Triumph beefed up its Bonneville lineup ahead of MY2021 with an updated Speedmaster model. This popular variant on the Bonneville Bobber platform comes with a cleaner engine this year, along with higher-spec suspension components, and improved pilot/passenger comfort features for longer spells in the saddle. A robust accessories selection stands ready to help you get set up just how you like whether you're into touring, commuting, or just cruising and grocery-getting.

Triumph Bonneville Speedmaster Design

The Speedmaster is a bit of a homage piece with a mixture of influences that come together for a unique look all its own. Widespread blackout touches make a connection to the old-school custom culture while the “faux”-rigid frame and juiced front forks hail all the way back to sometime in the nineteen-forties or so. The frame design furthers the deception with lines like you'd expect from a genuine antique to set the stage and shape the finished product.

A pared-back front fender rides betwixt a set of blackout fork sliders and bellow gaiters with more black paint on the tripletree, headlight housing, blinker bullets, and instrument housing for quite a bit of darkness right out of the gate. More genuine Triumph yummygoodness is found in the tapered teardrop fuel tank with its bold chrome badge and brand-signature knee pockets. A deep-scoop saddle comes with rider lumbar support and almost half-an-inch thicker foam over the pillion-pad for improved comfort in both positions.

It comes complete with a chrome grabrail that doubles as an anchor for a bungee net over some open-air cargo on the p-pad. Even the engine itself adds to the classic panache with its old-school vertical-twin arrangement with its old-school vertical-twin arrangement}}, generous cooling fins, and throttle bodies that are camouflaged to look like an old mechanical-slide carburetor.

There's a lot of flavor in this dish, it's true, but it also serves as a blank canvas for artists who work in the mechanical medium. Full LED lighting ensures good two-way visibility with a DRL feature as part of the stock equipment package.

Triumph Bonneville Speedmaster Chassis

Tubular-steel members on the Bonneville Speedmaster make up the frame and swing-cage in a double-downtube/double-cradle arrangement that is strong, historically accurate to the target period, and provides full support to the drivetrain rather than using it as a stressed member. There's quite a bit of drop in the backbone, which allows for a dead-low seat height of only 27.8 inches off the deck and quite a bit of added confidence at stops for riders at the shorter end of the spectrum.

Rake is fairly sharp at 25.3 degrees from the vertical, but the trail is surprisingly short at only 3.6-inches long so you can expect some pretty crisp handling characteristics in spite of its homegrown looks. The wire wheels rounding out the rolling chassis sport in a symmetrical 16-inch diameter front and rear with fat hoops for even more of that old-school charm.

A set of 47 mm Showa forks float the front end on fixed values while the coil-over, under-seat rear shock offers the obligatory spring-preload feature alone as the only suspension adjustment to be had on this model. At 580 pounds wet, I'd say the dual front brakes are justified to keep everything under control. Twin-piston Brembo calipers bite 310 mm discs, backed up by a 255 mm disc and single-pot Nissin anchor to complete the brake hardware.

Triumph Bonneville Speedmaster Drivetrain

Power for the Bonneville Speedmaster comes from a thoroughly modern mill that boasts liquid-cooling in spite of its generous cooling fins. It rocks fuel injection hidden in the dummy carburetors that are well visible from both sides and add so much to the finished product.

While the outward appearance of the engine shows clear Bonneville DNA traceable back to an origin over half a century ago, the insides are a skosh different. A single over-head cam replaces the old pushrod system to time a gang of four poppets for each of the two cylinders, and the crank has a 270-degree offset for a lope at idle that's more like what you'd get from a V-twin than the 180-out burble of the old Bonnies. Bore and stroke mic out at 97.6 mm and 80 mm respectively for a 1,200 cc displacement and mild 10-to-1 compression ratio that will tolerate mid-grade fuel and reduce strain on the bottom end.

The engine was updated with an emissions tweak that allows it to qualify for the EU-5 rating on bikes in areas where it is required. Power flows through a slipper-type clutch that provides some anti-hop protection for the rear wheel with six-speeds from which to choose and a chain-type final drive.

What kind of power are we looking at? The Bonnie 1,200 produces 76.9 ponies at 6,100 rpm with an impressive 78.2 pound-feet of torque that comes on fully at 4k for a snapper throttle response and approximate 115 mph top speed.

Triumph Bonneville Speedmaster Price

Price and paint go hand in hand, and since the fenders at both ends roll with a black finish, the only splash of color can be found on the fuel tank alone. A glossy Jet Black starts things out with a $13,495 sticker. In the middle of the range is the single-tone Red Hopper finish for $13,795, but if you want the two-tone Sapphire Black over Fusion White package, you can expect the bill to start at $13,995.

Triumph Bonneville Speedmaster Competitors

Triumph's Bonneville benefits from a top-notch pedigree, it's true. It's going to have to go up against some stiff competition from our domestic brands, brands like Indian Motorcycle and its newest addition to the Chief name.

Indian Chief

Indian hits many of the same design points with heavily-bobbed fenders, solo seat, old-school engine design, and ample blackout treatment throughout to complete the custom connection. Like Triumph, the folks over at Indian put some effort into making the engine look like older technology than it actually is with the parallel pushrod tubes and faux cooling fins on the rocker boxes, and it pays off handsomely in the final product.

Indian brings the inches and the grunt with its 1,811 cc Thunderstroke 111 that generates a generous 108 pound-feet of torque to significantly out-pull the competition. The Chief rolls with a choice between ABS and non-ABS units in a trio of color packages to add an electronics edge to its advantage. You'll pay for said advantage to the tune of $14,499 as a starting price for the black, non-ABS model to leave a little bit of cheddar on the table for the British-leaning buyer.

Read our full review of the Indian Chief.

Indian Scout

Perhaps the Scout may deserve a mention with its own gilded pedigree, old-school looks and 1,133 cc V-twin that pumps out 100 ponies and 72 pound-feet of torque. Plus, the Scout rolls for $11,999 to really put pressure on the Speedmaster for a different kind of trade off.

Read our full review of the Indian Scout.

He Said

“No doubt, the Bobber line made a significant and sustained splash just a few years ago. Trumpet seeks to ride that wave with an old-school, two-up cruiser model, and I'd say it's a job well done. Though, if I'm completely honest, I think the Bobber looks better with a solo seat, but that's easy enough to accomplish. Once again, I like the antique references this Bonnie brings to the table, and I don't even care that the slide carbs are a lie.”

She Said

My wife and fellow motorcycle writer, Allyn Hinton, says, “I agree that a bobber would look better with a solo seat, but I see the utility of a pillion, so I'll give a pass on that. The new Speedmaster has a new saddle that is more plush and comfortable than previously and the rider triangle allows long low-stress riding. I can't speak enough to the seat height. As a height-challenged person, I can reach the ground with confidence, which is always a concern for me since I'm not comfortable bouncing back and forth on tippy-toes. The bike sounds good, looks good, and performance is stellar. The new Speedmaster gets a big thumbs up.”

Triumph Bonneville Speedmaster Specifications

Further Reading

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