[FasterSon]

Mighty thanks Nilesh and Ranjit.
Bonnie bottoming out is a serious let down! These bikes are made for very specific needs and they don't seem to be what jawa/yezdi was for Indian roads. Yezdis are for sure comfortable on our roads. That is why triumph had to come out with a specific scrambler bike. Being a Harley rider I have a certain idea of what comfort means for these bike companies. It's a whole different definition for us Indians.
Of course there are suspension mods available, which may make it a little better I guess. I see few bikes on the seconds market with Paoli shocks. Wonder how they ride? If any of you are using them please update.
Hagon's specialises in triumph I guess. I am planning on ordering the top of the line nitro shocks from Hagon's for my Harley. Would be 50k plus. Regular Hagon's for the Bonnie would be 2/3rd of that price.
And also I picked up somewhere that triumph have piggy back shock upgrades too, any reviews?

Ducati, is overpriced for me now. And all the reviews point that it ain't a comfortable regular ride due to its stiff setup and eager throttle response. In one of the forums I came across a description of its ride. He says that for a comfortable rough road ride on these stiff scramblers you have to ride fast, else have to stand up. Not a good idea with a pillion!! Probably that's when it's dampening characteristics and it's quality bike parts shine through.

And as for handlebar position, I somehow feel the high set ones like in scramblers are not comfortable for highway rides (read as - more or less constant position without much dodging). I say this purely from my yezdi model experiences. Of course height and reach would count too. I am 5.6. Roadking with slightly raised bars is quick with directions changes but my shoulder aches if I take it out for a longish ride after a long gap. No such issues with the classic models. Very personal opinion that is though.

I also came across that for regular Europeans for whom these are meant, 'off roading' mostly is mud and slush. Or grass may be? And they would mostly stand for such sessions. So I guess they need these powerful bikes to be stiff and grippy and mainly planted with good manuerability and front feedback. The equivalent term for Indian middle aged guys like me would be actually 'Bad roading'. Jarring and thudding and skidding are some more terms we can find in the same sentence!

My need is regular sturdy comfortable classy city ride which should be highway worthy with a pillion (my 7yr old daughter!)
I too do not feel much for the scrambler styling. Not just the positioning and practicality of the exhaust but I feel it's a bit disproportionate too.

Yes we could argue about it 'till cow came home!' Just wondering about the times when this term was coined! The dust on road against evening breeze would be from the cattle hoofs and not from scrambling scramblers! Good old times.

Any suspension/tyre upgrade reviews on a Bonnie?
Or should I wait for a Mahindra BSA / Jawa? Or may be a errr XSR300?! Or may be a Honda (not scooter!)
Any thoughts for the Interceptor?!

[Nilesh5417]

Originally Posted by FasterSon

My need is regular sturdy comfortable classy city ride which should be highway worthy with a pillion (my 7yr old daughter!)
I too do not feel much for the scrambler styling.
Any thoughts for the Interceptor?!

Bonnie in the T100 form lacks a 6th to be a true mile muncher on the highway. It begs for a 6th!! So T120 it should be if its a triumph.
Or the Interceptor sounds a lot of VFM (never thought i would say this about an RE!) but like all REs, you are better off staying away for atleast 6mths from the launch. Guess you are not in a hurry since you got the Harley. It looks a bit plain jane if you ask me which is a good and a bad thing both depending on how you look at it. Maybe the candy orange color then. But honestly, i dont see anything else except the HD, the interceptor or the Bonnies that will be fun with a 7yr old as a pillion. My son is 8 and its so much easy and safe on a Bonnie with him as a pillion.

[madhukar_n]

Originally Posted by FasterSon

Any suspension/tyre upgrade reviews on a Bonnie?

I have Bonneville T100 from past 2 years. More recently I put in a after market shocks and upgraded the tyres and on the most recent ride(as of yesterday) the difference has been awesome.
T100 OE shocks are stiff and not much adjustments to play around with. So I got a YSS shocks installed. The potholes and humps are more comfortable than the previous one.

