2 Days and 500 Miles on a new Bonneville T120

[Idaho Red Rocket 3]

Well as predicted my friend Mike the Millionaire called me on Thursday afternoon and wanted to know what I was doing. Since I am unemployed and looking for a new job I told him that I was looking for a new job. ( Mike has 3 companies.) He said he had a job for me. He asked if I would ride his new Bonneville T120 on Friday and Saturday and put at least 500 miles on it. Then he wanted me to change the oil and filter and do the 500 miles service check. He wanted to take it to Firebird Raceway on Sunday for the drag races. I said sure thing.

I went and p/u the bike Thursday evening. It had 62 miles on it which I had already put about 5 of those on it Tuesday evening when he brought it home new. I road it 21 miles back to my house. It is beautiful bike and the engine is such a surprise. It runs butter smooth, I mean it has very little vibration. Actually it has no vibration. It is as smooth as any triple or 4 cylinder. It lets you know it is there, but it is uncanny how smooth it is. It does not transmit any tingles to your hands, butt and feet. Although the seat made my butt a little numb/sore after about a half hour on the first day. I stopped often to take pictures. That helped a lot. The second day I could ride much longer before getting a numb/sore butt. Not as bad on day 2, so maybe it will get better.

Day one Friday April 1. ( No jokes.) Left home with 83 miles on bike. I have been thinking about what adjectives I am going to use in this write up. Please forgive me the only thing that fits is Butter Smooth. Shifting the 6 speed transmission is so butter smooth up or down. The gears snick in with a clean confidence that is refreshing. The clutch pull is light and butter smooth. The throttle is ride by wire and it is light and you guessed it, butter smooth. Even the new style long stem Mickey Mouse Ear mirrors were butter smooth and clear as a bell. All the time !

I took the bike through some of the canyons and the lower mountains. I filled up the tank and took it to a highway truck scale about a half mile from the gas station. The bike weighed in at 540 pounds. From there I continued into the mountains where there are plenty of switchback roads to ride. This bike handles like a sport bike. I took the Pirelli tires to just about their full edges and never touch my heels or peg feelers on the ground. My son even commented on how I pushed the tires to the edge and didn't leave a chicken strip. In the curves it is rock solid. No wallowing like a Rocket before you up-grade your rear shocks and fork springs/oil. Confidence is quickly earned by the bike and I was carving those corners at speeds well above what I do them at with my Rocket.

Power. Yes it has plenty of low end power. Mike asked me to keep the RPM down to 4,000 max. 2000 to 4000 is like riding a baby Rocket. Get this, 60 MPH is at 2600 in 6th, 2900 in 5th and 3400 in 4th.
4000 in 6th is 87. Just roll the throttle in any gear and she goes. I did some 60 to 80 roll-ons. In 6th is took about 4 seconds. In 5th it took about 3 seconds. I was impressed. FYI: I used the self counting method to time that. You know, onethousandone, onethousandtwo ...

Electrics. I rode until well after dark. The 7 inch single headlight is better than the 2 we have on our Rockets. No that isn't good enough to describe it. The headlight works well and puts out a good spread of bright light across the road. The gauges are well lit and easy to read at night. They are easy to read during the day too. My hands got cold after dark so I used the heated grips. They have Hi and Low. Low is plenty to keep your hands warm even through my good leather insulated gloves.

Fuel Mileage. Keeping speeds mostly between 55 and 65 today. Some spirited riding in the twisties.
The bike yielded an average of 55 mpg.

Got home at about 10 PM with 351 miles on bike. End day 1.

Day two Saturday April 2. My son accompanied me on this ride. He road a friend of mine 1600 Thunderbird. The T120 is much smoother than the T-Bird. Once I got the T120 over 450 miles I decided to do a roll on comparison between the T120 and the T-Bird. We slowed to 15 mph in first and do a 3 peep go on 3rd peep. Guess what folks? The T120 out pulls the T-Bird. My son could not believe it. We did it twice to be sure. I only took the T120 to 6000/6500 doing this. Redline is 7000. I then tested 100 and found it at 4600 in 6th. We road a little fast in general today. We were on high speed roads with speed limits as high as 80 MPH. Yeah that's right. We have 80mph roads in Idaho. Today the bike averaged 52 mpg. Got home with 501 miles on the bike. Changed the oil and filter. Lubed the chain. Inspected the frame and checked the bolts. All looked good. Later took it back to Mike. End of ride the bike had 522 miles on it.

Mike planned to take it drag racing today. I'll have to call him tomorrow and find out what his numbers were. I'll up-date this post when I hear from him.

 

[Claviger]

Sounds like a fantastic way to spend a couple of days.

 

[cusso ken]

Nice write up ,I love the Bonneville's looks and the retro look of the models ,they are a bit small for a taller rider by todays (rocket sized) standards, the only criticism several of our riding group have unanimously come up with is the Radiator it looks cheap and nasty more like a black Suzuki C90 effort , you may be able to get a after market dress up cover but it stands out like dogs ba*** on otherwise beautiful bike

 

[BenchracerBob]

Well as predicted my friend Mike the Millionaire called me on Thursday afternoon and wanted to know what I was doing. Since I am unemployed and looking for a new job I told him that I was looking for a new job. ( Mike has 3 companies.) He said he had a job for me. He asked if I would ride his new Bonneville T120 on Friday and Saturday and put at least 500 miles on it. Then he wanted me to change the oil and filter and do the 500 miles service check. He wanted to take it to Firebird Raceway on Sunday for the drag races. I said sure thing.

