The Triumph Bonneville is hailed as the greatest for very good reasons

Triumph—Phoenix-like, the company rose both figuratively and literally from ashes to again build what has been acclaimed as the greatest motorcycle of all time: the Bonneville.

Figuratively, Triumph rose from the oblivion other British motorcycle companies found themselves in when, in 1990, the company returned to full production of the almost hundred-year old brand. Not satisfied to challenge the motorcycle gods only once, the company did so again in September, 2002 when it reopened its doors after a February fire destroyed its manufacturing facilities. The second challenge must have been winked at by those same gods because the Bonneville had been reintroduced to the world in 2000.

Bonneville. The name conjures up images of rocket-fast bikes screaming down the lines at the Salt Flats for which it was named. Even though Brando rode a Thunderbird 6T in The Wild One, five years before the Bonny was introduced, the association with cool is solid. Even Harley-Davidson was awed by the bike. It created a knock-off of its own with the Sportster, whose out-dated V-Twin was no match for the twin carbed, 650cc Bonneville.

Today’s Bonneville sports a modern DOHC, 865cc version of Triumph’s proven parallel-twin engine fed by a pair of electronically-heated carbs. The bike is light at 451 pounds, and handles like a nimble dream that will carry the rider with confidence through city traffic or screaming down the open road.

And dammit, it’s pretty. Even the accessories cry out to the competition: “Don’t you wish….” with unique custom tank covers, hand-crafted laptop bags and its own special iPod holders.

When I think of my Bonny, I know it may not be the biggest bike on the market, and it may not be the fastest. However, it is a bike that the pretenders can only dream about. It is without a doubt The Greatest of All Time. In every sense of the word, it’s a Triumph and it’s a Bonneville. That, my friends, is all you need to know.