In 10 pics: Triumph Bonneville Bobber VS Zero LH450

The Zero LH450, a Triumph Bonneville Bobber look-alike, has just been unveiled for the Chinese market. We compare how similar or different they are

China is infamous for launching clones of popular bikes and cars that so closely resemble the originals that only experts can tell them apart. In another instance, a Chinese manufacturer, Zero, has done something similar and unveiled a bike that seems to borrow much of its design from the  Triumph Bonneville Bobber. That’s not all, even the company’s name seems to be taken from a California-based electric two-wheeler manufacturer.

Coming to the bike, it’s got a wide handlebar, fat tyres, a beefy fuel tank and a single seat. Now that’s what a no-nonsense bobber looks like! The whole theory behind a bobber is to remove all the unnecessary parts and keep it as barebones and lightweight as possible. Bobbers aren’t practical machines; they’re about form over function, and we’re sure a lot of bikers imagine having one of these in their garage. 

India has got its fair share of bobbers but there is nothing quite like the Triumph Bonneville Bobber, which is certainly a head turner but can be a very expensive proposition for most. On the other hand, the LH450 looks like a scaled down version of the Triumph Bobber and appears to be comparatively affordable. Let’s see how the copy fares against the original.

Headlight:

The Triumph Bonneville Bobber and Zero LH450 both feature round all-LED headlights which are a classic blend of retro and modern.

Engine:

Engine-wise the Triumph Bonneville Bobber packs in a liquid-cooled, 8-valve parallel-twin mill producing 78PS of power and a healthy 106Nm of torque. The Zero LH450 on the other hand is powered by a 450cc liquid-cooled parallel-twin motor that produces a decent 38PS of power and 34Nm of torque, which should be probably good enough for urban cruising.

Brakes:

The braking on the Triumph is managed by twin 310mm discs at the front and a single 255mm disc at the rear with dual-channel ABS. Meanwhile, the LH 450 gets twin 300mm discs in the front and a single 270mm disc at the rear.

Tyres:

The Triumph Bobber gets a slim 90-profile tyre in the front and 150/80 section tyre at the rear, both mounted to 16-inch spoke wheels. The Zero LH 450 also rolls on 16-inch wire spoke wheels, but gets an unnecessarily chunky 150/80-16 tyre in the front with an even wider 180/65-16 section tyre in the rear.    

Seat Height:

The Triumph Bonneville Bobber and LH450 both get a floating seat design and a moderate seat height of 688mm and 700mm respectively.