New water-cooled Triumph Bonneville seen in action in David Beckham film
Sportiest version of new Bonnie seen (briefly) in Belstaff movie
HERE'S David Beckham in his first starring role, riding the new 2016 water-cooled Bonneville which Triumph has yet to officially reveal.
The film, called Outlaws, shows the new Bonnie briefly at about 1.54 and 12.36. It's the same machine seen two weeks ago in promotional pictures for the film, by clothing maker Belstaff. Its radiator marks it out as water-cooled, unlike the current Bonneville. We’ve also seen it in spy shots.
It's one of several new variants of the Bonneville. This one is not replacing any specific existing model but expected to sit above the Thruxton as the sportiest version. Eschewing the fully-retro style of previous Bonnevilles, it adopts modern Öhlins suspension at both ends and Brembo radial brakes. There’s speculation that it could be called the Street Tracker – reflecting a trademark filed by Triumph – or perhaps the Speed Twin.
The engine is believed to be larger than the current Bonneville’s, and possibly 1100cc, although every prototype spotted so far – including three recently spied – has been registered as having the same 865cc capacity as the existing model. It will certainly be more powerful and cleaner thanks to its water-cooled design. We also saw a bobber version of the new Bonneville back in July.
Apart from the new bike, we've got no idea what we just saw, besides a convoluted love story, a bearded lady, Harvey Keitel and an implausible jump by Beckham. We do know it's 17 minutes we'll never get back and that Beckham's first starring role doesn't appear to involve him speaking. Who could have predicted that?
Best skip to 1.54 and 12.36 - or click on our stills below.
