Euro brand small bikes... what to get?

[Wanderer]

I know it her bike, so I'm taking all suggestions and simply relaying them.

[snip]...  Same with the Versys!    hell, I want a Versys!  

Yeah me too. A second bike in the stable would be a Versys with soft bags and DS tires.

She can ride quite well, she's inexperienced, but not a total newb.  She's had an SV650S and a Hawk GT.

 
What was it about those bikes that didn't meet her needs? Seems if she liked the lil SV, a half-faired big brother would be the ticket. You can even import lower fairings for it, makes it into a FJR look-alike.
 Same with the Hawk/Superhawk. Those both seem like suitable matches.

[leveredge]

The Bonnie has limited fuel tank range. Like 125 miles. One complaint I've heard.

[Zerosum]

The Thruxton is neat.  If were a rich man, I'd have one.  It's probably completely impractical, but I likes it.  

[ranette]

Don't have experience with others on the list but I can say that I love my GT1000.  Sensible ergos, easy to ride, and, at least in my opinion, simply gorgeous.  Somebody in a previous post had mentioned something along the lines of the kinks still needing to be worked out.  The only ongoing issue that I know of is a problem with the tanks expanding due to ethanol in most of the fuel in the US.  The amount of the spreading seems to vary, some have no issues at all, some can be remedied with simple shims while others have needed the tanks replaced.  In my case my first tank was replaced under warranty while this one seems perfectly fine.  The word is that Ducati is working on a replacement tank.

[3power]

I read somewhere that Thruxton buyers simply "know" that is the bike for them, and no other bike will do.  I think that is pretty darn accurate.  I had always had my eye on the Thrux since its inception, but was wary of the clip ons and comfort factor.  When they switched to the handlebars and FI in 2009, well - I had to have one.  Check triumphrat.net for a ton of info on the Bonnies and Thrux.

[atadaskew]

The Thruxton is neat.  If were a rich man, I'd have one.  

Why rich?  Are you planning on over-paying for one?

[Dan K]

How about one of these? My wife loves her Brutale.

From that picture, looks like you have 2 wives....2 Brutales...

- Dan

[Lon]

  My friend let me ride his 2009 blue bonneville se.

Those are very liked by reviewers.

[YamadogR1]

From that picture, looks like you have 2 wives....2 Brutales...

- Dan

We have two identical Brutales, one is hers and one is mine.

[vnsfxr]

No way she would like one of these and I'm sure you'd hate it too  

[jfurf]

I just took a demo ride on a Monster 696 last week. I had never ridden a Monster before. My impressions:

- Incredibly low seat. Seriously, a 4'10" 90 pound girl could probably ride this thing comfortably in city traffic.
- manageable power, yet plenty fast
- very light clutch
- surprisingly comfortable doing 80 on the highway. I was shocked at how good it felt actually. Not a gold wing by an stretch, but I could definitely tour on it.

Overall, a very nice bike to throw around in traffic.

[satxbonneville]

I have a 2004 Bonneville T100. Great bike. It's given me no problems at all. Gas, oil and tires are all the maintenance it's needed. It's a great bike for running the back roads and can even be pressed into touring duty with some soft luggage. It'll run all day at 80+ on the freeway or putt around town doing errands. It's easy to maintain - even more so with the advent of the FI models for "09 - and there is a ton of stuff from Triumph and the aftermarket to add fun and function to the bike.

If you like attention and conversations that begin, "I used to ride a Triumph back in...", it's a winner.

[JonS]

The Bonneville or the Monster. If you end up with the Duc, make sure they have checked the fuel injection. For some reason, they are often set up lean from the factory. Maybe emissions.

[X1rider]

Get a Bonneville. Grin city!