New Gold Line

Hi and welcome, that sounds like a perfect cure for the post - Christmas blues!

 

Hi and welcome….

 

Howdy Lewis

 

Hi Lewis and welcome to the forum
The gold line range looks great, looking forward to seeing your rideDart make great small to medium screens, but minimal protection.
You can use the search function to find other posts https://www.thetriumphforum.com/threads/screen-suggestions.29047/

 

You’re welcome. I would love the gold line Speedmaster side panels to match my gold accessories

 

llg
Welcome to the family.
Joe.

 

Hello Lewis.

 

Greetings, @llg! Welcome to the forum family and very soon to the Triumph family. Please share some photos of us when you take delivery. You mentioned that you've been riding for over 50 years but this will be your first Triumph. I'm curious about what other bikes you've owned (and especially those you've loved) over the years. Hope you enjoy the forum!

 

Welcome, IIg!

First of all, congratulations on the new Bonneville. It’s a beautiful, remarkably competent motorbike. You will get regular compliments on its looks from motorcyclists and from non-motorcyclists and it is remarkably easy to ride. Peter Egan (the motojournalist) bought a Bonneville and said that when he brought it in for the 500 mile service it had 640 miles on it because he couldn’t stay off the thing!

Mine is also Competition Green. I’ve made a number of changes to mine since I bought it in 2018. They are listed below with grades for relative merit.



1. Sato Racing crash bungs. Chosen because they are clean and unobtrusive. Grade: A so far mainly because they have not yet been tested.


2. Tubeless tire modification. For me this is the one essential upgrade for the current generation Bonnie. The issue is that if you get a flat, the wheel has to be removed and the tube replaced. On the rear, this means removing both mufflers, and then the tires need a bead break just like tubeless ones! You are not gonna do that on the side of the road.

Tubeless tires can be plugged and reinflated without removing anything. Even if you never intend to take your bike further than the local Thrift-e-Mart, tubeless is better and if you are going on a trip it’s essential.

The OEM wheels are fine with tubeless tires. Nothing needs to be changed there. The spoke nipples aren’t airtight, though, so they need to be sealed.

I took my stock wheels to a local DIY shop (shout out here to the Motoshed in Seattle--the guys there are aces). They took the tires off (remember the bead break is required). I cleaned the inside of the wheels with contact cleaner until they shone. I laid in a layer of 3M sealant tape and heated it lightly with a heat gun to make it all melty and seal up nice.

Motoshed popped on new tires (Bridgestone Battlax T31 sport touring tires from Revzilla, tubeless natch) and blew 'em up for me.

This entire process at the Motoshed took about 90 minutes. It was not hard. I spent more time taking the wheels off (remember, first you gotta take off your mufflers... then you gotta put them back on after) than I did sealing the tires.

I’ve put almost 6K miles on this setup without issues or any loss in tire pressure. Grade: A+.


3. Ohlins TR634 rear shocks from Canyon Motorcycles. Bolt right on (you can easily do this yourself), great price point (Ohlins for $750!) not much change in looks but better ride quality than stock. In hindsight I wish I had gone up one level of quality to the TR 624 piggyback style. Grade: B+.


4. Cruise control. In 2018, Bonnevilles didn’t come with CC. I had to add this and wrapped it onto my purchase when I bought the bike. It’s pricey at $500 installed but worth every penny on a long trip. Believe it, you will enjoy this way more than a set of aftermarket mufflers. Grade: A+.


5. Sato Racing helmet lock. Good God, why don’t modern bikes have helmet locks? What’s up with that? The Sato part is nice, but some asswipe broke it in half and stole my helmet when the bike was parked at a big box store. Grades: Sato A, Seattle petty thieves F (who wants a used helmet?).


6. Triumph heated grips. So sanitary, so toasty on cold days. Don’t leave the city limits without them. The Triumph parts do seem kinda spendy (although again, the installation is seamless and the heating level shows up on the dash which is pretty cool). Grade: B+ simply because of cost, but I would always invest in this mod.


7. Meerkat crossover cat replacement. It’s a beautifully made part, which makes it a pleasure to have on the bike, and an excellent value; when I bought mine it was about $250 US. Meerkats are made by an Aussie named Peter Harrington, whom you deal with directly, and he is a good guy. It’s no big deal that he’s in Australia, because he ships all over the world. The Bonneville seems to breathe easier, it’s definitely lighter, and it sounds great with the Meerkat and stock pipes. Grade: A.


8. Brembo brake upgrade from Canyon Motorcycles. This kit consists of new floating rotors and Brembo calipers. It looks awesome and radiates quality, neither of which can be said for the OEM rotors and anonymous calipers. If I’m honest, though, the OEM front brakes function quite well and this is 80% sex appeal and 20% function. Grade: B- simply because they are stupid expensive. When I bought mine in 2018 they were about $1200; now the site says they are $1,700! I’m glad I have them, but I’m not sure I’d do it for that price.


9. Touratech throwover luggage. I didn’t expect much from these mainly because of the price point (about $350). But they are terrific. Waterproof, light, durable for what they are and no mods need to be made to the bike at all. So when you don’t need them which is most of the time, they are invisible in your shed. Grade: A.


Again, congratulations on buying a great bike. It has limitations as far as outright speed and clearance in the corners, but it is remarkably satisfying to ride and own.

Here is a pic of the Ohlins, Sato crash bungs and Brembos.

 

My bike came with the center stand, and it’s been fine. Useful for chain lube, cleaning the rear wheel and for when you take off the rear wheel to seal your spokes and go tubeless.

If your bike didn’t come with one, though, I’d get a Pit Bull stand with the forward handle (a better mousetrap than standard ones with the handle behind the bike) and call it good. You so rarely need the center stand when you are not in the garage.