Not long ago, there was a thread from a fellow who was trying to decide between a Triumph Bonneville and a an HD. I bought my Bonneville brand new in Aug 2014. At first, I loved it and was always quick to tout its virtues. It was so beautiful. The handling seemed so much easier than the HD Sportster that I had at the time. The love affair continued for many months. I very much looked forward to my weekend rides, stretching the distances each time.

In the time between then and now, something has happened. My perceptions, and perhaps my tastes have evolved. I've had a couple of spills on it, which might have something to do with my changing attitude toward the Bonne. Both were my fault for the most part, although "Wilee Coyote" played a major role in Spill #2. Spill #1 was a very minor thing and I came away with some minor abrasions and a new respect for paying attention to curves in the road.

And then early this year I bought a 2006 HD softball Deluxe. I had always admired the Heritage/Deluxe line, and then "The Perfect One" popped up on craigslist one day.

I think that was the turning point. The more I rode the Deluxe, the less I liked the Bonneville. Or to be more accurate, the more I became aware of the Bonne's shortcomings. Now the HD does have shortcomings of its own. Particularly with the power, or lack thereof, as well as it's lack of cornering clearance. But for my particular riding style, or how I like to ride, the HD is nearly a perfect fit. When riding the Deluxe, I sit IN the bike. With the Bonne, I am ON the bike. That makes a big difference in how I feel. Then there's the confidence that big bike brings to the party. The weight of the bike, often criticized, adds to the stability. The bike feels planted in the corners, even though high speed cornering is not it's strong point. Still, that suits MY riding style, as I am not an overly aggressive rider.

And then there's the RIDE. That big HD has that Cadillac ride, were the Bonne is somewhat harsh. Instead of gritting my teeth over uneven sections of road, I'm still smiling as the Deluxe glides right over 'em.

There's also the fact that the 700+lb HD gets better fuel mileage than the sub 500lb Bonneville. I haven't figured that one out. 1450cc pushrod 2 valves per cylinder and over 700 lbs, vs. 865cc overhead cam 4 valves per cylinder at 475lbs……the math just don't add up.

As such, the Bonne lately has been relegated to being my everyday commuter bike, while the Deluxe sees weekend road rides, sometime with my woman on the back. The Bonne is strictly a solo bike. I guess that's not such a bad thing. But honestly, a small metric would be more practical for that, or even riding my bicycle to work every day like I used to do.

So, I reckon some soul searching is in order. I will definitely keep the Bonne through the winter as it is the worst time to try and sell a bike. I'm also planning on doing some work on the Deluxe over the winter, so having the Bonne means I can still go riding. Maybe by springtime, I'll have decided whether to keep it or not.

But man, I still like looking' at that Bonneville though. It's still a beautiful piece of machinery!

 

Do you eat peas with a knife and cut steak with a spoon?

Keep both and change your riding style accordingly.

 

If you can afford it, and you like it, and use it enough to justify to yourself that you should keep it, why would you sell it?
That's the mentality I have towards adding a 70's shovelhead FX to my garage. Except I haven't figured out how to afford it yet...

 

I did a long road trip with a friend a while back who had a Triumph Tiger. He put street tires on it for the trip. I'm guessing That probably weighs less than a Bonneville with smaller engine, and my stage 1 96" fuel mileage beat his by a considerable amount. We scratched our heads on the math as well.

At a gas station, someone came up and asked us, "So, who's getting better fuel millage?" and my friend kinda shamefully replied, "the Harley".

 

Oh, I am by no means in a position to where I need to sell it. If fact I have a mid 80s Sportster I picked recently as a project currently stripped down to it's elements.

Maybe the thing is reading about many on this forum, trading in a relatively new bike on a newer bike.

Are we ever really and permanently satisfied? Does that itch always need to be scratched? Y'know, I was taught at an early age to ignore the itch and it will go away on it's own.......but damn do i wanna scratch it!

 

That's a sweet looking bike there.

 

There was likely something wrong with his tiger then. Or your bike gets astronomical MPG.


The tiger also has a smaller engine but twice the horse power.


My Tiger was getting 49MPG. The newer ones have improved quite a bit over that.

 

If you put the Bonnie up for sale and sell it,not only will you regret it after awhile and then you will probably buy another.My Bonneville and RK both have their places and uses,plus I like looking at the Bonneville.Its a retro bike without the old bike problems.That black and red paint is beautiful.Oh,I almost forgot,I am getting 41 mpg with my 2014 T-100.No mods to engine or exhaust.

 

You're probably right. That's about the same fuel mileage I get. Mine's totally stock too. The Deluxe gets 46-48 on the open road, 42 riding two up. Don't seem right!

 

Its probably the great difference in the RPM's each motor is turning at cruising speed. The Harley's probably half of what the Triumph is turning at 65 mph.