That Escalated Quickly – Bringing Home a Bonneville

For the past month or so, I’ve had a bug in my ear about getting the KTM 690 Enduro. My husband Kenny had been looking high and low trying to find one that didn’t involving buying it sight unseen and shipping it from the west coast. Everywhere we looked, there was no joy.

Though I was feeling disappointed, I guess not being able to find the KTM was a blessing in disguise. In it’s place, I’ve now got something that will probably see much more use. You might say that after riding Doug’s Bonneville last week – things escalated rather quickly.

Here she is. The 2015 Bonneville T1214 #389.

“So, new bike and now a hurricane. Thanks Rach.”

Oopsie. Sorry, guys. 😆

When picking up a new motorcycle, you imagine nothing but blue skies and white puffy clouds. Life here on the east coast is a little more variable than daydreams. The weather report on Tuesday, the day I would pick up my Triumph Bonneville, was a wall of green heading towards Long Island from the west followed by a hurricane tracking up from the south later in the week. Sadly the unrelenting rain and wind has kept me from doing any riding other than my trip home from picking the bike up.

Less than 5 miles in to my trip home from the dealer, a man in a pickup truck pulled up next to me and asked what year my bike was. When I shouted “15, I just picked it up 10 minutes ago,” he flashed me a big smile and said it was beautiful.

That made me feel like I was cool for 5 minutes. 🙂

I cannot believe how smooth this gearbox is. Like buttah! Nothing more than a gentle “click” with the same amount of effort that a fairy might use to blow a stray eyelash from your cheek. It’s absolutely delightful.

On the flip side, I will say that compared to what I’m used to the front brake department leaves a little to be desired. They feel sort of, eh.

Instructions:

“Dude! Do not read about iPod vacuums!”

“And, dude! Don’t even think about becoming an astronaut!”

Here’s to hoping this nasty weather breaks soon.

Superstar, over and out.

 

Fuzzygalore

Rachael is the whimsical writer behind the 20+ year old Girlie Motorcycle Blog. As a freelance blogger, she is on a mission to inspire laughter, self-examination, curiosity, and human connection. Girlie Motorcycle Blog can be found on several Best Motorcycle Blog lists.

You may also like...

7 Responses

  1. Almost 80,000 miles on my ’09 Bonnie and the bike is my true love. Yes, she has a few corky moments in life, but the rewards outweigh them. Triumph, as a company is super amazing. After all, the company has been around for 100 years? Hope your future with Superstar is truly magical as mine has been with Bonnie.

  2. Ry Austin says:

    That sure is a bonnie Bonnie there, Fuzzy–gorgeous color scheme. In fact, the star on its fender gives it a bit of a Wonder Woman flare… Your crime-fighting days have begun. Or your crime-fighting days continue, and now you have even more appropriate equipment for the task.

    I’m curious: The KTM 690 and the Triumph Bonneville aren’t really of the same, well, genre, and it seems that the riding one would do on a Bonneville is similar to the riding one would do on a Royal E (though I can’t imagine that the Royal E’s gearbox is even half as smooth as the Bonnie’s)… When shopping for a new machine, were you looking to fit a specific application, or were you seeking a new riding experience?

    Yes, however wild the terrain, however populated with unicorns and other fantastic creatures (“fantastic” not as in “wow, what a cool creature”, but as in unreal–yes, I just called unicorns nonexistent), however defiant of logic and all laws of physics the workings of your mind might be, at least one of your readers wants insight into the train of thought that led you to choose the Bonnie over finding a KTM 690.

    • Ry Austin says:

      (sigh of exasperation) “flair”

    • Fuzzygalore says:

      “Wow, i love that 690. It would be fun to ride while you’re off riding singletrack, babe. I’m not sure i want to keep trail riding with the Husky.” Those were the types of convos Kenny and I were having.
      The 690 would still make sense for me when I unload the Husky. But in truth, it would spend a fair amount of time gathering dust. That was my mode of thinking on the 690. ::shrug:: Sometimes I just want stuff, just because.

      It was never a matter of 1 OR the other. I just happened to like them both on their own merit. Admittedly, the Bonneville would see a lot more use than the KTM. It is a kind of “go anywhere” ride. It’s strength over the Enfield is that I can do 80 all day and can ride off of this Island without fear of being run over on the Expressway where everyone is going 75+. The Enfield can’t do that. It’s scope of use is limited in my “real world.” Though i love it for what it is, it’s probably going to a new home, as is the Ural.

      It’s just time to try new things.

  3. Adrian says:

    I’m with Ry, but in much fewer words.

  4. Michael says:

    LOVE IT! My alter ego bike is a Bonneville.

Leave a Reply to Madeleine Velazquez Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.