I think TEC are great...so helpful and quality products! I'm getting the new scrambler exhaust once I'm back on the road! Did any of you folks enter there photo competition??
It's closed now but you had to take a photo of your bike in all it's TEC goodness and if they like it most you win £250 off parts!! Fingers crossed! Winners being announced this week!
I managed to get time to fit the TEC rear shocks today. A comparison between the stock fitted and the TEC: Changing over to the new shocks was pretty straight-forward, I followed the included instructions plus the YouTube video and here's a before and after: Unfortunately I wasn't able to get a ride afterwards, but will post back when I have. A couple of observations in the interim for anyone getting these: the mounting bolts are thread-locked in and are very stiff to get loosened the correct torque setting for the mounting bolts is 28Nm (I don't think this is mentioned in the guides) the air valves have a dust cap and both of them were loose, so I tightened them & put a drop of Loctite on R
It is important to use threadlock on the fixing bolts. The constant movement of the suspension when riding can loosen them. Put a small paint dot on the bolt head after torquing up to 28 Nm for visual checking.
Thanks Mick, I did Loctite the bolts but hadn't thought about the visual marking: will do that too. R
No problem, quick peace of mind check before and after riding. Let us know how the new suspension feels. I have recently put Hagons on the rear after 9 months of trying to convince myself I would get used to the OEM shocks, the difference is very noticeable, planning to fit progressive springs in the front next.
Great stuff Ralphy, before I even saw this I was decided on getting a full set and this has confirmed it even more. What was the delivery time? And like Mick said don't forge to tell us about the ride
They arrived the next day! George did forwarn me to give the shocks a while to 'bed in' with use, so I'll put a few miles on her first and then update this thread with my observations.
Are they simple to fit. The oil damper side appears straight forward (thanks you tube) however is the process similar on the gas damper side fork. Cheers
Shocks with a separate reservoir are always gonna be a big improvement over all in ones, but I'm staggered at the low pricing! Bargain of the year I reckon. Nice one lads
I had these earmarked after delboy gave them the thumbs up but at the time hadn't ever riden the bonny. So i rode the bonny and thought the stock set up was comical, i find suspension hard to explain but i guess the words wallowing whale just about do it. After getting my possitioning better on the bike and adjusting the rear shocks everything has turned to wallowing but also jarring at the same time. I'm still messing around with stock set up with these tecs in the back of my mind, can anyone explain how they are better? And for what type of riding too?
I fitted Hagon shocks on the back which are made to suit your weight and riding style. I then fitted Hagon progressive springs up front and 7.5 fork oil. The difference in ride comfort and handling is massively improved and for a total spend of ~ £230 a no-brainer. TEC will be cheaper than that and probably do just the same job. Personal choice in supplier but definitely worth doing.
I rode my thruxton with a standard set-up all last year until I purchased TEC progressive springs up front and rear gas shocks. Just this lunchtime tried it out , and it feels alot more planted and secure across the country bumps and dips. Steering i feel has also improved- for very little money its a great upgrade I would recommend.
I fitted the TEC basic shocks (not gas filled) as I didn't want to change the look of the Bonnie too much. They are a definite improvement over stock as they are progressive and give a smoother ride - takes away that jarring effect the originals had. Now fitted TEC progressive springs up front and the difference is very noticeable over the original ride. The bike feels smoother all round, more stable (not that it ever felt unstable if that makes sense) and better in the corners. Tested them over a couple of days riding now and am very pleased. Delboy does a video for this but he has to cut down the inner tubes as TEC didn't do the springs for the mag wheel bonnies then. However, they are now made for the SE and come with shorter tubes in the kit, so no cutting is involved. Easy job (follow Delboy - he explains it better than I can - but forget the measuring and cutting bit now). It is quite hard to press down on the fork top cap whilst compressing the spring down and tightening it at the same time without cross threading becoming involved. I got round this by holding the 22mm socket on the cap with the end of the handle of my socket wrench and pushing down whilst gently tightening the socket with my other hand (I used a latex glove to get the grip). Once I had worked this out, the second one was done in minutes.
I had the same trouble as you did regarding the cross threading of the fork top caps. In fact, one of them had small aluminium shavings inside after I got it off (which means I didn't do it - it came as such from factory). Having those floating around the fork oil doesn't seem like a good thing... I wonder why Triumph used such a fine thread on those caps.
You must have had a little bit of pre-load then Steve, I take it your forks were fully extended when fitting the top cap ? I had to cut the tubes when fitting my Hagon progressive springs to match the same overall length of the OEM springs. Took about 16mm off the tubes from memory. I am reasonably used to mechanical assemblies so did not find the caps too difficult to fit, although there was probably about 6-8mm of pre-load. It is making sure you keep them dead square and gently feel the thread engage, I had taken my fork legs off the bike so it made it a lot easier to press down. I have since seen that TEC do adjustable top caps which look good if you are wanting easy adjustment. (Delboy youtube) The difference with front and back suspension upgrade is marvelous and relatively inexpensive at a total of £230
