Triumph’s T100: Just right

Triumph used the Euro 4 emissions regulations as an opportunity to update and expand the Bonneville range, while still taking advantage of its rich history.

To save confusion, the T100 sits in between the (slightly more newbie oriented, lower seat height) Street Twin that shares the 900cc parallel twin and the 1200cc T120. The T100 has the full-on retro look.

We took out a 2017 bike that has been earning it’s corn as a courtesy bike and is now looking for a permanent home.

Give me some spec

A 900cc liquid-cooled parallel twin engine putting out a modest 54bhp @ 5900rpm with 80Nm torque @ 3230rpm is housed in a tubular steel cradle frame. Suspension comes courtesy of KYB forks and twin rear shocks. Bringing all of this (and the 213kg dry weight) to a halt is an ABS single 310mm floating disc with two-piston calliper up front and a single 255mm, two-piston calliper rear.

What’s it like to ride?

This is such an easy bike to ride. The seating position is nicely neutral, bars set at just the right position to allow the hands to drop onto the controls. The pegs are – quelle surprise – placed neutrally. The T100 is narrow, making the bike easy to paddle. Not that you’ll do it often; the T100 is nicely balanced making it a doddle to keep upright even at low revs. Despite a 31in seat height, both feet find the floor; a hint at the softish suspension. Initially it all feels a little wobbly due to the narrow front end. But you soon get used to this and it aids the cornering greatly, tipping in quickly, though not that accurately, again in part due to the suspension. The T100’s parallel twin doles the power smoothly and evenly. Pick practically any gear and it will lope along amiably with an enjoyable burble from the pipes that turns into a deep growl when you rev closer to the redline. The new water-cooled engine puts out less power than the old aircooled lump, but the increased torque – at just the right revs to make it really usable – more than compensates.

Living with the T100 will be easy on the pocket. The bike has been recording 63 miles to the gallon and with such an understressed engine, the service interval is an impressive 10,000 miles! Sticking with the practical, the clocks have that old-fashioned look but feed tons of information at a glance (I love Triumph’s thumb-operated toggle switch), the little mirrors show loads and the brakes give good feel and supply good stopping power, but the forks dive under firm braking.

If Goldilocks was looking for a bike, she’d fancy a T100.