Photo gallery: 2018 Triumph Bonneville Bobber Black
By Brody Cox
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Who remembers the old Amal carburetors? Triumph went above and beyond in order to sneakily hide the Bobber Black's fuel injectors behind a fake carburetor bank. (Triumph Motorcycles)
Tractor-style seats are common on custom bobbers, and the Bobber Black draws from the same vein. (Triumph Motorcycles)
The Bobber Black also features LED lighting for all other external lights, including the brake light, taillight, signals and headlight. (Triumph Motorcycles)
New for the Bobber Black is a daytime running light (the soft white part around the perimeter of the headlight bucket) as well as an LED headlight beam. (Triumph Motorcycles)
The exhaust isn't new, but it's black now, and it still has the same killer sound. (Triumph Motorcycles)
Can you spot the radiator at the front of the bike? Triumph did a great job at hiding it, and as such, it doesn't look out of place or distract from the lines of the rest of the bike. (Triumph Motorcycles)
What's better than a single Brembo caliper? How about two! You won't find these doubled up on the previous version of the Bobber. Unfortunately, Triumph tells us this dual-brake setup can't be retrofitted to the older Bobber due to the complexity of the ABS system, so we'd suggest you consider starting out with the Bobber Black, or trading up from the old model if a single front brake is a deal breaker for you. (Triumph Motorcycles)
The bar-end mirrors adhere to the rest of the bike's robust style. (Triumph Motorcycles)
Think it looks sinister during the day? Check it out at night. (Triumph Motorcycles)
Steel fenders? Yes please. It's nice having something you can tap on with your knuckle that feels as beefy as the bike looks. Sure, it adds weight, but that's not really what we're worried about here. (Triumph Motorcycles)
The gauge cluster itself is nice and clean, and uncluttered. You can see the green headlight beam indicator to the immediate left of the needle and the orange traction control light is lit up, notifying the rider that traction control has been turned off. You also have a handy fuel gauge, as well as a gear indicator in the top left corner. (Triumph Motorcycles)
Remember the Henry Ford quote? "You can have any color you want, so long as it's black." You can have the Bobber in Gloss Black and Matte Black, but the latter will cost you a little bit extra. (Triumph Motorcycles)
Not too brutal that you can't stop for some good coffee. (Triumph Motorcycles)
Regardless of how good the coffee might be, you'll soon be looking back at the bike. Trust us. (Triumph Motorcycles)
Left:See that button on the bottom right of the left switch assembly? That's the built-in cruise control button: One press arms it, and the second press sets the speed at the current pace you're going. You can touch either the front or rear brake, push the cruise button a third time, or blip the throttle to disable it. Right: The right-side throttle grip is uncluttered, featuring only start/kill switch, mode button, and hazard light switch. (Triumph Motorcycles)
The Bobber Black's timeless style naturally highlighted against a canvas adorned with the Spanish hillside. (Triumph Motorcycles)
(Triumph Motorcycles)
Riders will find the ignition next to their right thigh. (Triumph Motorcycles)
Created to compete with similar models from Harley-Davidson and Indian, the Bobber had great styling, featured a strong, 1,200cc engine, and just so happened to sell better than any other brand-new Triumph.
With this track record, it wasn't surprising to see that Triumph decided to revamp the Bobber for 2018, packaging a new 47mm fork, new twin-disc front brakes, a new 16-inch front wheel, and tons of blacked-out hardware under the stealthy "black" moniker.
We rode the Bonneville Bobber Black in Marbella, Spain, and were impressed with the ride for a few reasons. The addition of the second front rotor and caliper drastically improved braking force over the previous design, the wider front tire and thicker fork aided an already intimidating stance, and the exhaust note was truly music to our ears.
Read more about the features and riding characteristics of the 2018 Bobber Black here.
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