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2016 Triumph Bonnevilles

111K views 677 replies 97 participants last post by  RetroRod 
#1 · (Edited)
I have been scouring anything I can find on the new Bonnevilles to find out some specs, but nothing I guess will be available until Dec 7th or 8th. I was able to see on the many YouTube videos out there that I think, all of the new bikes will finally come with a key to remove the seat vs two bolts as in the '01-'15s. The T120's will be coming with a center stand, rear grab rail, knee pads, heated grips - certainly not enough to justify the hefty price increase, but there are other pluses with the new bikes and it is good that those things are on the T120 bikes. Also I see all of the rear fenders are the shorter ones, like the Scrambler and T100 that came before it and the front fenders have a single stay vs double stays on the previous T100's.

From looking at the many videos available on YouTube or the Triumph website - what other subtle touches has anyone spotted besides the obvious 1200 or 900cc water cooled lump and the suspension?
 
#2 · (Edited)
I'd say the most notable of the new features on next year's "1200" Bonneville is the so-called "T120 Black" model with - sorry if I offend - not so subtle, hideous looking, BROWN SEAT! Some other changes are dual disc brakes, ABS, TC and "RBW" with dual (selectable) ride modes. The tach will now show gear position, and redline dropped to 7000 rpm. And of course, the new bikes have added 6th gear.

Many of these will be welcomed changes, but I think the biggest rational for increased price will be the substantially bigger engine, much more torquey than before! As a result of the more powerful twin (as well as the new 6th gear), the new Bonnies, especially the T-Rex should be able to easily do a sub four second, zero to 60, and perhaps a top speed of about 140+ mph.
 
#3 ·
That 6th gear sure would be welcomed. It would be much more comfortable to have the bottom end to cruise at 70mph at 3K. I would be curious to see where the final drive falls.

4K gets real tiring for any stretch nevermind the noise of my slash cuts:wink2:

I haven't seen any pricing so is it really a "hefty" increase from the T100?
 
#8 ·
I haven't seen any pricing so is it really a "hefty" increase from the T100?
I was just thinking from about $9,800 (and a regular Bonneville at $8,100) to somewhere around $11,750 for a red/silver T120 was about a 20% increase and that was pretty hefty to me, but you sure get a lot more - those things mentioned: 6th gear, RBW, ride modes, ABS, TC, gear indicator, dual disks, etc...all strike me as really good stuff. I've dropped a deposit on a T120 (red/silver), so at the moment I am very optimistic. I'll see them next week at my dealer's Triumph event, so we'll see what we see then.
 
#4 ·
Someone here who sat on a T-120 and had ridden his T-100 there said that it felt more "cruiser" than his T-100 "standard" motorcycle.. :cool:

Some nice perks for sure otherwise. Don't forget to check with your insurance agent while you're at it. :rolleyes:
 
#29 · (Edited)
Oh another change is the header attachment to the head itself - cooling fin collar, nice touch. Much like Maund has made for the T100's in the aftermarket. A very nice touch. I noticed a redesign of both the rider and passenger footpegs - hopefully much stronger than the previous designs.


P.S. ...and I forgot, gaiters too...
 
#31 ·
Does anyone know yet how Triumph scaled down the 1200cc Bonneville to 900cc? How do the bore/strokes dimensions compare? It would be sweet if the 900 just used a smaller bore and could be built up to 1200cc with just a cylinder change, much like the Sportster 883 can be converted to a 1200 by using the 1200 cylinders.

Bob
 
#33 ·
Does anyone know yet how Triumph scaled down the 1200cc Bonneville to 900cc? How do the bore/strokes dimensions compare? It would be sweet if the 900 just used a smaller bore and could be built up to 1200cc with just a cylinder change, much like the Sportster 883 can be converted to a 1200 by using the 1200 cylinders.
The 900 machine has a single, throttle body injector - not dual injectors like the 1200. So there may be differences in the head as well...time will tell...
 
#32 · (Edited)
Good question. Even if it could be done with a piston/cylinder change, I wonder if the injectors would be the same or if the ecu could simply be remapped? Not to mention clutch springs, header pipes, etc.. With Sportsters, if you want a 1200 you're better off just buying one than doing a conversion, IMO.
 
