Triumph Bonneville, Good or Bad
 

Hi
I'm off to the bikeshop to have a look at a late model Triumph Bonneville for a friend, i've never worked on one and don't know to much about them so if any one can let me know a few points to look out for, ie the good bits and the bad bits. Cheers Skip

Hi skip, a lot of bonnys suffer from warped brake discs, these will be changed under warranty if the bike is under 2 years old.
Also, take the bike for a spin and accelerate from about 2,000 rpm in top gear, this will show up any ign coil problems in the form of a missfire, this is another common problem with bonnys.
Service intervals are 6000 miles with a major service every 12000 miles.
Its a good idea to remove the secondary air system from the engine as this will make it idle smoother and help stop the exhaust downpipes from turning blue (only takes half an hour), this applys to carb models only as it cant be removed from the new fuel injected models as the ecu relies on it to help keep a stable idle.
Let us know how you get on.

Hi Adrian
Thanks for the info, my mate put a deposit down on a brand new Bonneville so it looks like i won't need to touch it for a while. Thanks Skip

New Bonnies are Great!!!!!!!!!!.
 

I've had my ,T100 790cc Centennial Bonnie 4 years now bought new in in 2003.
Rode it stock 3500 miles down to scicily and back from London UK via France,Italy,Austria,Germany,Holland,Belgium,Luxem bourg in 13 days averaging 85mph on Motorways somedays 5-6 hours a day with only fuel stops.
Most reliable , easy to fix bike I've ever owned.
With regards to the advice to rev it from 2000rpm etc etc. Don't do that until you've completed the running in period and the 500 mile service and oil change.
The dealer uses a special low viscocity oil just for the running in period.
During the running in period follow the makers instructions.

You'll love it.
Enjoy.

Jon (UK):thumbup1:

:welcome: So pleased to hear that the new type Bonnevilles are better than the ones originally turned out from Meriden, I brought a new Meriden Bonneville in 1979, it was a 1978 model and between change-overs, ie T140E with MK2 carbs, points ignition and Smiths clocks. After 11000 miles the timing side main bearing failed, then again 8000 miles later, in the end it was found that the crankcases had been machined 'out of line' :censored:
A few gearbox problems etc, and I was on first name terms with Kevin O'Connor in claims and warranty(where are you now Kev?) .
One thing I will 'fondly' remember the bike for was the good people that I met who had stopped for me whilst broken down on the roadside. :scooter: Owning British bikes was a quick way to learn mechanics fast:rofl:

tell me about it, i brought a 'restored' customed T140v as a toy. total rewire, rebuild carbs, blasting grit removed from oil tank & swing arm bearings, new oil pump, exhausts that fell of replaced with ones that fit & so on. i finally have a nice toy for sunny days, it even did 900miles in 3 days touring wales with almost nothing coming off.:funmeteryes:

back in the sixties for over two years I rode my bike (500 cc Triumph) from where I was stationed in Norfolk back to Cornwall ( 435 miles each way) during that time I had one failure, clutch cable broke one friday evening just as I got off the A11 at the intersection with the A406. I rode it al the way home without one. I never expected to break down, a friend and I went all over the england and scotland one summer, he on a 500 cc Velocette. Mind you a 1961 Velocette 500 still holds the world record for teh most distance covered in 24 hours.

Yes, but mine and 'hooli's' Triumphs were 'thrown together' in the 70's in the days of the Workers co-operative....a totally different company attitude.

The crazy thing is I actually loved it, it taught me a lot!:thumbup1:

Jon, i appologise, maybe i didnt explain myself properly, the advice on how to check for faulty ignition coils is relevant to second hand bonnys only as there is no need to check a brand new bike! (new bonnys use improved coils)
Also the bikes do not come with low viscosity oil for running in purposes, they are filled with mobil 1 4t 15w50 at the factory and then they are run on the dyno to for a couple of minutes, the oil is then drained and the bike is sent to the dealership where it is refilled with either mobil 1 4t 15w50 or castrol gps 10w40, this oil is drained at the first service and refilled with mobil 1 racing 15w50 or castrol racing 4t 10w50 (both api sh rated).
I agree with you that they are one of the easiest bikes to work on and they will be around for many years after some of the more expensive and complicated bikes are long gone.

