No skimping so far , was thinking last night it will be almost too good to use , could do with a rough runaround , project for another day perhaps . I am short of a front mudguard , choice seems to be alley or steel from Tricor Andy , rear is in surprisingly good nick thankfully ! Looking ahead , I need tyres , are the Dunlops generally considered the best for looks and handling ? what widths should I go with ? as per manual or bit wider on back perhaps . All these different threads are a right pita ,just when I thought had some nuts for something ,you find its a different thread and stops progress ...
Steel (as per original fitment) mudguards also available from here :- https://www.classicbikeshop.co.uk/frame-chassis-mudguards.html?p=5 Possibly here :- http://www.auto-cycle.co.uk/ And almost certainly from here :- Simon, Renovation Spares, email [email protected], 07375697350, 01527 402654 Renovation Spares used to produce mudguards for quite few retailers but the business sold a few years back and was taken over by Simon. He's a really nice guy and was very helpful when I needed (for an American friend) some VERY unusual profile guards for his vintage Nortons.
Steel mudguards for paint are the best bet as it will match your rear, Dunlop K70's are the correct tyre and are still made in the correct 400x18 rear and 325x19 front sizes and there is nothing wrong with their handling . Triumph should have moved over to UNF and UNC by then but Whitworth still being used lol.
Thanks for the leads Adie , a few calls are in order tomorrow , I note that the Classic bike ones are half price compared to tricor but the pics dont show a relieved indent where the forks pass so assume they must be narrower in order not to need it. I want them to look correct so does that mean indented where they pass forks and rolled ends front and rear ? or some say razor edge Dunlops it will be then , shame they seem the dearest , just when I thought I was on top of the spending .. oh well in for a penny .
Some progress Couldn't wait to get my new shocks on Some new bearings Despite buying dearer Harris stantions , one needed deburring on the inside of the drillings as it was skagging on a shutle valve causing it to stick ! The plastic damper sleeves seem quite tight and difficult to get in the slider is this normal ? do you just place over the top and push into slider and they find their own position ? This is now a job for tomorrow to sort .
I can't recall (I used to won a '69 Bonnie, way back in the dim and distant) exactly how the front 'guard was configured but having trawled a few internet pictures - yes it IS the equivalent of porn - I'm of the uninformed opinion that the Bonneville steel mudguard is a 'blade' type and so is bracketed to sit between the fork legs without needing any indentation. A 'valanced' type - like the rear one is - would need fork leg indents. I'm fairly sure it should have a rolled end at the front edge and sides but Simon at Renovations Spares is likely to know. Avon Speedmaster MkII (ribbed) front and GP rear are an option, though I have no idea of the price. 'Phone Avon tyres and they'll give you a local stockist. Avon are VERY helpful and knowledgeable. And don't worry about the old fashioned 'look' of these tyres, I think they use race compounds so grip shouldn't be an issue. And they're made in the West Country!! p.s. is the MGA yours, too? EDIT :- I don't think you can get the GP in the correct size for the rear.
Thanks Dilligaf ,will do . A call in the morning to Renovation spares sounds in order. Re tyres ,I will look into the Avons too , Brittish companies could do with all the support possible in these times . Yes Mga is mine , has taken a back seat since the Bonnie arrived , I have just about finished the bodywork just need to fit two door skins and do a final panel fit up . Still loads to do though ,the bike has been a nice change tbh plus I am very much looking forward to riding it , first bike in about 15 years so will be exciting !
Evening Tibster, black dampers just presses on to legs with the thick end at the bottom, mudguards are of the rolled edge type on 69 and have the recess for fork gaiters as in pic.
I should warn you that Simon was pretty hard to pin down when I last used his services but that was largely due to him having to do a full time job AND re-invigorate RS, and that was a few years ago. Hopefully things will have settled down for him! I do hope he can sort you out. I love the MGA - such graceful lines, a poor man's XK120, I suppose! Is it a 1500 or 1600? Guess we shouldn't pursue that topic on a bike forum. I'm a V8 person so have a Stag (Triumph engine) and a Jag (XK8) that are both in need of serious attention and finance but will have to wait until the house renovation is finished. Choosing a '69 T120 for its - and your - return to motorcycling is a bold statement of intent! I like your style, Sir. There are few finer machines when on song (a '72 Combat Commando is one of the few of that era) and none quite so iconic or beguilingly handsome. For me they have that aura of the pedigree race horse - all elegance and beauty on the outside, with an understated capacity to demonstrate power and pace on demand. Your Bonnie is, quite clearly, going to be an absolutely beautiful machine when it's all done.
Funnily enough Adie , it was either a Norton or the Bonnie I had my sigts on , I opted for the 120 as I thought it may be a little more reliable and usable possibly , thta may or not be true with my limmited knowledge but lers hope so . The MG is a 61 mk2 1600 , I have never had a rag top and my dear old Dad had one when I was little so a bit for sentimental reasoms . I have always liked Stags an undervalued car really I think . Thanks Darkman a pic as always tells a thousand words , will try and get those forks together today . Made a puller yesterday . Btw is there no washer or anything under the centre chrome nut to stop loosing paint when tightened ?
Thanks darkman , not fully tightened yet , you can see why these bikes must have got a bit scruffy pretty quickly , there seems to be plenty of nuts with just a spring washer which soon takes paint off if remove in maintenance. Guess thats the way things were back in the day .
Not sure about how your bike came to have spring washers as only flat washers used from factory with Cleveloc nuts
I do like the gold pin strping on those mudguards darkman , was gold ever used to on the bonneville maybe I could go gold instead of white
Darkman will give you the definitive answer, I know, but this may give you some idea of the complexity of the issue :- https://triumphbonneville120.co.uk/paint-specifications.php I'm hoping this is all going to make my life much easier - way down the time line - as I've got one stashed away somewhere to be restored. It's a 1970/71 model, though, but not all that different in the greater scheme of things! Edit :- You could try John CRICHLOW, the paint guru for Triumphs :- http://www.msmotorcyclesuk.com/
On shocks, all eng apart from the case halves and plate mount f/r, rear f/rest plates, fork clamp nuts in fact nearly every bolt will have a Cleveloc nut. Not top yoke nut n bolt as the nut is a convex nut. Gold, bronze, white, blue and black cover the unit line colours, white for 69 Have taken this op to post a pic of my bikes to try n keep you on the right path
Certainly two fine looking bikes there , the angle of the 120 shows it in its best light I reckon. Still slightly mystified as to the clevelocks the only two I have so far are in the battery box area , dont supose you have a close up of the side of your 120 Darkman , cant quite see the nut details in focus . I ordered the nuts from part numbers in the 69 parts book , even on the Tricor andy site if I put the number in it shows just a plain nut ? Edit .. just looked again my parts diagram does show plain washers which I was confused by as the nut part number comes up on Tricor andys site as plain nut part 14-0302 as it seems to indicate plain nut I assumed there has to be a spring washer Another is rear shock nut diagram item number 14 say part 14-0302 also . below are the diagrams I am using
