Bobber Black & Speedmaster

New versions of Triumph’s impressive Bobber for darkloving singletons and chrome-loving smug marrieds

Their fastest-selling new model ever, Triumph’s Bonneville Bobber is a clever thing, managing to mix laid-back style with a proper riding dynamic and genuine day-to-day capability. No wonder it’s in the top ten best-sellers list for this year. As it’s clearly impossible to have too much of a good thing, the Bobber has spawned two new versions. First is the Bobber Black which, as the name successfully indicates, swaps all the shiny bits for black parts. It also uses a 16-inch front wheel with fat rubber, and a new 47mm Showa cartridge fork (stock Bobber has 41mm Kayaba). The Black keeps the Bobber’s single seat, but the new Speedmaster has a subframe that can take an accessory pillion seat. Bigger tank too (12 litres, up from 9.1). The seat’s deeper and further forward, and your feet land on forward controls. Cruise control? Natch.