RED frames are all the rage at Triumph at the moment. Not satisfied with daubing the subframes of the Speed Triple, Street Triple and Daytona ‘R’ models with lashings of claret the firm’s giving the same treatment to its 2013 Bonneville SE.
Although it’s yet to officially appear on Triumph’s website (or in a press release to the likes of us, for that matter) several Triumph dealers are now listing the 2013 Bonneville SE on their own sites.
The limited info available so far suggests it’s a purely cosmetic tweak – in terms of equipment the bike is bog-stock Bonnie through and through. What it does get is a red frame, red mudguards front and rear and a fat red stripe down the centre of the tank. The remainder of the tank is finished in matt black, as is the engine.
To our eyes, the modern-looking paintjob works surprisingly well with the most recent take on the Bonnie theme, which a couple of years ago ditched its 1960s-inspired wire wheels and came kicking and screaming into the 1970s with a set of alloys (except surely they’d have been called ‘mags’ back then). But we’ve been wrong before. What do you think? Should retro remain planted in the past or does a dash of modernity widen the Bonnie’s appeal?
