TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE T120
FIRST RIDE
P96
red or black single-color base
model or the T120 Black vari-
ant. The throttle bodies look
like carburetors, and the cylin-
ders have machined fins that
according to Triumph actually
do aid cooling, so the water
radiator now fitted can be small
enough to be visually insignifi-
cant, tucked away behind the
front fender with barely a hose
in sight. The brushed aluminum
engine cases have copious
period-shaped inspection covers
covered in chrome, unless you
go for the T120 Black variant,
which instead has matte black
everywhere offset by a distinc-
tive brown seat, though the one
I rode at the press launch held in
Portugal had a "Matte Graphite"
gunmetal fuel tank. To each his
own.
That seat is a very untiring
place to be on the T120, thanks
to the complete lack of vibra-
tion at any revs from the all-new
parallel-twin motor with 270°
crank and twin balance shafts,
up to and including the 7000
rpm redline that you honestly
have no right ever finding. The
fuel tank is well shaped, so you
grasp it cozily with your knees,
plus the retro-looking round mir-
rors give a good view, and don't
vibe. With its greater low down
grunt and extra midrange torque
provided by its heavier crank de-
livering greater inertia, you end
up glad that Triumph has given
you traction control as standard,
since as soon as you open the
throttle in bottom or second
gear you get a strong shove that
snaps the bike forward quite
fiercely. Maybe Triumph engi-
neers felt they had to get the
show on the road early via some
quite aggressive fueling, but re-
ally, with this much torque on tap
it's rather unnecessary. In the
other gears it isn't an issue, with
a much smoother pickup from
a closed throttle, and with so
much midrange poke there really
isn't any need to go hunting for
the redline. Keeping the en-
gine in its happy zone between
3000-5500 rpm will deliver a
lovely luscious liquid pull, and
even when you rev it closer to
the 6550 rpm peak power mark
it still feels quite unstressed,
"With its greater low down grunt and extra
midrange torque provided by its heavier crank
delivering greater inertia, you end up glad that
Triumph has given you traction control."
The 1200cc
Bonneville
delivers
smooth, near-
vibration-free
power.
