Hinckley Bonnevilles

swooshdave

swooshdave

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Apr 15, 2009
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I'm getting a hankering for a Hinckley Bonneville. While a Thruxton would be fun do I really need another cafe racer? This is the time of year when the guys who bought a bike last summer are selling them off after realizing that they aren't really bikers.

Maybe I could figure out a way to make one right shift...

Hinckley Bonnevilles
 
They are EXCELLENT all-around bikes, and can be right peppy with just a few shop mods and maybe a few bucks for goodies.

You can find them in decent used shape for less than a knackered Commando...
 
Besides all the Nortons I have a modern Hinkley Triumph Scrambler which I bought with 10,000 miles on the clock for £3k, and I can honestley say it is superb, especially wth the retro looks. Bigger bore silencers and take off the emission equipment makes all the difference and it sounds better than a Hog any day.
Go on treat yourself!
Regards,
Paul.
 
I have just brought a new Thruxton and so far am very happy with it, I put the hi perforomance pipes on it and remapped plus a few other thing, the new handle bars once ajusted right feel good and the foot position is just right, so far in 3 months of owning it I have clocked up 4,000 ks and they look great, are very smooth to ride and handle well after a few ajustments to the forks and shockies.

Ashley
 
I've got a friend who bought one of the very first ones, he's got over 200,000 miles with the biggest issue being the clunky clutch on early models that required an in-warranty fix. He DOES NOT "baby" it at all, but rather maintains it very meticulously and rides the heck out of it.
 
Id tend to grab one thats been down the road , if the price is 2d. and COUSTOMISE . :shock:

Hinckley Bonnevilles

theres plenty of mucked up ones about . :lol:
Hinckley Bonnevilles

This Royal Enfield has a Matchless Motor & Interstate Headers . :p AND B.S.A. mufflers . :lol: :lol: :oops:
Hinckley Bonnevilles


Cowboy suspension of off a whizz bang , & make half the fittings . Only thing is what to do about the horrible exposed seam tank .
I DONT KNOW . Things arnt what they were . They dont make them like they used to . :lol: :lol: :lol: 8) :oops: Er , reliabiltys ok ,
but all the nick nacks look like theyre from the Orient . WHY , the whole thing could be :oops: :oops: :mrgreen: :(

Coustom Bonnevels : https://www.google.com.au/search?q=cust ... B422%3B281

If its just a weekend cowboy bike , Id tend to go for the real thing . Something wrong with a Bonne ( the Tuner :p ) if it WONT DO 120 .
and a Ton in Third . Might have to alter the gearing , but . . . were a few disc brake 5 spped 74 650s ont bay a while back .

Probly get a scraped up modern lump for half the price though .
 
I've had three Hinckley Triumphs and they all have been good rides. Sold the 96' Trident and bought a 09' Bonneville SE. My wife loves her 96' T-Bird ...........


Tim_S
 
Dave - have you ridden a standard Hinkley Bonneville yet?

Dave
 
It looks good to me, if you buy it I am sure you will be happy with it, I have a friend who has a 96 Bonnie, he rides it hard all the time takes it on the drag strip every so often and takes it to red line most of the time, he has own it sinse new, has done 95,000 ks and has had no issues with it at all, the first thing he done is block off the air injection system to make it run cooler and to stop the pipes from bluing and put diffrent filters on.

Ashley
 
swooshdave said:
daveh said:
Dave - have you ridden a standard Hinkley Bonneville yet?

Dave
Click to expand...

Nope. Why?
Click to expand...

Maybe you should swing a leg over one before you buy. I rode a very clean, low mileage one with some less restrictive pipes and was looking forward to a fun ride, but I was disappointed. There was nothing bad about it, and nothing that stood out as good, either. But I know I'm in the minority here, so if you like it, go for it.
 
I bought an 05 Triumph Daytona and it may be too good. Way too much power, too smooth, too much braking, too much attention from the police. Got my first ticket in five years yesterday while out on the Triumph and I was taking it very easy at the time, still in second gear and barely on the throttle when the flashing lights came on behind. 50 mph in a 35 zone did it. If I had been in the car it would not have been noticed. In fact there were cars all around going the same speed. I don't think I would have been stopped on one of the old bikes either.
I suppose this problem of "too much" might not occur with a new Bonneville.

Glen
 
daveh said:
swooshdave said:
daveh said:
Dave - have you ridden a standard Hinkley Bonneville yet?

Dave
Click to expand...

Nope. Why?
Click to expand...

Maybe you should swing a leg over one before you buy. I rode a very clean, low mileage one with some less restrictive pipes and was looking forward to a fun ride, but I was disappointed. There was nothing bad about it, and nothing that stood out as good, either. But I know I'm in the minority here, so if you like it, go for it.
Click to expand...

It will be a commuter bike, and then when I want to go on short road trips when the Norton isn't practical. I don't expect a fire breathing monster, just something simple and reliable.
 
My 09' SE stock engine gets over 50 plus MPG all the time. When you keep it under 70 mph. My biggest complaint is the seat. I rode it down to the Georgia Blue Ridge rally and had butt burn for a few days after that. I now have Ikon adjustable shocks that make a world of difference to. A lot of bike for the money .............
:D

Tim_S
 
swooshdave said:
It will be a commuter bike, and then when I want to go on short road trips when the Norton isn't practical. I don't expect a fire breathing monster, just something simple and reliable.
Click to expand...

Ah, I see. Fair enough.
 
daveh said:
swooshdave said:
daveh said:
Dave - have you ridden a standard Hinkley Bonneville yet?

Dave
Click to expand...

Nope. Why?
Click to expand...

Maybe you should swing a leg over one before you buy. I rode a very clean, low mileage one with some less restrictive pipes and was looking forward to a fun ride, but I was disappointed. There was nothing bad about it, and nothing that stood out as good, either. But I know I'm in the minority here, so if you like it, go for it.
Click to expand...

+1, I test rode a new Thruxton and was very dissapointed, it felt very bland and reminded me of an old Honda 350...as you said though, nothing wrong with it, just did not raise my pulse even slightly. Rode a nearly new Ducati Monster 800 the same day which DID raise my pulse and bought it on the spot.
 
Just to put it in context, there are a HUGE variety of new Bonnevilles and variants with innumerable modifications; sorta like classic Commandos!

One thing about them is that you can jump on, push a button and out-perform the typical classic Commando, for less money.

Another thing about them, is that it doesn't FEEL like you are out-performing a typical classic Commando, because they are modern, quiet bikes.

If you spend as much on a decent used Thruxon, as you would on a decent used Commando, to turn it into a performer, you would then BLOW AWAY the typical Commando. I'm not talking about a FullAuto head, rods, pistons, etc., just equivalent pipes, springs and intake mods. You still might not be able to touch hobot & peel, but you could give it a go just for fun.

My advice to someone wanting to buy a used Thruxton is to start with one that's mostly stock, simply remove the top yoke, and install the clip ons ABOVE it. Turns it into a totally different bike. (plain Bonnies are almost always better deals, and haven't been thrashed as hard)
 
Hinckley Bonnevilles


Hinckley Bonnevilles


Went and looked at bike yesterday. He was able to start it for a few seconds, then it died. Multimeter said low battery, it was under 12.5v and lower when ignition switched on.

Planning on going back today with new battery and cash.

It needs lower handlebars... otherwise it's a gentle used bike.
 
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