Reviews of Triumph Bonneville Speedmaster [2021]

The first time I had ridden a Speedmaster, it was in the year 2017, in gibraltar and I was so mesmerized by the ride quality, that I immediately promised to get myself that bike, without thinking about the stark difference in the road conditions of the two countries.
came 2022, and I bought this bike from b.U. Bhandari Pune, without any hassle.. The buying experience was just wonderful.
Now comes the riding part, riding this bike in India. The ground clearance is going to be a matter of concern to a rider from a city where roads aren't maintained to a good and acceptable standard. I ride in pune, and although I have been driving cars in pune, it never occurred to me that the multiple speed breakers, the roads of this city have (sometimes as many as 4-speed breakers within s span of 200m, could actually be so obnoxious as to resent myself buying this bike. This bike has a very low ground clearance and more often than not, the underbelly of the bike scrapes. This is when you're riding alone, without a pillion.
coming to the controls.. The bike has forward controls, i.E. The brake lever and the gear shifters are at the forward end of the main body of the bike, so leaning on tight corners, on a bike with already such a low ground clearance is a tricky thing.
the bike is a cruiser bike, and it has a very low seating height. Now as awesome as the stance of the rider looks, and as good as the ride quality, handling and maneuverability of the bike are, you're going to have problems/discomforts on long rides, especially if you're a tall rider. This can be taken care of by either keeping your foot on the pillion foot pegs, or by getting fitted highway-style foot pegs. A third option, which I cannot say with surety if it is a viable option, is to get mid controls instead of the forward controls that come with the stock, although many youtubers and triumph america riders say that getting mid controls is very much possible.
The pillion seat needs to be changed if you're planning to take your partner out on a date, and do get back rest fitted in the bike, for you would definitely want to see the pillion with you when you reach the destination..
The moment you cross 100 kmph, you're put face to face with the wind blast, in situations like this I lean forward and my feet on the pillion rider's foot pegs for I don't like the aesthetics of the triumph windshield, but I'm sure the options of aftermarket windshields would be plenty.
Enough of the negatives now, let's explore the good things now...
Torque.. Oh boy, 0-100 in less than 5 secs (checked personally).
Power.. Been riding on the ghats, on winding roads, especially on the winding roads, and boy did I ever have to think twice before taking on the ghats, the hilly terrains, uphill winding roads....
Handling.. Just superb, took my bonnie to the harshest of the rough patches (dudhiware khind and tung fort, to name a few), won't call it off-roading though, nevertheless, the roads weren't easy by any means. Also maneuvering through potholes and ditches on the roads was getting easy day by day.
The cost of servicing and maintenance is not a toll on your pocket considering the pleasure you get riding the speedy..
My advice would be to get risers fitted at both the ends and you're good to go and take on the Indian highways.
All in all, it's an awesome bike and I am keeping it with me till can.

About the Reviewer

The first time I had ridden a Speedmaster, it was in the year 2017, in gibraltar and I was so mesmerized by the ride quality, that I immediately promised to get myself that bike, without thinking about the stark difference in the road conditions of the two countries.
came 2022, and I bought this bike from b.U. Bhandari Pune, without any hassle.. The buying experience was just wonderful.
Now comes the riding part, riding this bike in India. The ground clearance is going to be a matter of concern to a rider from a city where roads aren't maintained to a good and acceptable standard. I ride in pune, and although I have been driving cars in pune, it never occurred to me that the multiple speed breakers, the roads of this city have (sometimes as many as 4-speed breakers within s span of 200m, could actually be so obnoxious as to resent myself buying this bike. This bike has a very low ground clearance and more often than not, the underbelly of the bike scrapes. This is when you're riding alone, without a pillion.
coming to the controls.. The bike has forward controls, i.E. The brake lever and the gear shifters are at the forward end of the main body of the bike, so leaning on tight corners, on a bike with already such a low ground clearance is a tricky thing.
the bike is a cruiser bike, and it has a very low seating height. Now as awesome as the stance of the rider looks, and as good as the ride quality, handling and maneuverability of the bike are, you're going to have problems/discomforts on long rides, especially if you're a tall rider. This can be taken care of by either keeping your foot on the pillion foot pegs, or by getting fitted highway-style foot pegs. A third option, which I cannot say with surety if it is a viable option, is to get mid controls instead of the forward controls that come with the stock, although many youtubers and triumph america riders say that getting mid controls is very much possible.
The pillion seat needs to be changed if you're planning to take your partner out on a date, and do get back rest fitted in the bike, for you would definitely want to see the pillion with you when you reach the destination..
The moment you cross 100 kmph, you're put face to face with the wind blast, in situations like this I lean forward and my feet on the pillion rider's foot pegs for I don't like the aesthetics of the triumph windshield, but I'm sure the options of aftermarket windshields would be plenty.
Enough of the negatives now, let's explore the good things now...
Torque.. Oh boy, 0-100 in less than 5 secs (checked personally).
Power.. Been riding on the ghats, on winding roads, especially on the winding roads, and boy did I ever have to think twice before taking on the ghats, the hilly terrains, uphill winding roads....
Handling.. Just superb, took my bonnie to the harshest of the rough patches (dudhiware khind and tung fort, to name a few), won't call it off-roading though, nevertheless, the roads weren't easy by any means. Also maneuvering through potholes and ditches on the roads was getting easy day by day.
The cost of servicing and maintenance is not a toll on your pocket considering the pleasure you get riding the speedy..
My advice would be to get risers fitted at both the ends and you're good to go and take on the Indian highways.
All in all, it's an awesome bike and I am keeping it with me till can.

About the Reviewer