Two Motorbikes

I’ve had the Bonnie for a little over three weeks now, so as they say on the college essay questions it’s time contrast and compare. 

I must admit that I haven’t gone to the NT often, as the bloom isn’t off the Bonnie rose. However, last weekend I took it to New Hampshire to see the New England NT boys and put 772 miles on in the process. It handled like a dream because of the small front tire, minimal rake and trail. And because I kept the rpms up, it was a peppy as all get out. I packed light for the three day weekend, so light that one of the panniers remained empty for the entire trip. She cruised along at 80+ on the interstate and handled the mountain passes (Crawford and Pinkham Notches and the Kancamagus Highway) without any trouble. We had four NT’s together and they garnered in a lot of questions and interest. “What is this bike? Where did you get it?” Stuff like that. The fuel economy was impressive, one tank of gas yielded 63.3 mpg. Pretty impressive. She’s a great light sport tourer.

The Bonnie is a different story. The 865cc parallel twin engine generates more torque and more horsepower. If you want to go somewhere fast, twist the throttle and hang on tight. Bonnie likes to go fast and has awesome acceleration! At present she isn’t equipped for travel, no place to put stuff, and I’m going to keep her that way. Why duplicate efforts? The handling isn’t quite as quick because of the larger front wheel, but she still responds well and likes the twistys. She also generates interest, but in a different way. Comments about old Bonnies that geezers used to have. and stares from motorcycle aficionados. It has a certain “coolness” factor rather than a curiosity factor. Maybe it’s all the chrome. I’ve filled the tank few times. The 38 mpg on the first fill up was a major disappointment, but each tank full has generated better mileage culminating with a 45 mpg on the last refueling. Encouraging. A wonderful, general purpose British motorbike.

Different motorcycles for different purposes. For now, they’ll both remain in the stable.