Total Motorcycle Community Forums

I have had my permit for a couple months and have been looking for a good starter bike ever since (hopefully a naked gs500 or EX500.) Then I saw my friends new Triumph and it looks beautiful, one of the best looking bikes I have seen (Bonneville T-100) and it got me thinking about getting a triumph myself, however I do not know what model, or if one exists, that would be suitable for a newbie...? I know the HP on the Bonneville is about the same as an SV650, but I also heard that an SV650 is much more forgiving, was i misinformed?

They're good bikes... once you get them broke in a little bit. I would say they'd make a pretty good beginner bike. We sell a ton of them.

A bit on the upper edge of beginner bikes in terms of horsepower and weight, but still pretty sensible. Standard riding position, about 450 lbs, about 60hp, good vibes all around. Throw your leg over one and see if it calls out to you

Edit: The only thing I'd seriously worry about is dropping such a pretty bike.

The Bonnevilles are easy to handle, the 450 lbs is pretty compact and centralized. The power is easy to modulate. Just take it easy on the throttle at first and it should be do-able as a first bike. Go to NewBonneville.com and get an engine guard and the bike will be a little more protected from minor drops.

Thanks for all the info, this forum really is a great tool for new riders (probably for more experience riders too.) I think I will take a trip to my buddies house and see if I can take his bike for a test ride, then try to hunt down a somewhat used one.

A friend of mine just bought an '07 Bonneville as his first bike. He has had no difficulties with it at all.