Hello Cuse12

Really I don't want to be boring but If I were you I would save my money... I think Speed Twin standard is more than enough for your kind of riding. Plenty of power (97 HP/ 11 kgf.m) and a good suspension.

best regards

 

This is exactly what I would like to see. I want honest opinions because after researching so many different things, so many different individual's opinions are swirling in my brain and now I am just "stuck" on what to do. I would like to tinker with the bike some as I always do with every bike I ever purchase. In this case, I purchased the Twin with so many aftermarket upgrades already completed upon purchasing.

 

I understand what you are saying.

I think that this motorcycle doesn't need a lot of things to be cool, but since we "have" to tinker to make it closer to what we understand as perfect 😁, I also replaced a few not so expensive things:

1. Quilted seat
2. Clutch & ACG badges
3. Machined oil cap

And now I am waiting for dark tinted short screen.

Maybe later I'll change the exhaust -- Vance & Hines. And that will be all, really!

 

You won’t need to retune if you leave the catalytic converter in place, and probably not even then. If you want more noise, look into aftermarket mufflers. I installed Tec progressive springs into my T120 for less than $100. They firmed up the front end. You could also consider fork caps with preload adjusters.

 

I used TEC rear shocks and progressive springs in the front. I wouldn't say they made a massive difference but I felt better after having a tinker. I swapped them over to my Street Scrambler when I changed bikes and would say it has definitely made a difference to that ride. The cat delete sounds awesome, beware some cat deletes dont have the facility to mount the cat shield and it looks bare and exposed without it in place. Hope you enjoy your tinkering. 🔧😁

 

As far as the engine goes, the best combination I tried so far was a decat (I chose Meerkat) and a map from DNK Tuneworks. They worked very well together. I kept the stock filter and left the snorkel in place. The midrange got beefier and more responsive, and the 'fluffy' areas below 3,000 rpm improved massively. I used to find riding through 2,500 to 3,000 rpm quite annoying and unpredictable at times, especially in traffic - sometimes it would pull cleanly, others there would be a moment of hesitation when I opened the throttle.

You're light, so if you feel the current suspension is ok for the riding you do, maybe leave it? I went the other way by changing the shocks and fork cartridges and spent about $2,000 (£1,675) on those two alone. I'm very happy with my new suspension, but I ride on bumpy roads and have a habit of getting a bit spirited from time to time 😉.

Note, the Meerkat I chose does away with the heat shields completely, but it also saves 2.4kgs. I love it, it's my friend and I talk to it when I clean the bike 😉. I may need help.

 

Well I decided to go with another Motone X-pipe. (installed one to my street twin a while back) The question now is tune, booster plug or just leave it be after the x-pipe? I had a booster plug on my Ducati Scrambler and it made a world of difference to THAT bike. The ST is obviously a different machine. So I'll have to read more on the reviews of the BP for these twins. I bought some Rizoma bar clamps to boot. Going to ride the bike like it is for the time being. Just keep getting more and more familiar with the it before I do suspension. I doubt I would notice a change with suspension upgrades right now anyways, since I haven't had time to make it out to the twisties much and really push the bike. May just experiment with different tires, brake pads, foot pegs, handlebar position, etc. to get the bike set up to my personal preference before I do suspension. This is most likely my forever bike and if I buy another, it will be a Speedmaster for the wife and I. So I have plenty of time to tinker with the ST. Thanks for all the replies and if you have more input on the stuff I have mentioned above, please keep em coming!

 

How did you find the fueling on the bike with it standard? I really didn't like mine 🤣.

The DNK Tuneworks map is rather good though, so I don't think you'd be wasting your money. Also, once you have the Bluetooth dongle, you can use it to check throttle body sync and so on, which might be useful if this is your forever bike.

Also, what year do you have? Mine's a 2019, I'd assumed you are on the original model too. Apologies if you have the new model with upside down forks!

 

X-pipe, open the stock mufflers (Peter at Meerkat did mine) and put a good set of rear shocks (Ikon for me), then see how the front is before upgrading the springs and decent tyres.

 

Did your mufflers have a baffle in? Mine were more or less straight through. There's a kind of wavy core, but you can see daylight through them. Very heavy though.

 

Thanks, that sounds great, no pun intended. I'm getting a full remap on mine next week now that I've put the Tec 303x cam in. I'm taking both my stock mufflers and my Ixil Ironheads, because I have a feeling the latter are more restrictive than the originals (using the baffle they supply - too noisy for me without).

