TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE T120
FIRST RIDE
P98
being ground away. I'd take an
angle grinder to the metal tabs
as soon as I got the bike home if
it were mine. Better though are
the handlebar grips, which are
thicker and chunkier and more
satisfying to hold on to than the
thinner ones on the Thruxton.
That's because there are heated
grips as standard on the T120,
controlled by a button on the left
handlebar grip, and they're pretty
good, and although there's only
two levels that's all you need—
level two was too hot to use on
a cool Portuguese day in the
hill country inland from Lisbon
where we rode the new Triumph
maxi-twins, but level one did the
job well.
As on the Street Twin 900
I rode before Christmas, the
Kayaba suspension on the T120
is brilliantly set up, with the
non-adjustable 41mm cartridge
fork and twin rear shocks with
adjustable spring pre-load only
delivering 4.7 inches of wheel
travel at each end. Once again
Triumph's chassis development
gurus Felipe and David Lopez
(yes, they're brothers) have done
an excellent job in teaming with
Kayaba's technicians to produce
"The new Bonneville
T120 isn't a retro-
styled bike given
a dose of modern
performance, like
its Thruxton R
sister. Instead, it's
a modern recreation
of a famous classic
motorcycle."
