Featured '17 T100 Shock Upgrade

I did not posted for a long time but now after riding 6K km of my '17 T100 registered in 18, I would like to share my suspension upgrade.

My T100 is fine in the town at low speed but I did not like the road behaviour above 110 KMH and wobbles if the road condition is bumpy so after 1300 KM ride from BKK to Nongkhai, a border town to Laos, I decided to upgrade the front and rear shocks.

At first, I was thinking of installing rear shocks only and thought of Öhlins .
But after a quick search I found YSS also has a several choice for triumph.
As both above brands have a factory in Thailand now, I compared between two brands.

I went to the Triumph dealer to check the actual rear shocks of Öhlins.
At first I was thinking of Öhlins with piggy packs but, alas, that model did not fit mine as I installed Craven Rodark Panniers. The staff said they might be fitted as the sub tank at front but the logo would be inside and
it looks ugly unless I remove the logo, which would look like a copied Öhlins, fitted with small scooters on the street in Thailand.

The dealer also had a pair of simple gas shock Öhlins. But I could not decide on that day.

After going back home and some searches, in Japan, most Öhlins users experienced the leakage of the oil in a few years and I found that some used YSS for the circuit use and had a good experience with more reasonable (many recommended Nitron if the price would be no issue, though.).

So I found it is worth to try so I went to Motor show '19 to make a down payment for installation of the front fork upgrade kit and rear shocks (gas and oil hybrid type) at the YSS factory.

For your reference, I installed
1) Y-FCM38-KIT-06-005 Fork Upgrade Kit for T100 '17>
and
2) RZ362-350TRL-52-J Triumph Bonneville T100 '17> Black/Black

and YSS Fork Oil 20W

I went to the factory at the outskirt of BKK near Suwwanaphumi Airport, which is the other end of the world from my house at 10:00.
There are a service area for the customer who wish to install their products and I saw Ninja 650 for adjustment and Yamaha T-max under installation of the piggy shocks.

The mechanics asked me about my weight and total weight when in tandem and measured with sag meter for the height. They will adjust the preload and spring ratio (if necessary) according to the customer's conditions.
The equipment and tools were well kept so that the customer did not worry about being damaged by inferior spanners or wrenches.


After past noon (it is remarkable that the staffs at work continued to work on, even the lunch time! One of the staff replied to my question that they continue to work so that they do not want the customer wait. What a wonderful care!), the mechanic asked me for a test ride.

First impression was, oh, my God! my bike became very bumpy or rather felt stiff like an original spring folk T100 with a friction damper like my friends'! Though I could use brake more confidently.

I told my impression and the mechanic suggested to soften the rear rebound from 20 to 15 although the front was softest.
2nd trial. Now softer although up to 60 KMH, she still drove like an old friction damper model but I could feel better road holding at rear.

Now 500 KM after installation and I did not go for a long distance yet, but the handling at high speed (above 120 KMH) had no wobbles and more reliability for the road holding and braking.
The front fork became smoother after running-in. I suspect the stiffness is due to the cartridge valves inside the front fork and the fork oil's weight. The original fork oil is 10W but the one from YSS is 20W.

Please have a look of pictures with the front and rear. I will upload them later.
They are understated and not an eye-catcher, though.

Issie

 

Yes, although I have no relation to the company, their standards are global one and very value for money. They had ex-Öhlins technicians as an advisor I understand. Worth to try.

 

I think this modification can be applied to other water cooled Bonneville families.

 

Thank you for your comment. The panniers are from Craven. I had them imported from UK and painted locally by the painter catered for vintage British motorcycles.

 

My thread is not attractive but I hope mine to be another choice of shocks.
P.S. Attached pic is before modifications taken at Bun Nonkoat pond, Khonkean province, April ‘19.

 

My thread is not attractive but I hope mine to be another choice of shocks.
P.S. Attached pic is before modifications taken at Bun Nonkoat pond, Khonkean province, April ‘19.

 

@Tigcraft You can order them new from Craven equipment.

 

Thank you,Joe.
During that trip, I did not take many pictures as the temperature at time was above 43 Celsius and apparently not a nice weather to enjoy.