#42 ·
Hope those come with a standard or accessory rubber cover..., or there'll be 2,000 threads here on "my bike won't start". :D
 
#53 ·
Like what Forchetto said, they are parallel twins with a 270 degree crank & firing order. Yes, it will sound like the air cooled Scrambler or a Ducati. The cylinders can and are parallel to each other, they just have a cran & firing order that is some degrees apart - 90 degrees apart.
 
#54 ·
Is this correct for the 270º crank?: Left fires, (360º+90º) of rotation right fires, (360º-90º) of rotation left fires again, (360º+90º) of rotation right fires, etc. 0-450-270-450-270-450, etc. With the 360º crank, left fires, 360º of rotation right fires, 360º left fires again, etc. 360-360-360-360= traditional Triumph exhaust cadence as it should be.

Bob
 
#58 ·
I recently read the Cycle World article on the new stuff, and one pic from the side of a t120 1200 just looked cool…less busy looking or something…I like it. I am putting a new Burton gel seat on my t100 to complement my new Togas (actually, the seat has NOTHING to do with the Togas, but I had to mention the Togas again anyway since they're so much fun) so my t100 investment total now means I'll never be able to recoup the money I've spent on it, and will have to keep riding it for YEARS…and years…
 
#59 ·
270 Degree crank worries

Well I have traded my current bike for a new T120. I am having serious worries that my new Bonneville will sound like a Harley. I have always loved the sound of the Triumph Bonneville's and now that I finally own one they go and change to exhaust sound so it will sound like a Harley. If I wanted a Harley I would buy one. The major reason that I detest Harley's is the morons that ride them dressed up like a pirate and no mufflers riding around making a lot of noise. My dealer is already crying that he can not get any more T120's so I will not have any problem exchanging for a different bike. This is so disappointing!!!!! On 2nd thought, maybe I will keep the T120 as they are going to be scarce in the U.S. and I might be able to pick up a couple bucks selling it myself. It would be brand new with no miles so it should sell quick and at a premium.
 
#60 ·
Well I have traded my current bike for a new T120. I am having serious worries that my new Bonneville will sound like a Harley. I have always loved the sound of the Triumph Bonneville's and now that I finally own one they go and change to exhaust sound so it will sound like a Harley. If I wanted a Harley I would buy one. The major reason that I detest Harley's is the morons that ride them dressed up like a pirate and no mufflers riding around making a lot of noise. My dealer is already crying that he can not get any more T120's so I will not have any problem exchanging for a different bike. This is so disappointing!!!!! On 2nd thought, maybe I will keep the T120 as they are going to be scarce in the U.S. and I might be able to pick up a couple bucks selling it myself. It would be brand new with no miles so it should sell quick and at a premium.


I dont think you should worry about the exhaust sounding like a Harley, it will be quite different and the Triumph sound clinicians will have been carefully analysing that noise to ensure you will not have to wear a ridiculous half vest leather waistcoat and grow a pony tail - oh, and retrain as an accountant and have 'I love Geena' tattoos.
 
#64 ·
I'm sure you don't need to worry about your 270deg crank sounding like a Harley. In practice it just won't. In theory it wouldn't either as the 270deg crank emulates a 90deg V twin and Harleys are not 90deg V's, more like 50deg ... don't know, there must be someone out there who knows the V angle of a Harley, but it's not 90deg!
 
#66 · (Edited)
... don't know, there must be someone out there who knows the V angle of a Harley, but it's not 90deg!
Close. They're 45 degrees...its the Victory bikes that are set at 50 degrees. As important as the cylinder angle is whether the V-twin has single or separate crank pins....a 45 degree v-twin with 45 degrees of separation on the crank pins has the same firing interval/sounds like a 270 degree motor (e.g. ducati).

Harleys, OTOH, have a single crank pin.

Regards,

--Rich
 
#70 ·
we've established that a Harley has a 45deg crank (and I do understand that if the V angle is 45deg and it's a single pin crank, then the firing angle has to be 45deg too). The new 900 & 1200 Triumph motors have a 270deg crank, and I've always assumed Ducati with the 90deg V (or L as they call it) have a 270deg crank too, so there could be some rhythmic similarity between Ducati and the new Triumphs.
 
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