I installed a 110/80 R19 and 150/70 R17(courtesy nikhil) metzeler tourance tyres. The confidence it gives especially on the twists and uneven road is amazing.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by Nilesh5417

Bonnie in the T100 form lacks a 6th to be a true mile muncher on the highway. It begs for a 6th!! So T120 it should be if its a triumph.
Or the Interceptor sounds a lot of VFM (never thought i would say this about an RE!) but like all REs, you are better off staying away for atleast 6mths from the launch. Guess you are not in a hurry since you got the Harley. It looks a bit plain jane if you ask me which is a good and a bad thing both depending on how you look at it. Maybe the candy orange color then. But honestly, i dont see anything else except the HD, the interceptor or the Bonnies that will be fun with a 7yr old as a pillion. My son is 8 and its so much easy and safe on a Bonnie with him as a pillion.

It does beg for 6th gear. So I installed 19T Sprocket and it does serve the purpose of making one feel like having a 6th gear. I was happy with it. It is quite an inexpensive modification.

[ranjitnair77]

Originally Posted by FasterSon

Mighty thanks Nilesh and Ranjit.
Bonnie bottoming out is a serious let down! These bikes are made for very specific needs and they don't seem to be what jawa/yezdi was for Indian roads.

All bikes bottom out, given the right conditions. I have never felt this to be an issue on my Bonnie which has gone over 30,000kms in varied road conditions. Sure, you take it easy when the boys on Tigers zip by on horrible roads but that's okay. I hope you are not being serious comparing these bikes to a Jawa or a Yezdi.

Originally Posted by FasterSon

Of course there are suspension mods available, which may make it a little better I guess. I see few bikes on the seconds market with Paoli shocks. Wonder how they ride? If any of you are using them please update.

My friend has upgraded to Paoli's on his T100. He says that it has made the ride better. My other friend who has a stock suspension on his T100 says that the stock suspension is adequate. A suspension upgrade, if you choose to do it is easy. First ride the bike extensively to see how it feels and then upgrade.

Originally Posted by FasterSon

And all the reviews point that it ain't a comfortable regular ride due to its stiff setup and eager throttle response.

This is totally subjective. I've ridden the Scrambler (not the DS) and I liked the eager throttle response and the suspension was okay. It's better to ride it and see if it works for you.

Originally Posted by FasterSon

And as for handlebar position, I somehow feel the high set ones like in scramblers are not comfortable for highway rides (read as - more or less constant position without much dodging).

Not really. The Triumph Street Scrambler has a fantastic handlebar for all kinds of conditions. It felt very comfortable on the highway.

Originally Posted by FasterSon

My need is regular sturdy comfortable classy city ride which should be highway worthy with a pillion (my 7yr old daughter!)
I too do not feel much for the scrambler styling. Not just the positioning and practicality of the exhaust but I feel it's a bit disproportionate too.
Yes we could argue about it 'till cow came home!'

All your doubts will be cleared if you do test drives of a used SE, a new T100, the Street Twin and the Scrambler. Every rider is different. Reviews can only act as pointers but ultimately you need to make the call based on your need. And Triumph is fantastic in the way in which they deal with potential customers.

Originally Posted by FasterSon

Any suspension/tyre upgrade reviews on a Bonnie?

I swapped out the OEM Metzler tyres for Pirelli Sports Demons that are widely available, far less expensive and work very well.

Originally Posted by FasterSon

Or should I wait for a Mahindra BSA / Jawa? Or may be a errr XSR300?! Or may be a Honda (not scooter!)
Any thoughts for the Interceptor?!

Some of these bikes are far away from a potential launch. I wouldn't touch a new RE model until they have ironed out all glitches. The guys who bought the first batch of Himalayans will endorse this.

[FasterSon]

T120 as a regular city bike?! Budget would not allow that either. And there are none in the seconds market. I am in Coimbatore and neither triumph nor Ducati have put up shop here
Yes and yes that interceptor seems the vfm option and probably something better suited for our roads and condition and also that it looks all too plain with those twin pods and minimalistic design. That orange is the most charming colour on a bike I have ever seen. But I would give them atleast 2-3 yrs to tweek and trim that product. A used Bonnie would not be much costlier either.
And a certain norton bike is in the pipelines too! Thoughts about that??

