Triumph Bonneville Street Twin: Modern heritage

The bike's engine is mated to a 5-speed gearbox

The moment I set my eyes on the Triumph Bonneville Street Twin, I could not help but notice its heritage class with a gamut of modern elements blended into it. The Street Twin carries forward the conventional character of a Bonneville and yet, is modern in its appearance. A well-sculpted muscular tank with knee dents and fat KYB forks upfront give the bike a retro touch. The Street Twin also gets twin shocks in the rear, keeping it in line with the Bonnie heritage. 

The bike I laid my hands on had the Triumph’s Scrambler kit installed in it, which adds some more flair to an already modern-looking machine. The Scrambler kit features a Vance & Hines exhaust, chrome-finished ORVMs, LED-turn indicators and an icon scrambler seat. The Street Twin also features five twin-spoke alloys that give it a youthful and sporty character. 

At the heart of the Street Twin is a 900 cc, parallel twin, liquid-cooled engine. The engine is mated to a 5-speed gearbox. The power delivery is quite linear with a smooth climb up the band. The Street Twin gobbles up the first two gears but the third, fourth and fifth have longer legs, which show their true potential on open stretches. 

During tests, I clocked the Street Twin’s 0-100kmph time at 7.07 seconds, while it came down from 100-0 kmph in just 5.72 seconds. I also clocked a top speed of 182 kmph on the bike. You get a switchable traction control that can be accessed through the switch gear on the handle bar. The Street Twin also comes with ABS that I realised is extremely efficient in its duties. Triumph has slapped on a 310 mm single disc upfront with a two-pot caliper and a 255mm single disc in the rear, again with a two-pot caliper. The braking is progressive and sharp with just the right amount of feedback.

This motorcycle is on the lighter side and is fun to ride. It lends the rider excellent balance and control, while inspiring confidence to push harder. The suspension leans on the stiffer side but is quite adept at taking corners and glides over bad roads.