T-120 Suspension Upgraded

[atomsplitter]

Got the SuperBrace from New Bonneville on Saturday and installed it Sunday. Took about 10 minutes. With the new rear shocks, progressuve fork springs and now the fork brace the suspension is complete. Took it for a shakedown ride in the local area and noticed a large improvement in handling manners. Under hard braking the bike doesn't try to exit stage left any more, absorbs road imperfections without jolting my spine and hands, turns spritely when required and goes where you point it. All the vagueness in the front end is gone, it lets you know what the road is doing without being obnoxious about it. Overall well worth the money, but it just makes me wonder how much better the Thruxton R is with its superior suspenders......

 

[Ishrub]

Don't worry, those Ohlin gold suspenders on the R's is just for those crass folks with a taste for gold bathroom fittings!

 

[CanberraR3]

@atomsplitter
Thruxton R suspension is all wrong. Hard as a rock and unpleasant. Counterintuitively, the only way to make the front bearable is the get stiffer springs! From factory they’re over dampened and the springs are too soft providing way too much feedback through the bars and your wrists and back suffer big time. The Ohlins in the rear aren’t too bad but tricky to set right and still not a patch on the monoshocks on bikes like the Street and Speed Triples.
Then there’s the gold colour…

What you’ve done to your T120 is pretty much what I did to the suspension on my standard Thruxton and it handled like a dream and was an absolute hoot. Not as much pose value as the R or RS, or as sporty, but a heck of a lot more pleasant to ride - and looked better..

So far I’m surprisingly happy with the stock T120 suspension and actually enjoy the way it rides even if it doesn’t quite handle like a sport bike. But that‘s not why I bought it anyway.

By the way, I dug out my copy of Lessons in Lunacy the other day. Put it back again but at least I still have it. Haha.

 

[atomsplitter]

Great looking ride and looks just like the shocks I put on. I would be curious if the fork tubes on the standard Thruxton are both damped or like the Bonneville and only one leg has the damper rod. Putting in the progressive springs and adding some preload really makes the forks work like they should.

BTW you'll want to hold onto that copy of my book, it's out of print and a 1st edition........

 

[idk]

I shall definitely hold on to my autographed copy. It's my retirement nest egg.

 

[atomsplitter]

I shall definitely hold on to my autographed copy. It's my retirement nest egg.

Oh, that's really too bad...................

 

[Ishrub]

Oh, that's really too bad...................

At least somebody who likes to see Barbie dolls buck naked agrees with you @atomsplitter
But he was lonely!

Amazon.com

Customer Review​

cbarbeebucknekkid@pbrhero
1.0 out of 5 stars wow
Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2011

I want my 7.95 back....now! I had a feeling this book sucked, but figured hey "I make over a hundred grand a year so I can drop a few bucks for the kindle edition". Boy was I mistaken. if I had actually bought this book I wouldn't use the paper its printed on to wipe my hind quarters, or those of my (non-existent) horse. To be truthful, I probably didnt give this book as much attention as I should have, but when you live a life like me (rodeoing, hanging out at power and light, riding in limos, picking up chicks, etc) honestly, who could blame me, right?

 

[atomsplitter]

At least somebody who likes to see Barbie dolls buck naked agrees with you @atomsplitter
But he was lonely!

Amazon.com

Oddly, that review was posted by a co-worker as a slam on me and another co-worker. If memory serves I think he was upset with me for something I did or didn't do. Thankfully I don't have to put up with him anymore (I retired from Nuclear Power in 2013) but his 'joke' still lives on. Oh well, the world still turns on its axis and I'm still here.
(BTW the Barbee reference was to Craig Barbee, you can't have fun on shift unless you're gutting your work mates (the fun starts when there's blood in the water)). Did I ever mention Nuclear Power is a strange business?

 

[CanberraR3]

Oddly, that review was posted by a co-worker as a slam on me and another co-worker. If memory serves I think he was upset with me for something I did .

Writing the book perhaps…..haha

Funny you ask about the front suspension. It was when I actually took the fork caps off to add preload adjusters that I found out they were essentially the same set up as the T120. I’d checked the parts diagram through the dealer portal and it showed that both legs had cartridges. But no, only one cartridge. Long story short, through internal channels I got Triumph to change all the schematics. Some a/market sites that sell Triumph parts eg World of Triumph, still show the old, wrong parts.

This is the current, correct, schematic for the Thruxton on Triumph online (the Dealer portal).
The second one is what it used to look like and other sites haven’t updated it. The list of parts had two of each internal. If you rely on World of Triumph you’re going to get it wrong. Just giving a bit of a plug for the Dealer.

 

[Ishrub]

Oddly, that review was posted by a co-worker as a slam on me and another co-worker. If memory serves I think he was upset with me for something I did or didn't do. Thankfully I don't have to put up with him anymore (I retired from Nuclear Power in 2013) but his 'joke' still lives on. Oh well, the world still turns on its axis and I'm still here.
(BTW the Barbee reference was to Craig Barbee, you can't have fun on shift unless you're gutting your work mates (the fun starts when there's blood in the water)). Did I ever mention Nuclear Power is a strange business?

Arh MySpace Classic reveals all.
This is like digital archeology!

Sounds like your charming reviewer was a tad jealous of the nightclub cowboy Craig Barbee, apparently for good reason too!

Gunfighter and Can Can girls in the Alamo Saloon, Old Abilene Kansas!

A little line dancing with the girls!

Cooling off and watching some fine bull riding!! LOL

When I got my new holsters, I had to go out and hold up Emporia Motors, Really funny!