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  Sept. 9, 2010 12:04 p.m. Rupert New Reader

  What a great idea a pair of '69 Triumphs on the cover and a comparison of bike & car! No wait! That isn't a classic Bonneville, it's a-a-a REPLICA!! (FAKE)

  Yes I read the article about your '64 which you chose not to take. If you want to sell that old out of date shaker complete with bad brakes, drop me a line.
  

  Of course any '64 Triumph I ever rode will stop faster than any 4-wheel conveyance I've driven from that era. But if that wasn't good enough, how about a '68 or later? The Dual Leading Shoe Front Brake brought stopping a Triumph to a whole new level. And you couldn't find a later model T-120TT, T120R, TR-6R, or even a T100R? Even the '73 Norton would be a closer compare than a 41 year newer bike! Not to mention my favorite ride I've ever owned, my 1969 Royal Enfield 750 Interceptor. Now other than getting gasoline on your trousers when you backed off the gas, that was a great ride!

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  Sept. 9, 2010 5:56 p.m. JG Pasterjak Production/Art Director

  I really enjoyed writing that article, and I'm glad you got the spirit of it.

  That new Bonneville is a really nice bike—almost disappointingly so. It's just so... modern. When you want to start it, it starts. No British bike should have such nerve.

  One of the more fun things about researching the article was finding out the length that the Triumph guys went to to preserve the spirit of the original Bonnies. And comparing the new and old bikes side-by-side you can see what an engineering exercise it must have been, but I think they did a heck of a job.

  The new Bonneville actually reminds me the most of my old '76 Kawi KZ650. It's very much what you think of when you think "motorcycle." There's a glorious basicness to it that's hard to appreciate without riding it.

  jg

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  Sept. 10, 2010 1:59 a.m. karlInSanDiego

  Nice article. I just got back into bikes 2 years ago with a 2008 Triumph Daytona 675, a supersport built in Britain (unlike the Bonnies which are assembled in Thailand). I recently took a 2010 Triumph Thruxton for a test, and it was a great bike with lots of character. But I was looking for something that constantly needed fixing, so I scored a 1973 Suzuki GT550 2 stroke triple road bike.
  Now that's an adventure. JG, another angle of car vs. bike is home restoration. Both are challenging for sure and bikes are less forgiving if you're work's not up to scratch, but a bike makes a more manageable project for the mechancally (or is it meniacly) inclined. I for one, was happy to see some bike coverage and it was a nice nod to Motorcycle Classics (my only other US magazine subscription).

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  Sept. 10, 2010 10:44 a.m. Tom Heath Webmaster

  That's a really good point. Restoring a bike is a much more manageable task for a person working by themselves, and the gratification comes much more quickly.

  A simple (Hey, it's all relative...) bike from the 70s or earlier can be completely stripped in a day or less, and completely reassembled from its major components in similar time.

  I tried drag racing, but kept blowing the apex for turn 2... Xbox Live gamertag— GRM Tom

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  Sept. 11, 2010 3:53 p.m. Rupert New Reader

  In reply to JG Pasterjak:

  Aw Man, what a trip back in time!

  When I was in college I worked part-time at a motorcycle shop. We sold BMW, Kawasaki, & Royal Enfield, new.
  

  I remember we were all so amazed when we received our first 650 Kaw. It was such a perfect copy of a 650 BSA, Lightning if my memory is correct, that it leaked oil in all three places every BSA & Triumph leaked oil!
  

  I'm surprised you didn't ask about the gasoline on the trousers. The Royal Enfield Interceptor came stock with velocity stacks on the carbs. instead of air filters. And these were the pre-concentric AMALS that weren't constant velocity. So whenever you lowered the throttle setting, they'd spit back gasoline. I knew of more than one Royal Enfield that burned that way!

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  Sept. 16, 2010 11:25 a.m. 62redalpine None

  What a great article! And the conclusion is the best: "The winner? Whoever's driving either. We highly recommend making room in the garage for six wheel's worth of fun." Exactly what I have: a 1962 Sunbeam Alpine and a 1984 Honda Magna V45 (750cc). When I have time to relax tinkering or driving, I have to decide which I want one. What a fun decision to have to make.

  Thanks for the fun reading!

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  Oct. 2, 2010 12:17 p.m. Rupert New Reader

  In reply to Tom Heath:

  Or, as is often the case, sold to another restorer in baskets. I.E. Basket Case!

  I know, I've been on both ends of that deal more than I care to admit.

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