LIVING WITH THE LEGEND
There's really nothing I can tell you about a Triumph Bonneville that you don't already know. They've been around for so long that it's possible that cavemen rode Meriden twins; certainly, Neanderthals seem to have worked on most of them at some point. Mainstay of the British motorcycle industry and so iconic that pretty much any classically-styled vertical twin cylinder bike will be likened to a Bonnie; even Yamaha's XS650 and the Kawasaki W800 are flattered by the association.
Does the Tl 20 deserve this elevated reputation? Or did Triumph somehow fluke their way into the minds and souls of generations clad in leather, helped along by some brilliant marketing? There's only one way to find out!
In the interests of fairness, I should probably share with you my slight bias against most things Meriden. I usually plant my flag in the 'over-rated' category. Thus if this Bonnie can win me over then it's a fine motorcycle indeed! However, buoyed by the general gloriousness of a TR5 I recently reviewed, my usual frostiness has thawed - a little. And what better example of Meriden's finest son to try than a late-60s Tl 20?
This bike, spending nearly all its life locally to me, is from the
