve the lines of the bike, but should be good for well over 200 miles.
The modified torque curve really works on the run. First gear happily puts 40mph on the clock, second will take you past 70 before the rev limiter gently declines to push matters further. An LED display on the big round speedo gives you gear position, fuel level and consumption, odo, trips and traction control selection. The exhaust note has been played with to engender a mellifluous growl, even before you start plumbing the 150-item accessory list for the thunderous Vance & Hines pipes.
While the catalogue doesn’t begin to approach Harley proportions, the Bonneville range will be a lifestyle choice, and Triumph has teamed up with Barbour to do the fashions. The look is pure Bonnie, but the appeal is to the modern, trend-savvy youth as much as to those who remember when hipsters were trousers.
Build quality and detailing are superb. In the interests of holding down prices, the bikes will be made in Thailand. Triumph says it’s all-British engineering, and anyway the Thais have got the hang of making a quality bike.
Next rabbits out of the Bloor hat will be the Street Twin’s premium stablemates, the T120s and the Thruxtons, bikes which have already notched up record advance sales for Triumph on the strength of pictures alone. This is the next chapter in the Triumph story, and there’s a lot riding on it — but on the evidence of the Street Twin, the company has captured the hour with a modern classic.