T100 - T120 Round 2

So what'ya got then ?

Bar end mirrors,sump guard and engine bars,comfort seat

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Lucky you took the Trumpet ! You'd have ripped the fork stanching off your GS with that kind of madness :rob

GS ???

Moi ? Mais non !!

It is a nice,honest bike (the T120).My only gripe really is the gearbox is agricultural.Up-shifts are smoothish,unless you giving it the beans,but down shifts are a tad clonky and loud.
Dealer said it would smooth out after first service but it hasn't yet.
Not really an issue but sure it could be a smoother box !
 
GS ???

Moi ? Mais non !!

It is a nice,honest bike (the T120).My only gripe really is the gearbox is agricultural.Up-shifts are smoothish,unless you giving it the beans,but down shifts are a tad clonky and loud.
Dealer said it would smooth out after first service but it hasn't yet.
Not really an issue but sure it could be a smoother box !

The box on mine seems fine as long as you use the clutch,

It doesn't like clutchless upshifts much but then I was supposed to stop riding like a twat when I bought the Bonnie :blast

It feels and handles a lot better now I've wound the back shocks up to number 4 on the preload but I'm still toying with the idea of better shocks and maybe progressive fork springs

Inch 'Allah.....
 
Try slackening off the chain ;)

Every Triumph I have ever owned has always change gear better with a slacker than (factory) recommended chain tension :thumb2
 
Done about 1000 miles this week on my T120 to Ardennes and back .
I’m pleased with the bike BUT why do Triumph still insist on fitting shit suspension to a £10k bike ?

I had a Triumph Scrambler in 2008 and that was the same and I remember fitting progressive fork springs and changing the rear shocks and this T120 is no better .

On smooth roads it’s fine but on anything else it kicks you out of the seat on occasion.

I know I can sort it for a few hundred quid but why should you have too ?

Shame ,as the motor is lovely,it’s comfy for long days in the saddle and I’ve been getting 220 miles to empty out of a tank,which is amazing as it’s only 14 litres !
 
Done about 1000 miles this week on my T120 to Ardennes and back .
I’m pleased with the bike BUT why do Triumph still insist on fitting shit suspension to a £10k bike ?

I had a Triumph Scrambler in 2008 and that was the same and I remember fitting progressive fork springs and changing the rear shocks and this T120 is no better .

On smooth roads it’s fine but on anything else it kicks you out of the seat on occasion.

I know I can sort it for a few hundred quid but why should you have too ?

Shame ,as the motor is lovely,it’s comfy for long days in the saddle and I’ve been getting 220 miles to empty out of a tank,which is amazing as it’s only 14 litres !

Yep

Thought you might come to that conclusion after your trip

Same for me, love the bike but the suspension has to get changed
 
The harshness of the ride on that Scrambler added to it's demise......
 
Right then, I’ve ordered some bits

Got a pair of Wilbers progressive fork springs coming from here:
http://www.mecadata.com/3135065-ressorts-fourche-wilbers-triumph-bonneville-t-120-du-01-16

And a pair of IKON 7610 series shocks coming from here:
(Cheaper than the French importer)
http://www.classicbike-raisch.de/en/triumph-lc-16/news-triumph-lc/1373/ikon-for-bonni-streett.?c=176

I went for the IKONs over Bitubo and YSS finally as they have progressive springs, finger adjustable rebound damping and an old style cam preload adjuster rather than threaded rings, so they are quick and easy to set for 1 or 2 up riding :thumb2

I’ve read a lot of good reviews about them and of course they look “period” for the bike

Thanks to Andres for suggesting them in another thread
http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php/456876-YSS-or-Bitubo?highlight=yss

I’ll see how it feels once they arrive and I get a chance to fit them :nenau
 
Dropped the new fork springs in tonight, took about half an hour ......here's how if you're going to do it yourself

You will need: a ratchet or torque wrench if you're posh, a 30mm socket, a 14mm open ended spanner,, a 5mm Allen key, a coat hanger


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Pop the bike on the center stand, no need for a lift or straps

Put a towel or something on the tank to avoid tears before bedtime

Do 1 side at a time to keep the forks extended

Just crack the 5 mm Allen screws holding the levers and they can be moved out of the way enough to do the job

Undo the left fork cap and remove in order, one steel spacer tube, one plate washer, one plastic spacer tube, a second plate washer and finally the spring (use the coat hanger to make a hook)

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Put the new spring in with the tight coils at the top

Put all the bits back in in the right order and tighten the cap back down

The right hand fork has the damping rod inside

Undo the fork cap then crack off the 14 mm lock nut underneath it, now you can unscrew the fork cap from the end of the damping rod

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Remove in order, one plastic spacer tube, one plate washer, the spring

Put the new spring and all the bits back in the right order

Screw the fork cap back on to the damping rod then tighten the lock nut up underneath it

Screw the fork cap back down

Position your levers and nip the Allen screws back up

Job's a good 'un
 
No change to the oil grade or air gap then?

No, didn't want to go to the trouble of dropping the forks out and I don't think there are any drain plugs
Wilbers recommend SAE 5 and the factory oil is 10 so not too heavy

The ride is improved and the steering and stability are greatly improved with just the springs,

it goes where you want with far less effort and holds a line much better

I'm surprised at the improvement as I haven't received the shocks yet so the back end is still like a pogo stick
 
No, didn't want to go to the trouble of dropping the forks out and I don't think there are any drain plugs
Wilbers recommend SAE 5 and the factory oil is 10 so not too heavy

The ride is improved and the steering and stability are greatly improved with just the springs,

it goes where you want with far less effort and holds a line much better

I'm surprised at the improvement as I haven't received the shocks yet so the back end is still like a pogo stick

Report further when you fit the shocks .Ta
 
Report further when you fit the shocks .Ta

Put the shocks on but haven't had time to test them much as yet

I did go for a first test ride on a particularly shite bumpy bit of road I know with lots of bends where even the GS feels rough
The ride was greatly improved straight out of the box on the 1st preload position but the steering had slowed maybe a tad , it didn't bottom out at all but was maybe a tad soft

I set the Preload to 2 out of 3 which quickened the steering back up nicely and set the rebound damping to 2 out of 4
I then basically rode it like a mental case down the same road and it was great, ended up thrashing the tits off the poor thing, first time it's ever been red lined

Not had chance to try it 2 up yet but I have plenty of adjustment left if I need any, I'm nicely in the middle of the operating range of the shocks, I chose the IKONs because I can adjust them in seconds if I need to

Very pleased with the over all result so far, the ride is much smoother than stock and the handling is far lighter and far more precise, definitely money well spent, the bike now feels as it should have done from the factory

Crappy iPhone pic:
 

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Put the shocks on but haven't had time to test them much as yet

I did go for a first test ride on a particularly shite bumpy bit of road I know with lots of bends where even the GS feels rough
The ride was greatly improved straight out of the box on the 1st preload position but the steering had slowed maybe a tad , it didn't bottom out at all but was maybe a tad soft

I set the Preload to 2 out of 3 which quickened the steering back up nicely and set the rebound damping to 2 out of 4
I then basically rode it like a mental case down the same road and it was great, ended up thrashing the tits off the poor thing, first time it's ever been red lined

Not had chance to try it 2 up yet but I have plenty of adjustment left if I need any, I'm nicely in the middle of the operating range of the shocks, I chose the IKONs because I can adjust them in seconds if I need to

Very pleased with the over all result so far, the ride is much smoother than stock and the handling is far lighter and far more precise, definitely money well spent, the bike now feels as it should have done from the factory

Crappy iPhone pic:

Great.Thanks for that.
 


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