Become a Member: Get Ad-Free Access to 3,000+ Reviews, Guides, & More

Triumph Bonneville retro panniers review

Triumph Bonneville

The Triumph Bonneville is the perennial darling of the hipsters. And now with waxed-cotton saddlebags, the hipsters can ride further than their local cafe

Triumph Bonneville
Black leather bags

The problem with fitting luggage to a Triumph Bonneville has always been the fact that the factory black leather saddlebags look out of place. They are too small, the wrong shape and look more suited to a Harley Sportster than a retro Brit cafe racer.

Many Triumph Bonneville owners who wanted to travel have been forced to buy aftermarket panniers or find a saddler to make them some bespoke brown leather panniers to retain that traditional look.

Triumph has been watching and has finally produced saddlebags worthy of the retro cool of the Bonne with their new waxed-cotton saddlebags

Triumph Bonneville
Waxed cotton panniers

Mind you, owners will pay for the privilege as the black leather bags cost $540 while the waxed-cotton bags will set you back $690. But what price, cool, eh?

They are a little bigger than the leather bags, but they’re still pretty small. The panniers feature tasty brown leather flaps and brass fittings to complete the retro look. They also come with reflectors to screw into the backs, but who’d do that and spoil the look?

The bags attach via the same chrome fittings as the other bags, with leather flaps that screw on under the seat and attach via discrete plastic clips to stop the bags sliding off the back.

They are easy to undo and slip off and then you can attach the supplied leather shoulder straps so you can carry them into your quaint bed and breakfast accommodation. Very trendy!

Triumph BonnevilleWaxed cotton is weatherproof and there is a storm flap to seal out the rain, but heavy downpours are still going to soak the contents, so it might be advisable to store everything inside a plastic bag.

The leather flaps over the top are a nice touch, but they sit up higher than the leather bags and are prone to scratching by pillions as they throw a leg over. They also make the black seat now look out of place, so hipsters will be off to their local saddler to get them recovered with brown leather.

I wonder how long it will be before Triumph offers a brown leather seat!Triumph Bonneville