@ Ranjitnair. Make no mistake about me comparing yezdi and triumph sir. I meant only in the cushion for the ride department and how probably triumph suit UK far better than India. True that I will find lot more answers if I ride them all in some detail. But needed some fast answers to decide on some potential choices for now and get some first hand info. Very useful insights I have got from you now.

@ Madhukar, YSS eh? Thanks for sharing that sir How much did they cost? How is the rebound on it when at some pace?
Front suspension mods any?
And sprocket change eh?! I have been wanting to do one on my Harley. Could you please elaborate on it? From what I understand, the earlier 883 had 27-28 tooth sprocket and they where short geared for better acceleration in the last gear. Meaning to be able to stay in top gear and accelerate better once you have decelerated in that gear. Meaning not needing to drop gears. Very suitable for highway rides. But it also meant that I had to change gears frequently in city's variable speeds. The newer 883 superlow come with 29 tooth front sprocket which is slightly more city friendly. Alas they forgot to mention us which city did they have in mind! I want to change to a 31 teeth sprocket for better city usability. I guess the 1200 custom may have that set up. I could not get further info on this from my local dealer. Am I thinking right about this sir?
How much did the sprocket swap cost you? How has the gear ratios changed with it now?

[madhukar_n]

Originally Posted by FasterSon

@ Madhukar, YSS eh? Thanks for sharing that sir How much did they cost? How is the rebound on it when at some pace?
Front suspension mods any?
And sprocket change eh?! I have been wanting to do one on my Harley. Could you please elaborate on it? From what I understand, the earlier 883 had 27-28 tooth sprocket and they where short geared for better acceleration in the last gear. Meaning to be able to stay in top gear and accelerate better once you have decelerated in that gear. Meaning not needing to drop gears. Very suitable for highway rides. But it also meant that I had to change gears frequently in city's variable speeds. The newer 883 superlow come with 29 tooth front sprocket which is slightly more city friendly. Alas they forgot to mention us which city did they have in mind! I want to change to a 31 teeth sprocket for better city usability. I guess the 1200 custom may have that set up. I could not get further info on this from my local dealer. Am I thinking right about this sir?
How much did the sprocket swap cost you? How has the gear ratios changed with it now?

Generally from my basic knowledge - one less teeth than OE in the sprocket will be good for city ride and one extra teeth than OE will give you the good alternative for freeway riding like adding a 6th gear. The lower the tooth, more acceleration and less top speed. So probably good for city. I have done 1000 kms on the new sprocket and i see a good amount of difference. The cost is about 3000.

The YSS shocks i got it from a website in UK. I was thinking about the Paoli, but the bushes need some changes and it is not the exact same length. So was not ready to experiment something which is not for a T100. What I have is the YSS Ecoline adjustable shocks, which are made for T100. I have gone at good speeds on some bad patches and it has been nice on my back and butt. On many longer rides with OE shocks, I had to ride with a "Ride On Air" seat, though I have a jelly seats. On the most recent one, I did not use it and was quite comfortable.
The cost was on the expensive side - 150 pounds. add to that the shipping and custom duty.

[FasterSon]

What where the customs and transport charges exactly? Hagon's will be costlier.
Excuse my noob queries but I understand that the more numbers of teeth in the front sprocket means lower acceleration but more top speed because the gear is a bit more wider in range. What exactly is the effect on the lower gears then? Does it mean I have to shift to lower gears at city speeds? Does that mean I can spend more time in 2nd gear than keep shuttling between 2nd and 3rd? Inversely does it mean I cant shift to 3rd at the speeds I could have earlier? Wonder how it would effect the slow traffic ride. Useful info though sir. I am willing to try out this mod on my Harley.
Then, with 18 tooth sprocket is the triumph super city friendly? Like a proper commuter?? For regular daily traffic grind for extended periods? Anybody using triumph that way?

[Randhawa]

Can any one confirm if our Bonnies in India were CBU, CKD or SKD?