I went and p/u the bike Thursday evening. It had 62 miles on it which I had already put about 5 of those on it Tuesday evening when he brought it home new. I road it 21 miles back to my house. It is beautiful bike and the engine is such a surprise. It runs butter smooth, I mean it has very little vibration. Actually it has no vibration. It is as smooth as any triple or 4 cylinder. It lets you know it is there, but it is uncanny how smooth it is. It does not transmit any tingles to your hands, butt and feet. Although the seat made my butt a little numb/sore after about a half hour on the first day. I stopped often to take pictures. That helped a lot. The second day I could ride much longer before getting a numb/sore butt. Not as bad on day 2, so maybe it will get better.

Day one Friday April 1. ( No jokes.) Left home with 83 miles on bike. I have been thinking about what adjectives I am going to use in this write up. Please forgive me the only thing that fits is Butter Smooth. Shifting the 6 speed transmission is so butter smooth up or down. The gears snick in with a clean confidence that is refreshing. The clutch pull is light and butter smooth. The throttle is ride by wire and it is light and you guessed it, butter smooth. Even the new style long stem Mickey Mouse Ear mirrors were butter smooth and clear as a bell. All the time !

I took the bike through some of the canyons and the lower mountains. I filled up the tank and took it to a highway truck scale about a half mile from the gas station. The bike weighed in at 540 pounds. From there I continued into the mountains where there are plenty of switchback roads to ride. This bike handles like a sport bike. I took the Pirelli tires to just about their full edges and never touch my heels or peg feelers on the ground. My son even commented on how I pushed the tires to the edge and didn't leave a chicken strip. In the curves it is rock solid. No wallowing like a Rocket before you up-grade your rear shocks and fork springs/oil. Confidence is quickly earned by the bike and I was carving those corners at speeds well above what I do them at with my Rocket.

Power. Yes it has plenty of low end power. Mike asked me to keep the RPM down to 4,000 max. 2000 to 4000 is like riding a baby Rocket. Get this, 60 MPH is at 2600 in 6th, 2900 in 5th and 3400 in 4th.
4000 in 6th is 87. Just roll the throttle in any gear and she goes. I did some 60 to 80 roll-ons. In 6th is took about 4 seconds. In 5th it took about 3 seconds. I was impressed. FYI: I used the self counting method to time that. You know, onethousandone, onethousandtwo ...

Electrics. I rode until well after dark. The 7 inch single headlight is better than the 2 we have on our Rockets. No that isn't good enough to describe it. The headlight works well and puts out a good spread of bright light across the road. The gauges are well lit and easy to read at night. They are easy to read during the day too. My hands got cold after dark so I used the heated grips. They have Hi and Low. Low is plenty to keep your hands warm even through my good leather insulated gloves.

Fuel Mileage. Keeping speeds mostly between 55 and 65 today. Some spirited riding in the twisties.
The bike yielded an average of 55 mpg.

Got home at about 10 PM with 351 miles on bike. End day 1.

Day two Saturday April 2. My son accompanied me on this ride. He road a friend of mine 1600 Thunderbird. The T120 is much smoother than the T-Bird. Once I got the T120 over 450 miles I decided to do a roll on comparison between the T120 and the T-Bird. We slowed to 15 mph in first and do a 3 peep go on 3rd peep. Guess what folks? The T120 out pulls the T-Bird. My son could not believe it. We did it twice to be sure. I only took the T120 to 6000/6500 doing this. Redline is 7000. I then tested 100 and found it at 4600 in 6th. We road a little fast in general today. We were on high speed roads with speed limits as high as 80 MPH. Yeah that's right. We have 80mph roads in Idaho. Today the bike averaged 52 mpg. Got home with 501 miles on the bike. Changed the oil and filter. Lubed the chain. Inspected the frame and checked the bolts. All looked good. Later took it back to Mike. End of ride the bike had 522 miles on it.

Mike planned to take it drag racing today. I'll have to call him tomorrow and find out what his numbers were. I'll up-date this post when I hear from him.

Nice write up, confirms what I thought of the T120 in the brief ride I had on one. Did you do a top gear roll on against the T-Bird, if not what in your opinion would be the result.

 

[Idaho Red Rocket 3]

Thanks. We only did the 1st gear 15 mph roll on. I didn't think about doing a high speed roll on. Have to try that again when I get the bike back for the 1000 mile oil change.

 

[rayjay]

Nice job and a Butter Smooth write up

RJ

 

[Idaho Red Rocket 3]

Just talked to Mike about the drag strip performance. He was happy with the ET: 13.27 and terminal speed at 98.7 mph.

 

[IMFASTTOO]

Just talked to Mike about the drag strip performance. He was happy with the ET: 13.27 and terminal speed at 98.7 mph.

TELL us about MIKE what does he weigh and can he ride ? can you get a copy of his time slips i calculated the bike should run about 12 flat and around 110 MPH with a good rider thats 175 lbs

 

[Blackthou]

Nice write up and good looking bike. A friend of mine has a year old Bonnie and loves it.

 

[Idaho Red Rocket 3]

TELL us about MIKE what does he weigh and can he ride ? can you get a copy of his time slips i calculated the bike should run about 12 flat and around 110 MPH with a good rider thats 175 lbs

Mike is an avid racer. He is about 190 lbs. without his gear. He has spent a lot of time on drag strips and circuit tracks with many different cars and motorcycles. He owns many racing cars and motorcycles including a V Rod Destroyer. (Which he keeps in his living room.) He has dragged his Rocket, Concours, a couple of V Rods, V Max and you name it he has taken it to the drag strip. He knows what he is doing. Remember he is taking these bikes for their first drag race when they are new with just 500 miles on them.