Triumph Street Twin gas mileage for 900 Bonneville

The 900 Bonneville Triumph Street Twin gas mileage is excellent. The numbers prove it in a variety of driving conditions between Pattaya and Rayong Thailand.

Triumph Street Twin gas mileage
The Bonneville 900 Street Twin gas mileage is spectacular. Keep in mind the latest incarnation of Triumph’s Bonneville is a whopping 900 cc’s and it has loads of torque. But can a motorcycle this large be an ideal choice for Thailand’s roads. And for the tight city driving conditions for Pattaya or even a Bangkok? Just read on, because most of my driving is in congested streets with cars and  motorcycles squeezed together.  So if you want to travel fast you must squeeze in the tightest places. This bike’s got it all. The Classic Bonneville look, quick handling, supreme comfort and a bike that’s nearly as agile as all those 125 c.c. scooters everyone else is driving. And there’s that Triumph sound that is worth a few thousand dollars alone.

But first and foremost just how good is the Triumph Street Twin gas mileage?

Here’s the raw numbers for the Triumph Street Twin gas mileage.  I covered 166.4 kilometers round trip and only used 6.67 liters of gas to achieve this.  That’s a total of 103 miles on only 1.76 gallons of fuel.

Now how accurate is that

To begin with I willed up at the same gas station at the same pump when I started off.  And when I finished, I refilled at the same pump holding the bike completely upright.  While making sure the attendant filled the Triumph’s tank to the brim each time.   So this test run was about as accurate as it gets.  My Triumph Street Twin gas mileage was 58.5 miles to the gallon.  And when you consider all those Honda 350 and 450’s were getting around 50 miles to the gallon in the 1970’s this kind of fuel economy is spectacular.

Triumph Street Twin gas mileage turned in unbelievable numbers when you consider my actual test conditions

Consider that I was hitting speeds of up to 145 kilometers per hour just to get around all the highway traffic.  I got lost at least four times.  Oftentimes I had to wait over five minutes for traffic lights to change. So what’s going on here?

Triumph Street Twin gas mileage
The instrument panel is only a single round gauge. But everything you need is right in front of you. And a lot of information all those old classics didn’t give you is right here for the asking. This single narrow instrument panel add to the overall feel of slimness to this bike that makes the driver confident that he can take his Street Twin through the narrowest gaps in city traffic.  And the feel of the clutch is so light.  Which makes this bike a very easy bike to drive in any conditions.

If you do your homework on Triumph’s new 900 Street Twin, horsepower’s down from 63 horsepower to 55.  But this bikes all geared up for getting the power when you need it.  Peak torque arrives at only 3300 rpm’s.  While a lot of super bikes need 8000 to 10000 rpms to get all that that horsepower they’s bragging on.  For most driving conditions this means the power’s there in spades when you need it.  But Triumph is also claiming that this torque happy engine’s getting great fuel economy.

Oh yeah.  This new Bonneville’s got fuel injection.  And its water cooled.  Its got all the latest bells and whistles, like ABS, and traction control.  But how can this latest Triumph Street Twin gas mileage be so outrageously good?

Triumph Street Twin gas mileage
You can drive this bike throughout Thailand through a variety of conditions. While its just small enough to make you feel that you at one with the bike. Part of the reason I didn’t take it over 145 kph (90 miles an hour) is due to the upright riding condition, absence of a fairing or wind screen or due to my not tightening up my helmet enough (or get a full coverage helmet) I encountered a lot of wind buffeting. But just keep in mind that out of 200 countries in the world Thailand’s roads and drivers are the most lethal. It you need something faster than this Bonneville, I suggest that you take the airplane.

This bikes lines are utterly gorgeous and part of the reason is it only has a 3.3 gallon fuel tank.

Which is about what  Honda 350 CB had in the 1970’s.  Now days the latest Japanese bikes need unsightly oversize fuel tanks  to achieve a reasonable cruising range with all that horsepower they are packing.

Triumph Street Twin gas mileage
The waves along this section of the Rayon area coast are much higher than they appear in this picture. With this Triumph Street Twin gas mileage more than excellent, the bike’s excellent road manners at low speeds, and supreme comfort, it’s hard to get more enjoyment for this type of driving from most other motorcycles

The Triumph Bonneville 900 Street Twin has a seat they way most seats should be designed.  Like they used to make them in the good old days of the 1970’s and 1980’s.  The seat’s long and comfortable with ample room for two, with your girl riding right up next to you.  Unlike all these “modern bikes” with seats hard enough to pound your balls into oblivion.  And that raised canary perch for your girlfriend to sit on with her head a lot higher than the driver’s.  Looks stupid as hell if you ask me.

Triumph Street Twin gas mileage
Despite the heavy traffic of Pattaya or a Bangkok, driving a long the coast near Rayon is totally uncongested and relaxing.

But make no mistake, this Triumph 900 speed twin isn’t going to win any races against all these 10000 rpm sport bikes  that claim all that unneeded horsepower.  But it just might in city traffic where its slim profile, oodles of low rpm torque, and relatively low weight will get you through the narrowest gaps in tight traffic conditions.

So what’s it like to drive?

Terrific.  For one thing it’s got that Classic Triumph sound that means “this bike’s all business” without sounding too harsh, too loud or too show offish.  And all that low rpm torque makes city driving a breeze.  You can get around just about anything just like that.  All the controls seem to be in the right places.  The horn, the gear shift, even the starter button.  And those none too spectacular stock mirrors give a good wide view of what’s behind you.  There’s some vibration out on the highway, but its a muted vibration that doesn’t cause any discomfort.  While even at high speeds your view through the mirrors is still sharp.  And oh  that light wonderful clutch.  This is a wonderful all around bike.  But do I really  love it better than my Yamaha Nmax 155?  

The Yamaha Nmax is the greatest thing on two wheels for only 80000 baht.  It is far superior to the Honda PCX 150 which my article above explains in great detail.  The Triumph Bonneville Street twin 900 costs 400,000 baht here in Thailand.  Which is $12500 dollars.  I love them both.  But when a BMW or Porsche pulls up next to my Triumph in the parking lot, I just smile to myself.  And reflect….It takes a special breed to appreciate a Triumph.  And very few men are of that breed.

You might also be interested in looking up  the triumph web site 

Bonneville Street Twin Review

Bonneville Street Twin Review by Top Speed

 

 

 

 

 

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