There’s probably a thread(s) explaining the Bonneville EFI choke but I couldn’t find it. It’s certainly something different than my current bike.
1.) Why have it at all ? I discarded the theory that Triumph just wanted to allow the original group of T-120 owners to reminisce. Even if there are that many customers still out there of my age we’ve long since appreciated the benefits of the past 50 years of advancements to fuelling systems. Could there be something in particular about the 865cc engine making it sensitive to damage if you just start the bike and pull away ? So the mfr. has you fiddle with a lever in order to slow your take-off sequence for the bike’s good ? Don’t know.
2.) Operation ? The owner’s handbook indicates “During warm-up, gradually push the choke in a little at a time as necessary to prevent the engine from racing or stalling”. So it’s a fully variable adjustment pushing it back in ? As opposed to a 2-position (you choose based on ambient temperature under 25C versus over 25C) procedure when pulling it out for cold starts ? How do you know when’s the best time to push the choke back in - - perhaps put a bare hand on an exhaust pipe or cooling fin to see if its reached X degrees or so (what’s a good benchmark) ?
I’m in the camp that idling an EFI engine too much/too long isn’t good for it as opposed to gently moving off with the vehicle in order to warm it up. The Bonnie will require some getting used to in this respect.
1.) Why have it at all ? I discarded the theory that Triumph just wanted to allow the original group of T-120 owners to reminisce. Even if there are that many customers still out there of my age we’ve long since appreciated the benefits of the past 50 years of advancements to fuelling systems. Could there be something in particular about the 865cc engine making it sensitive to damage if you just start the bike and pull away ? So the mfr. has you fiddle with a lever in order to slow your take-off sequence for the bike’s good ? Don’t know.
2.) Operation ? The owner’s handbook indicates “During warm-up, gradually push the choke in a little at a time as necessary to prevent the engine from racing or stalling”. So it’s a fully variable adjustment pushing it back in ? As opposed to a 2-position (you choose based on ambient temperature under 25C versus over 25C) procedure when pulling it out for cold starts ? How do you know when’s the best time to push the choke back in - - perhaps put a bare hand on an exhaust pipe or cooling fin to see if its reached X degrees or so (what’s a good benchmark) ?
I’m in the camp that idling an EFI engine too much/too long isn’t good for it as opposed to gently moving off with the vehicle in order to warm it up. The Bonnie will require some getting used to in this respect.
