Anyone who isn't 100% happy with the ride and handling of the 2016 on Bonneville series might like to try some or all of the mods I've carried out. !. Bitubo rear shocks. Get the WME03 model with adjustable damping and make sure you specify your weight, they will fit the correct spring. Set the sag to 38mm, this will leave about 18mm of thread exposed, damper setting 1.5 is good for solo riding (77kg rider). If you are heavier than this and get a stronger spring up the setting to 2-2.5. You can adjust this to suit your preference or for two up riding. This mod really smooths out the rear and gives much better wheel control. I tried the Triumph Fox RSU's, they're very nicely made and were a good improvement BUT not as good as the Bitubo's and much more expensive. The control was probably as good but the ride is better with the Bitubo's 2. TEC fork springs. Every bit as good as more expensive products, in fact I compared them to others that are available they all look so similar I suspect they are all made at the same factory (in China!). The difference in feel and comfort on the front end is very noticeable and dive is reduced under braking. At £65 these are real value for money. 3. Change the dreadful standard Pirelli's, they're awful!!. They feel absolutely wooden, follow white lines badly, feel nervous on long sweepers and don't turn in to corners very nicely. Avon Storm HD's are a brilliant replacement, they feel and grip so much better and the turn in is great. The feel on long sweepers is much better. They are also significantly lighter so there is a good reduction in unsprung weight (very important) Triumph should fit these as standard ( they use Avon's on other bikes), I can only assume they are getting a really cheap deal on the Pirellis. 4. Fit a 39 tooth rear sprocket. The bike is over geared as standard and a 2 tooth reduction brings the gears closer together and makes 2nd much more usable at low speed. It also moves the rear wheel forward @ 20mm which shortens the wheelbase and quickens up the handling. It also puts the wheel in the middle of the adjustment instead of at the end. Supersprox do a nice steel/alloy one for @ £55. For @ £600 this really makes the Bonneville a better bike to ride, sharper and more secure handling and a much improved ride quality. If you can't afford all of it my order of priority in terms of cost vs benefit would be 1.Tyres 2.Fork springs 3.Sprocket 4.Shocks. If anyone has done other mods that have improved the bike I would be really interested to hear from them.
It was Bitubo or Hagon.They both work well but the look and finish on the Bitubo is much better for a similar price (compared to Hagon Nitro's).Also Bitubo use a clever double diameter dual rate spring which works brilliantly.
Very good review do you write for a mag now you've fixed the Bonneville i have a recently acquired 2003 Daytona 995 have you or other esteemed ladys and gents got any must have modifications for said .Ta Ian..
On my 2016 Street Twin I followed similar lines, though not the sprocket. 1) First and best upgrade is to dump the Phantoms, which are simply rubbish. I've put on Avon 3D which I'm very happy with. 2) Next the suspension. I bought TEC progressive springs, and some little used Thruxton R Ohlins gas shocks cut down a few mils (which I got cheap at work). Given the choice again I'd be tempted with cartridge springs for the forks. It raises the back end a little and I had to extend the side stand - the front end turns in quicker and the ride is far superior to the OEM.
The website says that it's under construction (the shop part), and advises you to order from one of their distributors, but none of them (in UK) have the 39T for T120 available.
The 39t has to be ordered and any of their distributors will be able to order it for you. It normally takes @ two weeks.
Just saw this vid... T120 with 16 & 39 sprockets. Makes my mouth water. As I have no plans to ride the highway, will have to get this done.
Up to date, I've fitted Avon 3ds (although yet to try them out) 39 tooth rear sprocket, Hagon shocks but still fiddling, front springs big improvement over stock, decat and remus pipes, k&n airfilter and booster plug. Next to get high lift cam, if it doesn't go fast enough!
Congrats on the work done. After getting excuse$ from a $hop about work to be done I'm doing sprocket{s}, Norman Hydes & springs myself. The decat will be later.
First day out with the new tyres and sprocket and it's like night and day. Bike turns very nice in the bends, gearing is so much better, you can use all the gears better as 5th and 6th are not overdrive anymore. Much better to ride.
I have a 2018 T120 and got sick of the crash boom opera in the front end every time you hit a sharp bump. I bought a set of TEC replacement progressive springs spacers and top adjusters. Took a long time doing it but only because I put them back on and fitted the wheel before I didnt put the fender mounting bracket on before installing the front wheel. Install the fender mounting bracket before replacing the front wheel otherwise you cant get at the screws to do them up. Anyway the new springs, new oil, spacers and most of all the top adjusters are working really well. Now I can adjust the front forks for different riding. If you are thinking of doing this with the TEC front upgrade kit watch their vid first. Cut 5mm off the spacers in both forks and this will allow you to have a good ride with the top adjusters screwed in about 3 to 5 turns and have a few turns in the negative to soften the ride further if you need to. All in all a great modification. There are several makers of these fork upgrade kits the ones I know of are TEC bike parts, YSS, Hagon I think and one other I cant think off at the moment. You can just buy the TEC Bike parts top adjuster nuts if you want to leave the EOM springs in they will sill work well all though again you may have to cut 5mm off the spacers, not necessary but makes the adjustment more balanced. A very worthwhile investment imo Enjoy
When I first bought my T120 I was having trouble turning into corners. I went to the dealer to get a new tyre as it had uneven wear on it. I found out the tyre pressures in the hand book are just wrong. The dealer told me 36 on the front and 38 on the back. I adjusted the tyre pressures and it transformed the handling and now I have a Bonny that lives up to to the legend.
P.S. Dont believe the tyre pressure guages at garages for some reason I found they are just wrong on bikes. Buy a little digital pressure guage and put a little more than needed in the tyre at the garage and then use the digital tyre guage to lower and measure the pressure.
I've been running the pressures specified in the manual and up until I started paying attention to suspension settings I've been ok with Phantoms. Now I've started adjusting things I was beginning to notice a lack of willing when turning in - it wanting to run wide and needing more persuasion to drop in. I've put that down to too much rear sag (rear squatting and front effectively riding high) which I've adjusted out with more pre-load I hope. Tyre pressure experimentation had gone under the radar for me so thanks for this tip.
