Suspension - Speed Twin 2018/t120/thruxton (non R)/street Twin 2019 - Budget "stage 1" Option

Hi guys,

New member and it's been suggested on the Newbie's thread that I post here regarding suspension on the Speed Twin and associated models.

A quick scan has shown a fair few conversations on the suspension with most centered around full cartridge install up front and shock changes for big brand names at rear - which is a great mod but also quite expensive.

I thought it may be of use for me to post my budget version, the reasons behind it and what to expect in case it's of use for those that are considering changing but are reluctant to spend 1.5k on suspension just yet.

I detail it all out but wanted to keep this brief introduction thread short and sweet.

My upgrade is centered around the Speed Twin but I believe the same options are available for the Street Twin (and it's variants), Bonny and Thruxton (non-R).

The modifications I've made cost a grand total of £410 and give full preload adjustability, rear height setting and rear rebound adjustability.

Details to follow.

 

Okay. So a bit of background (will try to keep it short but mindful to give the relevant details)...

My most recent bikes have been sport/sport naked bikes and therefore my preference on suspension is coming from this influence rather than a more cruiser/comfort background.

My previous 2010 Street Triple R had near perfect suspension for me. My more recent bike (now sold on), an XSR900 was far less so and I ended up swapping out the rear shock and fitting an SSK piston kit to the front.
This decision came after much deliberation with a local suspension specialist as to what I needed to achieve my goals.

It came down to, as always, cost/benefit.
Essentially is the costly adjustable set up front and back always needed. Or can smaller mods achieve the desired outcome.
In some cases, and certainly in my case with the last bike, the cheaper upgrade afforded me about 90% of what I was looking for but at about 1/3 of the cost to achieve 100%.

With that lesson learned I've gone the same, "budget" route with the Speed Twin.
And the same options apply to many in the Twin range.

The items I went for are;
- YSS Rear Shocks
- Tec Bike Progressive Springs
- Tec Bike Pre Load Adjusters

The outcome I am aiming for is performance while retaining the relative comfort of the Speed Twin compared to my previous, far harsher/sport orientated bikes.

If this is something that you'd like to achieve with your Twin I'll be detailing it all in this thread for all those interested.

Front fork upgrade is done and set up. Rear shocks will be fitted next week.
I'll detail the fitting and outcomes in the hope it's of use to any others.

One thing to note and to be clear on - my aim is performance. If you are aiming for a plusher ride, or more comfort over stock the changes I made may not necessarily achieve this.
They may well do (I will report back to confirm) but for me the focus is on performance as I find the stock comfort level fine for my needs.

Updates will follow shortly. Starting with fitment review and initial thoughts.

Hopefully the monologues will be useful!

Cheers

 

That would have been sweet! I have ordered via Brook Suspension.
Although just chasing them as it appears its taking a while to process (in fairness I assume due to the Covid working requirements things are slow).

By chance how much discount would you have been able to get? Just in case the order does indeed fall through/delayed.

Also thank you for offering regardless, very much appreciated.

 

I have no issue with you making some money too - completely makes sense.

I did speak to Wemoto and would have actually been ordering from them (I spoke to Liam who was really helpful) however they didnt have them directly in stock had had to back order which was a 25 working day delay unfortunately - that is for the all black specifically. I think they have the silver in stock.
Being as I wanted the black and also wanted to get them on soon (before a trip) I went for a site that had them in stock.

Will note this for the future however!

 

The YSS shocks are now fitted.

I know some aftermarket shocks have and clearance issues. I can confirm the YSS RZ390 (Thruxton 1200) shocks do not.
Photos attached show the clearance.
I've also uplladee a photo to show a visal comparison of the stock Vs YSS shock.

Overall this budget suspension upgrade has been very much worth it.
The total parts list came to £430 which included the Tec Bike Parts progressive springs and fork top preload adjusters (£120 from Tec Bike) and YSS RZ 390 rear shocks (£310 from Brook Suspension).

The setup improves the handling, removes the majority of the fork dive under breaking and increases the overall feedback of the bike.
It allows the rider to set the sag correctly front and back (35 and 25 set on mine currently).
The rear also gives rebound setting adjustability (32 clicks).
And the rear shock has the bonus that it allows easy access to the preload compared to the stock shock, a big plus in itself.

For these improvements there is a slight trade off in that the suspension is overall a little more harsh than stock. However this is to be expected when improving handling.
Arguably there is an option to improve the handling and retain some more plushness via a fully adjustable set up front and back but this is at a cost of £1600 Vs £430 spent here on the budget option.

So for those looking for a cheap way to upgrade the stock suspension front and back this is definitely a combination worth considering.

This upgrade would likely offer similar results for the Street Twin, T100, T120, Thruxton 1200 (non R) and any other water cooled twin that doesn't have high end adustable suspension as stock.

Please note this particular set up I can confirm is a direct fit for the Speed Twin. And as it's designed for the Thruxton a direct fit for that hike too.
For other Triumph models it may be worth checking the fitment and if spacers are needed etc.

Note the 390 standard length of these rear shocks will alter the geometry of the Speed Twin (to that of a Thruxton).
To keep the geometry the same as stock the shocks need to be adjusted to their shortest length (385mm) before installing on the Speed Twin.

That's it for my upgrade. I'll leave this open so hopefully others will add their own, different, suspension upgrades and experience for the Speed Twin (and sister models).

And I'll dip in to answer questions for those that ask in the future.

Next upgrade is the brakes with potentially a Brembo RCS master cylinder but that is for another thread.

 

Hi,

Yes very happy for the money spent. The YSS are a much stiffer shock which would be my only complaint. At 166 you're about the same weight as one of my riding friends who has a Speed 2 as well (though stock suspension).
I'll see if I can set the sag up right for him on my bike and if so that will give you a good indicator that the YSS will be fine for you.

For the money though at my weight (85kg without kit) it works really well. Performance wise it's great.
The front does its job. It isn't perfect but you have to be riding seriously hard on public roads to even push it too much - it no longer dives hard under braking which is my main concern.
The rear performs really well. A world away from stock. But some comfort has been sacrificed.

For the perfect lower cost set up I'd probably have gone fully adjustable rear just for the potentially added comfort adjustability.
But you have to accept some loss of comfort - performance increases need stiffer suspension.

As for what fits.
YSS shocks made for a 1200 thruxton do. Any 1200 thruxton shock should fit really but be wary of clearance issues.
Nitron and KTech do Speed Twin specific shocks.

Forks you are more limited as the Speed Twin differs from the 1200 Thruxton I believe (not just the R which has a different fork but the standard thruxton which looks a similar fork isn't a direct correlation).
Tec Bike do the springs and preload Adjusters (that I have).
I think others do similar too.
Outside of that it's a full cartridge kit.

If you have any questions just drop me a direct message.