1966 - Triumph bonneville - what will the ride be like?

My GF has hired me a'66 bonne for my b-day. Am very exicted as it's my dream bike, does anyone here have experence of riding retro bikes? I am expecting the brakes to be not quite as good as modern bikes, is there anything else I should be carefull of?

Fantastic! Lucky you - she must really love you to do that. I had a bit of experience, but it wasn't'retro'then. LOL I think it will be just a dream to ride, don't worry, any differences will be explained to you before you get started - ENJOY!

The TR6 still is a very enjoyable ride,the frame was supple,in its day it was the bench mark along with the Norton 99 ss.I used a triumph TR6 engine in a racing sidecar motocross outfit for years,a top class engine with the right tweaks and mods.The only danger is that you will want a classic bike after your ride.

Depends what you are used to riding.The Bonnie is a great bike - handles well - totally different to the Jap Crap around. Point it into a bend and it goes - no wobbles, no slides and it just goes on and on.The 66 one's brakes are not as hot as modern bikes or even later Triumphs - but they work - to be honest, in all my years of riding Bonnies, I have never worried about the brakes - the engine slows you down when you let go of the throttle.Just enjoy the ride - the noise, the vibes and the admiring glances.

'Not quite as good'is a bit of an understatement - no power, no brakes&certainly no handling, and you'll be very lucky if it goes for a day without a breakdown!Good luck.

JG you don't know what you're talking about. I rode a '68 TR6C for a couple of years and had absolutely no problems as long as you kept up with the routine pm's. It was a joy to ride.