[dinu2506]

Originally Posted by FasterSon

Of course there are suspension mods available, which may make it a little better I guess. I see few bikes on the seconds market with Paoli shocks. Wonder how they ride? If any of you are using them please update.

I have been running Paoli for close to 2 years now and did around 6000km on them. I really liked them and it has really taken care of the bottoming issue. Please see my post #997 on this same thread for photos

[wangdu]

Originally Posted by Randhawa

Can any one confirm if our Bonnies in India were CBU, CKD or SKD?

IIRC back in 2013-14, company started with 50:50 (or about) CBU:CKD. CBUs being from UK and then Thailand. The latest I read in auto magazines is only 20% of sales today is CKD (ramp up underway) assembled in Manesar,HR.

One can know the manufacturing place from 11th character (before the digits) on the VIN, J for U.K. and T for Thailand.

[Randhawa]

Originally Posted by wangdu

IIRC back in 2013-14, company started with 50:50 (or about) CBU:CKD. CBUs being from UK and then Thailand. The latest I read in auto magazines is only 20% of sales today is CKD (ramp up underway) assembled in Manesar,HR.

One can know the manufacturing place from 11th character (before the digits) on the VIN, J for U.K. and T for Thailand.

Thanks! Mine is F so what that would be then?

Oh, just found an easy way to decode. https://vindecoder.eu/triumph Seems like mine is a CBU.

[Randhawa]

Correction for above info- Vin decoder isn't good for decoding Triumph vin no. Spent some time on Zauba which says it otherwise(shows vin no of each bike). Now confirmed that my A3 is a CKD from Thailand.

[FasterSon]

@dinu, yes I had gone through them earlier, but did not find a review later.
Requesting any t100 to have a small test ride in Coimbatore. There is one gorgeous looking t100 on the seconds market and I was thinking of about it. We don't have a showroom in Coimbatore. I would want this bike to fulfill my city needs and for a change on the highway from my Harley. I want to retain this bike as a city ride for atleast 10-12yrs. I could wait for a couple years but I am finding it difficult to desist this desire. Will waiting a couple of years bring out a competitor to check on??
Oh yeah...the tubed tyres is not an issue?? Have to removes exhausts to remove tyres??
Please somebody share me a t100 owner contact from Coimbatore please.

[Randhawa]

Originally Posted by FasterSon

@dinu, yes I had gone through them earlier, but did not find a review later.
Requesting any t100 to have a small test ride in Coimbatore. There is one gorgeous looking t100 on the seconds market and I was thinking of about it. We don't have a showroom in Coimbatore. I would want this bike to fulfill my city needs and for a change on the highway from my Harley. I want to retain this bike as a city ride for atleast 10-12yrs. I could wait for a couple years but I am finding it difficult to desist this desire. Will waiting a couple of years bring out a competitor to check on??
Oh yeah...the tubed tyres is not an issue?? Have to removes exhausts to remove tyres??
Please somebody share me a t100 owner contact from Coimbatore please.

You would require a centre stand and yes you will have to remove exhaust to get the rim out unless you can manage to pry out the tube with some practice with a descent puncture repair kit. Although it's not going to be easy.

Looking at your previous questions about the Bonnveille, for front suspension the first, cheapest and easiest mod you can do is to go for the Thruxton front fork caps and then progressive springs. For me personally, just adding the adjustable fork caps on my A3 has given me the desired results without changing any springs. Only thing I had to do was to play around and understand how front and rear settings work together. I have just added Thruxton fork caps and Thruxton seat, this combo alone has saved me so much money on upgrading the OEM setup.

[dinu2506]

Originally Posted by Randhawa

Looking at your previous questions about the Bonnveille, for front suspension the first, cheapest and easiest mod you can do is to go for the Thruxton front fork caps and then progressive springs. For me personally, just adding the adjustable fork caps on my A3 has given me the desired results without changing any springs.

Would you mind sharing some details on this on how the fork caps make a difference? Does it reduce the clank sound from the front suspension at times on the A3. Would be really interested in knowing