Bonnie Shocks - Why Are They Considered To Be Bad?

Discussion in 'Bonneville' started by MartyWilson, Sep 2, 2020.

  1. MartyWilson

    MartyWilson Guest

    #21 MartyWilson, Sep 5, 2020
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 5, 2020
    I have to admit that I had never heard of Kayaba/KYB before getting my Bonnie's. Wikipedia claim that they are one of the world's largest suspension manufacturers? I am not really a tinkerer except on visuals as I don't consider myself in any way qualified to know what is and isn't good from an engineering standpoint and generally just take whatever a vehicle has to offer and learn it's idiosyncracies. In my youf I did play around with a lot of things like air filters, jets, exhausts, suspension sprockets etc. etc. based on what others said made improvements but hand on heart I can't honestly say that I ever really and truly noticed any earth shaking difference between before and after.

    Maybe I'm just an insensitive big brute (certainly been called that a few times) but I rarely feel the differences others do between set-ups. Strange thing is that I feel that I could get a knee down on the Bonnie if I wanted but, if I tried it on my Sprint I get the feeling I would be in the weeds in the blink of an eye.
     
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  2. MyEvilTwin

    MyEvilTwin Well-Known Member

    Mar 14, 2020
    271
    63
    Sugartown Cabaret
    This is the probably the crux of this thread really. Variables such as bike ergo, riding style, handling preference, etc...all produce different recommendations. I agree on TEC tho, they look on the low end imo. If one does upgrade get quality product, which is not always indicative of price.
     
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  3. brown mouse

    brown mouse Elite Member

    Sep 15, 2018
    2,288
    943
    East Midlands, UK
    I read that first as 'biker ego' and it didn't immediately seem irrelevant to the subject under discussion ;)
     
  4. MartyWilson

    MartyWilson Guest

    I think that ergonomics probably does have a lot to do with it. Being fairly tall, trying to hunker down over the tank requires moving my backside over the strap and into what would be pillion territory if I carried such creatures and, even sitting normally I am fairly far back in the saddle so I guess I am probably more over the shocks than the forks. As far as fork dive is concerned I probably don't ever hit my brakes hard enough to cause them to bottom out in normal practice and in emergencies I tend to stomp the rear far more heavily than I do the front. Never locked a front wheel yet and hope I never will.
     
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  5. Notso

    Notso Senior Member

    Dec 17, 2018
    634
    243
    Solihull
    It's Road and Race Performance in Meridan.
    http://www.roadandraceperformance.co.uk/
     
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  6. triumph900

    triumph900 Active Member

    Dec 24, 2017
    122
    43
    US
    If I wasn’t eating my third cheeseburger this AM, I’d take offense to that! :D
     
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  7. Wire-Wheels

    Wire-Wheels Elite Member

    Apr 26, 2019
    2,497
    800
    California - USA
    I agree.the rear is a bit stiff on pot.holes and.such, but the up side.is it does not bottom out. I am more critical of.the stock front brake. Up graded mine.
    ...J.D.
     
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  8. MartyWilson

    MartyWilson Guest

    I am a wee bit puzzled by the front brake. I have two 2001's with one of them having been built in 2000 (It was registered in January 2001) and the other which was registered in September 2001. The late 2001 bike has a quite 'progressive' front brake. It does the job but you really need a good handful if you want to stop in a hurry and the caliper is recorded as having had a full re-build last year but the Early built one has a firm front brake that comes on hard from the first squeeze on the lever. Both bikes have exactly the same calipers, discs, master cylinders and hoses so I wonder why they behave so differently.
     
  9. dilligaf

    dilligaf Guest

    Different pads?:confused:
     
  10. MartyWilson

    MartyWilson Guest

    I wouldn't have thought so unless the bike had really bad pads and I know the bike with the 'progressive' brakes had new pistons and seals fitted because the brake was felt to be too spongy. I wonder if, perhaps. it could be the hydraulic hose ballooning a bit?
     
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  11. Callumity

    Callumity Elite Member

    Feb 25, 2017
    3,358
    800
    Nr Biggar
    Could be fluid of different ages and more air bubbles in one than t’other. I would replace the fluid in the ‘squidgy bike’ before replacing a hose. They are braided from new and if lightly used and stored out of direct sunlight should still be serviceable...... just.
     
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  12. MartyWilson

    MartyWilson Guest

    The bike with the squidgy brakes has only done just under 8,000 miles where the one with the firm front brake has done 15000. I didn't overhaul the 'squidgy' one myself. It's noted in the bike's history along with the receipts for parts and labour. You would hope that a decent motorcycle mechanic would have sorted it out but, then again, there's a reason that I have always preferred to do the work on my bikes myself.
     
  13. Wire-Wheels

    Wire-Wheels Elite Member

    Apr 26, 2019
    2,497
    800
    California - USA
    For the most part I do all my own. My philosophy is if you cannot work on it, you should not own it. ...J.D.
     
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  14. Jadorff

    Jadorff Noble Member

    Apr 14, 2019
    879
    443
    Adelaide Australia
    well I bought the Bonney because it reminds me of the bikes when I was kid in the 60and 70s but with a bit of the modern technology I am 68 if I wanted great handling and great surspeshion and brakes I would buy a duke or something similar
     
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  15. MartyWilson

    MartyWilson Guest

    I actually don't mind a 'squishy' brake (I prefer to call it progressive) as I feel it has a much broader and less sensitive range of stopping. You can grab a little or you can grab a handful and you get what you ask for and, as for handling I love the geometry and wheel sizes of the Bonnie. I do genuinely feel very secure throwing a Bonnie into a corner in ways that would scare me on my Triumph Sprint. There is something about the dimensions of the bike and the way my dimensions interact with it that I really 'dig'. On the very twisty and gravelly single track roads around my village I can confidently take my Bonnies up to 70mph before my instinct for self preservation and the risk of something big and boxy coming around the bend travelling in the other direction make me reign it in.
     
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  16. Timothy Peters

    Timothy Peters Senior Member

    Nov 3, 2019
    316
    113
    Palatine, IL USA
    They are not bad but they aren't good with frost heaves or square edge bumps. They have very little rebound control and when ridden briskly kick the back wheel around. In my neck of the woods (outside Chicago) the roads have a lot of frost heaves. The shocks react to quickly and you get that kick up and kick down which just doesn't feel good. Shocks with rebound control let you smooth this kicking feel so the bike doesn't get upset as easily.

    If you don't take the time to dial in the correct sag and adjust the better shocks properly they will ride no better then the stock shocks.
     
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