New T120 First Impressions

I’ve had the T120 Bonneville for a few days now and have done around 100 miles solo and another 250 miles with my wife on the back. Here’s my first impressions.


It’s difficult not to compare a new bike with what you’re used to but it’s clearly nothing like the FJR or any other bike I’ve ever owned. All my main road bikes for well over 35 years have been Japanese 4 cylinder configurations. There have been slight departures – 4 stroke single cylinder enduro bikes on and off road and a good few 2 stroke enduro bikes that were used completely offroad. My Suzuki GT500 is a parallel twin but I’m not counting that it as it’s so far removed from what the Triumph is there’s no comparison. I’ve never owned a 4 stroke twin (parallel or otherwise) other than a BSA A7 that never ran. I’ve ridden plenty of 4 stroke twins mainly in the distant past and the new T120 feels like none of them that I remember. The engine does however feel very similar to the feel and sound of a Ducati but much more refined than any Ducati I’ve ever ridden.

I picked the bike up from Shirlaws in Aberdeen and true to their word it was delivered in August. It was immaculately prepared.

The blatantly obvious and bad bit: The T120 offers absolutely no weather protection to either rider or passenger as was proved by our drenching on our 250 mile trip yesterday in rain that on the FJR would have left me with wet gloves and maybe some seepage up the sleeve. Colette would have likely had damp feet on the FJR instead of being soaked through.

The seat is ok but not great but then what standard seat is? The riding position is very comfortable and the mirrors give an excellent view behind. I was a bit concerned about the rear suspension, thinking that it would maybe be a bit weedy for carrying a passenger but with the pre-load adjusted to one notch from the top it coped well on all roads. The tubed tyres (would have preferred tubeless rims) are a re-hash of Pirelli Phantoms but thankfully without the originals lack of grip in the wet. They grip well in both wet and dry.

The bike has twin discs up front and a disc at the back. The brakes are up to the job of stopping and have ABS. The bike has a fly by wire throttle which took a few minutes to get used to, particularly at low rpm but it wasn’t bad – just different.


The bike produces just under 80BHP which by my normal reckoning is way below weedy but the Torque figure of just under 80 lb/ft is very close to what my Fireblade had. It also makes peak torque at 3200 rpm and Triumph claim that from 2000 rpm to close to the redline it makes 90% of it’s peak.

Riding the bike bears out these claims – it pulls well from 2000 revs in any gear. The first 300 miles were limited to 4K rpm and to be honest I wasn’t left wishing that I had more but when I reached 300 miles and could use another 1000 rpm the bike came even more alive. The gearbox is as good as any I’ve ever used and while all the torque could make using the gearbox almost redundant old habits die hard and I preferred to keep it above 3500. The handling is good though after years on 17” front wheels the 18 incher seems a bit slow to change direction. It’s not a problem, it just means a slight adjustment to riding style. It is great fun on corners and though the pegs seem fairly low, so far I’ve managed not to ground them.


The bike has traction control. I have no idea why. It also has a rain mode and road mode. Triumph say rain mode offers full power but a much softer throttle response. I tried it briefly and it made the engine completely gutless. I won’t be using it again. As far as I’m concerned, they are just gimmicks on a bike like this that are cheap to offer. I’ve never felt the requirement for TC or rain mode on the FJR and even on the Fireblade with close to 180 BHP on tap, if it rains ease off on the power.


The big question is Do I like the bike?


The answer is a definitive YES!! I love it and can’t wait till it’s fully run in. The engine is a gem and the frame, brakes and suspension compliment it perfectly. It’s also nice to have some chrome to polish.

 

Yes I still have the FJR and it's here to stay. Also got an old GT500 Suzuki. Similar circumstances to you - kids gone, worked my butt off for years and finally got a bit of spare cash for toys. I don't feel guilty. Like you say we're only here once and I've done my bit and still do it, so what the hell. I had a Fireblade and that's what I traded in for the T120. The Honda had to go - too old (55) to go to jail! My philosophy regarding road bikes has always been more power, more performance but since I got my old Suzuki I've rediscovered that bikes don't need to go at warp speed to be enjoyed.

The FJR is the bike my wife and me have toured Europe on loads of times and will remain the bike for holidays and long journeys but I had a very pleasant 100 miles in and around Royal Deeside on the Bonneville after work last night. The same roads I would have ridden the Fireblade on but without the relentless urge to use all the crazy performance it offered.

I hope you enjoy your bike as much as I have so far. If you can afford more than 1 bike then why not?

 

My wife and me have Rev-it textile suits with Goretex liners and they have for the most part kept us dry for 5 years. They failed dismally on the Bonneville. Faced with spending a fortune on new gear that might not be a massive improvement we thought we'd give the old suits another chance by treating the suits with Nikwax on the recommendation of the Triumph dealer. If it makes a noticeable difference I'll get back. Most of our wet weather riding over the last few years has been on an FJR1300 which does offer a fair bit of weather protection and has possibly made our suits seem better than they actually are. In a world where money is no object we'd probably have Rukka gear but at over £3500 to suit us both up I think we'll just have to keep getting wet.

In the 80's we used to have one piece Belstaff plastic over suits. There was no pretence of breathability and they were hellish to wear if it was warm but they did a great job of keeping the rain out. Nobody seems to do anything remotely similar these days which is a pity.