I'm not an engineer, but I can appreciate that it must have posed an interesting challenge when they sat down to figure out just how to do a rear suspension on the Triumph Bonneville Bobber. Because the thing is, while it does everything in its power to give you that 1940s Americana hardtail, floating saddle look, there is actually a rear shock engineered into the thing. I know, I know; it may be hard to believe.
Another thing to wrap your brain around is the idea that the Bobber is perhaps a bit more rider-friendly than you might at first expect. I mean, as I approached the Bobber, I know that I, for one, regarded it somewhat warily. You see, typically, larger motorbikes and I don't always get along. As I've mentioned in the past, I'm a short rider with an even shorter inseam. The number of times I've tried to ride a big bike and have not even been able to reach the side stand is sadly not zero.
Built on Triumph's 1200cc parallel twin Bonneville platform, one very interesting thing about the Bobber is that it's the swagger and personality of this bike that's massive; not necessarily its physical size. It's easy to conflate the two until you sit on it; or in it, as the case may be.