If I was in Oz I'd get Peter to do mine!

Sorry to go about sideways in your thread cuse12.

 

I am lucky Peter at Meerkat is only 1 1/2 hr drive from me and not far from my wife's brother, I took my mufflers up there and Peter gave me the x-pipe to fit while he did the mufflers, 2 days later the X-pipe fitted and the mufflers were ready to be pick up, after the first ride the Thruxton ran rough and lean but after a 20 minute ride and shut down the ECU did its job and adapted to the change , I haven't done a tune and my bike runs great through the whole rev line and has the right colour to the pipes, I did the Meerkat within the first mouth of buying the Thruxton 1200S new in 2018 and haven't touched it since with well over 20k on it now, it pulls to the rev limiter with out any problems at all the way it is, a new tune will help but I like it the way it is, has no problems pulling the front wheel up from 1st to 2nd without trying.

 

Man it’s all good! This is what it’s all about! Y’all think I should go to dealer for a tune after the x-pipe. Bike has v&h pipes on it now. Or should I booster plug? Or do the tune the fella mentioned up above? Or leave it alone?

 

I've never used a booster plug (but I know what it is). All I can say is I really liked the DNK Tuneworks map. They're great people - if you need a tweak they will help you.

The good thing is that being based in the U.S I just know that they will have tried your combination of x-pipe and mufflers on their dyno (ok, maybe email them and check first 😉). I think the price was pretty reasonable for the hassle free solution. I think the LX Bluetooth OBDII dongle I bought was about £70 here in the UK, and then TuneECU was only a small amount. I've since used the app and dongle to help synchronise my throttle bodies twice and check some other things several times.

I'm only taking mine for a full dyno tune next week because I decided to change the camshaft as well now. Before I made any mods last year, DNK said they didn't want anything to do with the Tec cam, otherwise I would have asked them if they had a suitable map.

In short, if I've understood correctly, when you're cruising along on your bike at a steady throttle the ECU will adapt over time because it's running in open loop mode, so it will always try to hit a particular fuel/air ratio. Where the Motone X pipe and V&H pipes might benefit from a new tune (or the booster plug) is when you're using big dollops of throttle and the ECU reverts to closed loop mode and relies on the data from that area of the map (how much fuel, when to spark etc). Hopefully someone will jump in to correct me if I'm wrong. In other words, with a new map you might find you release even more potential from the x-pipe and V&H mufflers. Hope I'm making sense, apologies if not 🙂.

As I said above, I really didn't like the way the stock motor felt between 2,000rpm and 3,000rpm. With the x-pipe and the DNK tune the bike was completely different. I probably didn't need to waste time and money on a new camahaft, but I got greedy 😉.

 

Sounds like a real hoot!

 

Well it does me been riding for near 50 years now, have my old HOTROD Norton and the 1200 Thruxton set up just right for me, runs great at low revs in the suburbs, great up in the twisties and great on the open highways, it get well over the ton in very quick time and at 63 years young I no need to do sub sonic speeds while out but my mates on their sports bikes don't lose me and even better now with the new Ikon shocks on the rear, for a twin shock bike it goes pretty good and handles great for what it is.

Ashley

 

Hey now,

I just went down this road on a 2020 Speed, and we can easily spend your money.

The fist thing to address is the front forks. Mine were 39-40 mm of static sag. Add my weight (170 too) and I found sag to be at 56 total with the stock springs. No wonder the rear break was constantly kicking the ABS. The Tec springs and adjusters worked like a top; with the adjusters all the way in, total sag is now 40mm. I’m still on the stock rears shocks and they seem ok, not nearly as under-sprung as the front.

As Im new to Triumphs and learning, my mind was blown that the preload adjusters did not change the loaded sag, just the static number. At 170 pounds the Tec springs went about 14mm of sag, slightly stiff for our weight, a good thing. Some wise old soul on the forums posted about sag and spring rates, search for that.

Next add the throttle spacers and a Motune X, DNK tune to go with your VH mufflers. Total should be around $700 shipped.

The leftover could be spent on rear shocks, YSS seem to be the best budget shock at around $500. Or save the extra money for fuel, oil changes and tires.

It’s a wonderful bike man, enjoy!