I've had my Ninjette for a few months, the wow factor of a sportbike is wearing off. It's just not really my style now that I've had some experience with it.

After looking around for a while, I liked supermotos and dual sports. Specifically the DRZ400SM and Triumph Tiger 800XC.

That was the case until I came across these two beautiful bikes.

The first being a Triumph Bonneville T100.

http://img1.classistatic.com/cps/po/110811/914r1/4879b0_27.jpeg

http://www.triumphmotorcycles.com/motorcycles/range/classics/bonneville/2012/5033

The second being a Triumph Thruxton.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads12/triumphthruxton2008+9352+001+f+jpg1208562689.jpg

http://www.triumphmotorcycles.com/motorcycles/range/classics/thruxton/2011/Thruxton

They're both nearly the same price, and have almost exactly identical specs.

-

Anyone have any experience with either of these?

We had a new-gen Bonneville for a few years. Fun bike, looked great. Handling was so-so, and the brakes weren't great, but I've heard that Triumph have made some real improvements in braking in the years since. Very limited wind protection, even with a flyscreen added, and if you add a real windscreen, it kills the look of the bike. Not a great long-distance highway mount, primarily for that reason. I wouldn't take one any farther than I'd feel comfortable taking the ninjette. Engine sounds great, and you get a ton of comments wherever you stop, especially from the older generation, who come over to see what initially appears to be a classic bike in perfect condition.

you forgot the option for "street triple"

you forgot the option for "street triple"

I second that emotion.

My vote is for the Triumph.

I prefer the look of the Triumph scrambler, reminds me of when Steve McQueen was ripping around on that triumph in The Great Escape

OP - :confused: Have you considered Ducati 696? The Dark version is the same price point. The ABS version gives you, well, ABS for a couple hundred more.

The 696's have the same qualities - unusual, no wind screen at all, fun to ride fair distances - but I dare say the Ducatis have better brakes. And they do sound fabo.

Oops, forgot to mention I like ducs. :D

I had considered this:

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lat0xbTHZf1qdklr0o1_500.jpg

But both of the triumphs are more the style I really like.

No worries. Good to hear you gave the ducs a thought. :thumbup:

I am a huge fan of the Thruxton. Saw a number of them this weekend at the Bull City Rumble.

Holy cow. I live next to a Triumph Dealership, and I've never seen so many Triumphs... Needless to say, I like the Thruxton a lot :D

I came real close to buying a Thruxton before my 2011 250R. I test rode one at my local Triumph delaer that had the Arrow exhaust. It was a freaking blast. I loved the bike, I just didn't want to spend the $8k+ for it. The Thruxton is a tad more 'tweaked' than the Bonnie. And I believe the Thruxtons are a little hard to come by as well. I would've sold a kidney to get one of those 2010 Thruxton SE's!:eek:

:( but u just ordered the part 2 fix her up....well, everyone has their own riding style. regardless of what you choose, you are more then welcome to join us on any future group rides. :)

My wife has a dilemma between the exact two bikes! She loves her TU250, but often we go on longer rides. Depending on where we are going, she finds herself wishing for more power. Heading up to the north Georgia mountains, she doesn't mind pushing the TU a bit at higher speeds to get to the really tight stuff. Going for more relaxed rides with lots of longer sweepers and the Bonnie and Thruxton pop into her head almost immediately.

Between the two bikes, she loves the look of the Thruxton, but doesn't care for the ergos. She has thought about changing out the handlebars and rearsets if she decides on a Thruxton, but then she would feel like she just had a Bonnie with a few Thruxton bits.

The Bonneville T100 is her favorite of the Bonnies. She loves that classic 60s styling, though much prefers the exhaust on the other Bonnie editions, the Thruxton, or her TU to the pea-shooter exhaust of the T100.

Basically for her, it comes down to ergos. The Thruxton is about as aggresive as the 250 believe it or not. The T100 is going to be very comfortable for shorter rides. But like Alex said, my friend who has an '02 model has issues going above 75 on the road due to the wind and he is only comfortable in the saddle for about 100 miles. These are issues my wife is having trouble with as well, and she has started to look at other bikes, primarily sport-tourer style.

I hate to do this, but if you were already interested in the Tiger 800 XC, I say go for that. I will vote for the Thruxton because it is our favorite. But if you are spending that kind of money, you may as well get some substance, something I feel neither of these bikes offers.

A friend of mine has a Thruxton, it's a very mellow bike. It's super quiet, and I'd say 180° from sport. But I tell you what.... chuck out those bars for clip ons, loose the fenders and what nots, and you have a really sweet looking cafe.

Didn't the older ones come with clip-ons? That's what I've heard, anyway.

you should switch to a ninja 250!

Well, my friend talked me out of the Thruxton. It's not really my "style."

Now it's a toss-up between:

The BMW F800GS

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/upload/267177/images/special-F800.jpg

And the Triumph Tiger 800XC

http://images.passionperformance.ca/photos/0/6/2/062416_2011_Triumph_Tiger.jpg

How about a ducati hypermotard 796?

Tiger hands down. I don't know what happened to the BMW.

I demo'd the f800gs at a demo day. I liked it a lot, nice and torquey, comfortable and handled pretty well.

If you are more serious about off-road, then the BMW.

If not, then you may be better off with the standard Tiger 800 vs. the XC.

Never had any experience with a Triumph, nor do I know anybody with one. But I just had to say, that Thruxton is absolutely gorgeous. Something about a cafe racer just makes my jaw drop. I'd do anything to own one as a second bike, or maybe even my only bike.

Whoops, didn't see you had already decided against a thruxton/ bonny. I'd probably go with the Tiger, but that's because I'm not a huge BMW fan. Only because of the people that USUALLY ride them, and the fact that I hardly ever get a wave back from a BMW.