Featured I Have Been Re-sprung!

After much research on compatible parts as far as the forks go (thank you Steve Jordan, in particular Charlotte - you earn't your money!) I settled on an Ohlins cartridge kit since they were one of the only manufacturers who could assure that it would fit a 2018 T100, and without modification. Andreani were less certain although they were my first choice based on cost alone.
The rears were a little easier and Nitron was chosen in a classic finish. I like how discreet the adjusters are on the forks and I tried to emulate the OE rear shocks with the Nitron parts.





These were ordered with springs to suit my weight and set up with me on the bike with correct sag set and some arbitrary settings to see how I go. The difference is profound, I can't give a scientific analysis but I can say that the ride is beautifully damped and well controlled. Looking forward to putting some miles on it

 

I'm a few hundred miles or so on from fitting now and, having ridden predominantly on the UK's typical B roads and single track lanes, I remain impressed and very happy with this setup. The bike compares favourably to my Thruxton R, accepting the fundamental differences between the two. The feeling of quality components is unmistakably present. Each end of the Bonneville is pretty terrible in stock trim on challenging road surfaces although will feel OK on smooth surfaces where it's not having much asked of it. The current Street Cup has KYB equipment at each end, does yours? I'm not sure who makes the parts for the T100.

Andreani cartridges and a pair of Hagons most expensive option for the rear would come in at about £1000+fitting at a guess. I went round in circles so many times I ended up deciding to do the best I could for the bike, I didn't want to find myself thinking should I have done this or that after the event. Andreani couldn't confirm compatibility for my bike but they may be able to for yours.

Speaking for the T100, these changes put the bike a quantum leap ahead of standard spec. I'm not going to rattle on about needing the parts I chose specifically because I think the T100/T120 has nothing more than low end budget suspension hardware as standard, it's not hard to improve on that and there's a few options available from good manufacturers. I'm not sure if the Cup is as woeful as these from the factory.

As an aside, it's pretty poor when you look at what the Street Triples get as standard for similar money for example. This tells you what Triumph think of each genre's respective owners and what's important to them. They must know themselves, they're fitting cartridges to some of the 2019 bikes now, albeit very basic ones but nonetheless, they've made changes.

 

Steve Jordan Motorcycles, Great Bookham near Leatherhead.