my dealer has said they will look at it at the first service - i probably will learn to live with it but don't see why i should - other manufacturers can sort it out! If i get no joy gonna ask to switch to a street scrambler - sounds ridiculous i know coz love the bonnie in every other aspect
Good luck. Please keep me posted. Hopefully the dealer will have a fix for you. I’m with you - it’s something they really should sort without looking for aftermarket solutions.
Thanks for your input Sean. I’m lucky that I rarely ride in traffic but you describe the problem very well, it’s roll-on, roll-off throttling or more precisely, moving from zero to some. I have no problems moving from some throttle to zero, that is very predictive. My biggest gripe is that when you are making your way through slow, wet bends or through twisty roads covered with mud and leaves you are denied a predictable initial throttle response. Part of this is to do with the relatively “tall” gearing of the Bonneville. But the rest could well be Euro 4 fuelling, slack/backlash in the cabling, linkage and/or electronic gubbins. The Booster Plug certainly helped low speed throttle response and there no hesitation when I open the throttle at any speed except for the ‘zero to something’ range. However, the more miles I do on the bike (just approaching 900) the more I’m able to overcome this problem with a very, very gentle right hand. I’ve also tightened my chain to the minimum slack (20 mm) from 35 mm and this has certainly helped. To put this all in context I only returned to motorcycling in August this year after nearly a 40 year lay off. So I’m pretty inexperienced as riders go. For example, I’ve only just learnt how to “snick” the gears when changing, eliminating the “thwack” and “clunk” that I used to get.
agreed - it spoils the experience to be honest - i've been riding all my life and am an old man now but learning to live with it is not ideal
I purchased a preowned Bonneville 6k miles, having not ridden it or any "new" Triumph. At home, first ride showed it was smooth and fast. But the gearing was a disappointment... Good low speed manners are for me a must. The bike was parked while research was done for the options, gaining info along the way. I bit the bullet, got things done and the weather shows up... I'm not riding in 40deg weather.
Hi @Trevor Austin I've only just caught this thread. The lumpy / or snatchy throttle that you refer to is a characteristic of a big twin and one of the things that I love about this engine configuration.
Manufacturers face a fundamental problem with the different torque characteristics of twins but the same emissions regs as multiple cylinders. They need more fuel off idle right where they get measured. The rules are inflexible for a relatively small number of vehicles with no measurable impact on atmospheric pollution but....... The problem is completely fixable but not when sold from new.
hiccupped my way round town today on my way to the dealer and getting them to fix the crap throttle response on my brad new bonnie - fuelled up and then road 30 miles to the next town - on getting into traffic again problem 90% better!! Got to dealer and he rode it low speed and revs around their big car park - seems ok he said, so agreed we'd check it again on first service. Could a new tank of fuel make it better or is it just coincidence? Rode home again and much better - what do folks think, any similar experiences/explanations? I'm quite pleased but still baffled......
