Can I ride them both?
errr mmmm just sayin.

 

My vote:

Get the Sporty...Torque is addicting

 

I had a 1987 XLH 1100 and I really liked that bike. It actually handled way better that I thought it would. I put a Mustang touring seat on it and my exwife and I rode all over Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico on it with camping gear and the whole nine yards. The older sportsters even had the passenger pegs mounted to the swing arm. I don't know about the new ones with that 21" front wheel, but I haven't ridden one so I don't know. Chicks love Harley's though and the resale is likely to be better. I say try to get a test ride on the ones your interested in, thats the best way to see which one is best for you.

 

check out the july cycleworld. Peter Egan has a nice article on the new Bonneville. That w650 might not have the ponies your looking for to go 2-up. The sporty looks cool but that's about the end of it unless you want to throw some money at it. Justmy2cents

 

I have ridden both as well as anything else I thought might be a contender.
The sporty has a bit more umph but is a fair bit heavier.
I slighty leaned towards the sporty but my wife felt a lot more comfortable on the Bonny.
Bearing mind that I'm more used to sports bikes so neither of these are going to thrill in a straight out speed way.
Currently ride a Duke and prior to that it was a CBR1000.
But I'm entering a more sedate phase of life
May or may not keep the Duke.

 

The frames on those are VERY wide. For such a low seat height I was surprised I wasn't able to get me feet on the ground like I wanted to.

 

I sat on a strom and it was low enuff for me (5'7") not that i'd buy one.

 

If I slid one cheek off the seat, I could just get a toe on the ground.

If I was thinking of doing some adventure touring, I would seriously consider one of these.


But I'm not.
I'm considering a cruiser.

 

Personally, I would look for any thing BUT a sportster. I had one a buncha years back. One of the worst bikes I owned. I just couldnt take all the rattles and shakin, felt like I was riding a cow with a cement-mixer for a momma" !!

Those Triumps look pretty nice.