Triumph Bonneville
 

Hi All,

I have a carby T100 Bonneville purchased in April 2007 and I love it to bits, but the rust which is starting to appear is really pissing me off.

I'm in Melbourne, Australia and the bike has only see rain once and that was in New Zealand at the beginning of December.

Considering the $15,000approx it cost me I'm not happy about the rust blush on almost every piece of chrome except the engine cover on the rhs.

I'll be visiting the dealer when the bike gets back from NZ next week.

My Jap bike (Kawasaki ZRX1200s) is nearly 6 years old and there's bugger-all rust on it and I've never coated it with any rust inhibitor or even polished it.

PM sent
 

Hi, i sent you a pm.

Triumph Bonneville,good or bad?
 

Heres a picture of my Bonny all kitted up for my ride from England to NZ this year.I am only waiting for a Metal Mule top box to arrive to complete it.Most bits of the bike, other than the engine have been modified.I bought the bike from Norman Hyde, who had it as a test bed and demonstrator for some of his products.It is sold as a Bonny GT, and most of the mods he'd made suited what I needed.It comes with a 5 gallon tank, urgraded front and rear shocks,better quality front brake (AP Racing),steering damper,front fork yolk,Givi screen,higher bars, better (louder) pipes giving a bit more power.Things I've done are,heated grips, Garmin 550 satnav,Acumen alarm and gear change indicator,voltmeter,sump guard,more comfortable seat,barkbusters,engine protector bars,mirror extenders,better air filter(able to be cleaned and reused on the road,Mk2 metal mules ( nice but expensive),inline fuel filter for when you but the petrol out of 44 gallon drums,louder horn.I have a spare DID chain and Renthal sprockets to replace the standard ones when they wear.I have a Autocom system fitted so I can listen to music on my satnav while I'm riding.I got a 2007 model as it still has carbs, which would be easier to service if they get dirt in.Its an easy bike to ride, isn't too heavy,gives me 250 on a tank of fuel, feels small for an 850cc, and I love it.I am going to Ireland in May for a test ride, and hope to catch the NW200.After that its over to the Isle of Man for the TT then ,off to Europe for the summer.I'll make my way slowly towards Turkey and then through to Iran for the autumn.

Fancy seeing you here, Andy.

All those mods, and the first thing I notice is the number plate. Retro!

--Mike

Five years ago I killed my F650 in Morocco. I flirted with a Yam XT then got a girlfriend :oops2:. Needing a proper pillion seat I was torn between the Bonneville and an R80GS. The age and carb set up on the GS put me off so I got the Triumph to "GS-erise". I really think I made the right decision. It currently sports a Ural sidecar (got a dog AND fiance now !!) and with the right tyres will literally go anywhere. It is a real practical bike.

It's never failed to get me home, the only real hassle being water in the HT leads (fixed by stripping and greasing). It isn't built as well as some BMW's, but parts the parts that do rot (exhausts etc.) can be bought cheaply due to the number of people aiming for cafe racer looks.

If you want an R80 GS/ST/R type with say a 75/25 road/off-road split and don't want to get into classic territory I'd really reccomend them.

Andy

Bonny,good or bad?
 

Hi Mike, good to see you on the forum.I changed the number plate over because I didn't like the look of the yellow plate on my black and silver bike.I am not exactly sure how legal it is though, as only pre '73 bikes are allowed them.I haven't been stopped yet, and in a few months it wont matter.Also it looks less "British" which might have an advantage going through Iran.

Now got a Bonneville
 

I bought a 2004 Bonneville yesterday off a dealer in Bristol and rode it home to Leicester on a few twisty little A and B roads. Used daily, one owner, 9500 miles, bit road weary but got a great deal, well I think so.

I agree about the misfire, so the ignition coil is the culprit, is it. Thanks for that piece of advice.

I found it was happiest between 50-70mph, loads of fun, really nice to ride, but it bounced around like crazy on one stretch of poorly-maintained B-road. Rear shocks perhaps?

Loved the look of Andy's Bonnie but don't need something quite so radical. Thinking of a MCResources rack and luggage frames as I don't have the expertise to fabricate something myself. Then get a cheap top box and panniers off ebay, lots of choice, but the panniers will have to slant away to clear the rear shocks, won't they?

