I have mentioned on the newby thread that I have recently bought a 2001 Bonneville 790, I have previously owned one and prefered it to a later T100 that I owned. The bike was registered on 1 April 2001 so was a very early one, in general it is in very good condition and had been laid up for some years with a recorded 4,300 miles. Some mods had been carried out and my aim is to restore it to original using genuine Triumph parts. Firstly it had new Avon tyres to replace the 22 year old originals, a previous owner had fitted Norman Hyde silencers, these are very well made expensive items, but too loud, I fitted NH mutes, but these didn't reduce the noise much, a further complication was that the engine was running very lean I and suspected that the carbs hadn't been rejetted. I booked the bike into a local workshop ( Bike Clinic in Gillingham, recommended for good service) for ultra sonic clean of the carbs and rejet with the correct jets which I sourced from NH, also a valve clearance check, which was ok. My aim is to replace the exhausts with original items, but most of the stuff on ebay I looked at was dented, corroded, dinked and the wrong part number, however I suddenly struck lucky and found the right part numbered items listed as unused for a hundred and twenty quid, they arrived today and indeed they were bright shiny never been fitted and in original Triumph wrappings, I was over the moon. I am slowly going through the bike removing what can be removed ( shocks, engine mount bolts and plastic trim, ) and treating all hidden areas with ACF 50 and greasing fasteners before refitting. Next job during the winter lay up is remove forks and replace the fork oil, my question to the team is should I look at progressive fork springs, YSS do supply them, I fitted some to my Himalayan and they did make the front end smoother, but I am not sure if the Bonneville needs it, any observations are very welcome. The bike has Oxford heated grips, as they are working I shall leave them on, but will revert to normal if they pack up, other mod is a LED headlight, it looks all wrong, but it does give a brilliant day light beam, so for safety I might retain it, will think about it for a while. I posted a photo on the newby thread, welcome comments, Cheers Tim
It is the simplicity of this bike that I like, no warning lights or mode selectors or ABS, I fill up the tank and a hundred miles later I fill it up again, most jobs can be carried out at home with a Haynes Manual, no expensive electronics to go wrong, the build quality of the early Hinkley bikes is very good and considering this is a 22 year old bike it is in amazing condition. Modern bikes that comply with Euro 5 are running so lean and have heavy cat exhausts, it is good to have a traditional carb motorbike that is also reliable, ticks all the boxes really. Very pleased so far and will enjoy improving it over the winter months.
Hi Tim and welcome, Lovely bike I also have a fond regard for the early carb Bonneville T100s. As far as the forks are concerned I found that Hagon progressive front springs and rear shocks made a great difference to my T100.If you are going to do the fork oil Hagon also supply the oil which suits their springs, when you take the forks out to change the oi another idea is to fit fork gaiters, that will prevent stone chips from damaging the fork legs.
Samsgrandad, thanks for the advice, I have already sourced gaiters, WoT don't sell the kits but do sell the individual items, but expensive and I have found some good quality ones from a stockist for half the price, I will look at Hagon, I fitted Hyperpro on the Himalayan, they seemed ok, I haven't thought about the shocks yet, I fitted IKONs to my Interceptor which were great, but my aim is to get this bike back to original condition, so will look at that, I will investigate Hagon springs, thanks for that. Cheers Tim.
I have just done a little bit more to the bike, fitted a new air filter, removed the forks, serviced with Motul W10 and refitted with a pair of heavy duty Wassell fork gaiters. Took the opportunity to thoroughly clean and treat with ACF50 the hidden bits. I decided against changing the fork springs, for the sort of riding I do the stock items are fine, I can always change at a later date. Next job is to sort out the headlight and replace with a suitable (for the bike) bulb and reflector assembly, still having problems sourcing something. Might even get out to ride it before the gritters come out of hibernation, that would be good.
