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First Ride: Triumph Bonneville T100

Posted

9 February 2026

Bruce Wilson

The Bonneville T100 is big seller for Triumph, and it’s also model that’s seem some major updates for 2026. We headed stateside to check it out…

It’s easy to see why this model has proven such a hit for the British firm, not least of all because of its affable pricing – £9,695. Aesthetically, Triumph has done an amazing job of blurring traditional styling cues with contemporary necessities, packaging the bike so neatly that after a good 10-minutes of checking it over, you’d still be left with areas to feast on. From the twin-clock setup to the chrome clad surrounding on the striking single headlight, you can’t help but have your eyes drawn, with one of the neatest features being the full-length exhaust systems that straddle either side of the 900cc parallel twin motor. What you’re unlikely to pick up on is the fact there’s a sizeable catalytic converter stashed away beneath the engine, or the that the mid-sections of the system are actually just a cover, making one assume that the pipe flows relentlessly from the headers to the silencers… but that’s not the case. In a cracking case of smoke and mirrors, while ticking the obligation for kitten-friendly emissions legislations, the real routing is out of sight and allowing of your eyes to deceive you. There are several such ruses on the bike, with another bluff being the carb-styled covers that disguise the single fuel injector body that lies within. And then there’s the radiator that’s designed to look like an oil cooler. And so it goes on, to the extent that you’d never know what it’s like to actually ride the bike if I were to keep listing its many trinkets.

For context, the T100 is the smaller of the Bonnevilles, with the T120 sporting an extra 300cc on top. It claims to make just 64bhp, which really blew my mind having learned that figure once I’d spent half a day blasting around on it. The main reason being that the torque of the motor (80Nm) would have you believe the bike makes way more power than that, but Triumph’s wisely put the focus on driveability over top-end. Afterall, this is a bike that’s designed to be enjoyed, perhaps, at a less frantic pace than the likes of a Street Triple or Daytona. The torque of the twin is genuinely impressive, to the extent I’d say that transpired to be the Bonne’s best trait, backed up by a character-inducing 270° crank. As is the case with pretty much every Triumph, the fuelling is impossible to fault and the noise from the induction is an audible treat. The bike’s got a surprisingly deep and raucous tone to it, made all the sweeter by the bangs and pops that come booming out of the silencers during downshifts.

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As you might expect, going down the T100’s five-speed box is an old-school affair, without so much as a hint of a blipper or shifter in the machine’s techno arsenal. It’s not the end of the world, as the clutch is light and the gearbox is easy to navigate in either direction. When you’re cracking on, the motor stomachs upshifts easily and the nature of the longer gear ratios seemed to aid riding up and around the many mountainous roads that were devoured by the Bonneville.

On such roads, I was able to properly appreciate the brilliance of the bike’s handling. Considering it hits the scales at 228kg, it doesn’t feel it as the mass is locked down low. I’ll stop short of saying it’s sports bike lithe, but I found it a doddle to throw the bike in and out of corners, with good levels of stability on tap from the relatively basic, non-adjustable (just preload on the rear shocks) KYB suspension. On some of the harsher bumps, the damping felt a little unforgiving, but on the whole, it did a decent job. Even under hard braking, the bike seemed to keep its composure.

If I were to be critical about the T100, what I would say is it could feel a little breathless up top, to the extent that I was left having to contemplate my overtakes more than I’d expected to, and I also found the engine to labour at anything under 2,000rpm, regardless of what gear I was in. Considering the motor hits the redline at just 7,000 revs, that means you’ve got to try and keep it in its sweet spot around the 4k mark. Do so and you’re always rewarded by a crack of enthusiasm when you wind open the ride by wire throttle.

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As far as comfort goes, it was a hard bike to knock. The seat is large and comfy, the bars are an easy reach and the vibes from the bike are minimal and mostly felt by your feet. Leg room is spacious and the low seat height meant reaching the floor was never a challenge. As for the brakes, the twin-piston slide caliper up front did an ok at slowing the bike, with good feel through the lever. It wasn’t impossible to get the ABS kicking in but the effort required was reasonable… so it wasn’t spoiling the party every two minutes. The same goes for the traction control – it was never far away during more enthusiastic stints of throttle abuse, but not annoyingly so. The tech on the bike is really simple, with just a rain or road rider mode to flick between, whilst the optional cruise control was also bog basic… pick a speed, hit the button to arm it and your away. Unlike on other models, you can’t adjust the speed with the switchgear. No biggy, but worth noting. On the whole, there were no skeletons in the Bonne’s closet. It was a genuine pleasure to ride around on, doing all the things you’d ask it to without any drama, whilst looking cool in the process. It’s easy to understand why this thing’s so popular.