It already has a Scottoiler, needs a screen, can't really afford a bash plate or centre stand, don't need a tacho or voltmeter, or a satnav.

Looking forward to doing the little jobs on it that I can and paying the dealer half my life savings to do the jobs I can't.

Indoors.

P.S. Sat next to a bloke on the train who works at Hinckley. Most bikes are now made in Thailand with only a few things done here, Bonneville production is moving there shortly or has already gone... and they have about three years worth of unsold Rocket IIIs sitting in a warehouse.

Ironic that you should mention the rear shocks, Indoors. I've just come online to let this thread know that I just snapped.. a rear shock! 32,500 miles of European tarmac -- including the potholes and speed-dampers of Spain and Portugal -- and it was an ugly pothole in the town of Peniscola (stop giggling) that did for the shock.

Good news:
there's a great little bike shop in the next town, and one of the mavhanics had his own Tiger in the workshop, so I had Triumph-friendly help and advice.. and an Imperial set of sockets. Non-Triumph shocks fitted within two days.

Bad news:
the danged things are no good. Every bump bigger than the proverbial pea and something very hard hits something very hard somewhere under the seat. Nursed the bike on smoothest roads I could find 100 miles to Barcelona and taking it straight to a Triumph workshop in the morning. My wallet is quaking with fear..

(Still love the bike, though).

Anyone tried Ikon rear shocks?
 

Bad news Mike. Hope your dealer can work it out. But before they broke, where they any good?

I'm a firm believer of 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it', but some people recommend Ikon shocks. They're available worldwide for about £250-300 a set but don't know anything else about them.

The distributor in Spain is: NATXO BARRAL
Poligono 26, Donosti ibilbidea 78
E-20115 Astigarraga (Spain)
P: +34 943 336384
P: +34 670 292999
F: +34 943 336485
E: bmw@natxobarral.com
W: www.natxobarral.com

In the UK, Norman Hyde, among others, also supply them.

Good luck.

Indoors.

I have a pair of Ikons on my Bonny, they came with the bike from Norman Hyde.They are fully adjustable for damping and preload.Also the front fork brace and steering damper tighten up the front end.I t can all be bought from Norman Hyde ( for a price).I have never ridden any other Bonnys so can't compare mine to a non standard bike, but it handles great and is rock steady cornering.

Like Andy I can't compare because I'm a one bike man.. (just read the thread entitled "Infidelity and promiscuity+ shame" and feeling very dull and boring) but.. i now have secondhand Triumph shocks fitted to the bike by an approved Triumph mechanic. (Don't worry, purists, I got my hands dirty too. A bit.)

It feels like it did, though I have yet to test them fully loaded. I'm in Barcelona and there's just too much else to do!

It's been a pfaff but I'm there now. *fingers crossed*

Indoors -- thanks for the link to the Ikon distributor.

Hand Guards
 

This is for Andy or anyone else who might know.

On Andy's bike, he fitted hand guards (is this what you mean by barkbusters?)

What brand did you get and were they easy to fit?

Indoors.

I cannot give you a direct answer but on my Trophy I had a set of handguards from a Tiger,you may find some later Tiger ones fit.Mine cost about £20 but this was a few years ago.

They are Barkbusters, which is an Australian company.I have 1" handlebars, so had to get the biggest fitting bracket.They took about an hour to fix, mainly because inside my handlebars there were steel plates with the drilling for fitting the bar weights.Once I'd drilled these out it was a matter of tapping in the expander fitting that the barkbusters screw into.I also had to modify the plastic guard slightly to fit round my mirrors,and also move the brake and clutch down slightly so the levers didn't catch the guards.Its sounds fiddly but it wasn't, and now I have a bit of wind protection for my hands, and know that if the bike goes over my levers have some protection.

Thanks Andy, I pretty much want them for wind protection too. I might try and get some basic plastic set off ebay and have a fiddle.

Let us know what works if you could? It's a job on the back burner at the minute but I've been looking for ways to keep handlebar muffs off the levers for the last three winters.

Thanks

Andy

Andy,what I do on the Transalp is remove the standard Honda handguards.These get replaced by some cheapo ebay wrap around barkbuster type things.Over these go some bar muffs.A small hole and a cable tie through each keeps them secure,no flapping in the wind.