The obvious draw to the T120 is, of course, the looks and sounds of a 60’s vintage Bonneville. Visions of Saturday nights at the hang-out and Sunday morning rides on country roads could be a motivator to part with the cash. But what about the other aspects of riding? Is it a good all-around motorcycle like its namesake? Can you tour on it?
Yes.
To find out, I prepped my T120 for a four day sojourn in the Pacific Northwest, taking a meandering route from Seattle to Libby, MT, and back. To get an idea of the bike’s touring capability, I over-packed a bit, taking extra clothes that I normally wouldn’t need. Quick access items, such as hat, medications, water, flashlight, glasses and face shield cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer and such went into a Cortech magnetic tank bag. The wiring harness, including temp control, for my Gerbing jacket liner was also housed in the tank bag.
Items that I might need along the way, such as tools, the aforementioned electric jacket liner, extra water, bike cover, extra gloves, tire repair kit (including 12 volt air compressor), bungee net, and other various items were packed in a pair of Triumph nylon saddlebags. More on that later.
All my clothes, toilet kit, walking about shoes, extra jacket, and a bottle of….”medicine”.....were packed into an Ortlieb waterproof duffel, which was strapped to the rear seat. The Ortlieb bag also contained my laptop and my C-PAP machine (welcome to middle age) Fully packed, the bag weighed in at 38 pounds.
See thumbnail for photo of loaded and packed bike.
As for myself, over the years I have come to appreciate Aerostich’s Roadcrafter suits. Mine is well over 20 years old, and looks it, but when I wear it it feels like I am riding with an old friend. The Roadcrafter is probably not the most aesthetic thing I could wear on a bare-bones roadster, but at my age I long ago passed up style for comfort and convenience.
The bike handled just fine fully loaded. A pleasant surprise was me not wishing for highway pegs to stretch out on. The seating position allowed comfort for even my ancient knees. The seat easily stayed comfortable between gas and “pit” stops. On one hand, I wouldn’t want to do a Four Corners, or a Three Flags or an Iron Butt on the T120. But as long as the pace was easy, I could easily spend three weeks on it.
The only Achilles Heel of the T120 was the spoked wheels. Yep, I picked up a nail in a remote part of Montana early on Sunday morning. Although I had tire irons, a patch kit and an air pump, I could not, for the life of me, break the bead to get to the tube. Even when a bunch of friendly Harley riders stopped, with me and two of the more hefty ones stomping on the tire, it wouldn’t budge. Were the rims tubeless, I would have fixed the flat in 20 minutes. So, out came the credit card and cell phone. Next time I take one of those compact bead breakers.
If I may be so bold, it occurred to me during the ride that the T120, at least to me, more closely pays tribute to the UJMs of the 70's - bikes that were powerful, comfy, and could do about anything - rather than the Bonnevilles of the 60's. And to me, that's a good thing.
Yes.
To find out, I prepped my T120 for a four day sojourn in the Pacific Northwest, taking a meandering route from Seattle to Libby, MT, and back. To get an idea of the bike’s touring capability, I over-packed a bit, taking extra clothes that I normally wouldn’t need. Quick access items, such as hat, medications, water, flashlight, glasses and face shield cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer and such went into a Cortech magnetic tank bag. The wiring harness, including temp control, for my Gerbing jacket liner was also housed in the tank bag.
Items that I might need along the way, such as tools, the aforementioned electric jacket liner, extra water, bike cover, extra gloves, tire repair kit (including 12 volt air compressor), bungee net, and other various items were packed in a pair of Triumph nylon saddlebags. More on that later.
All my clothes, toilet kit, walking about shoes, extra jacket, and a bottle of….”medicine”.....were packed into an Ortlieb waterproof duffel, which was strapped to the rear seat. The Ortlieb bag also contained my laptop and my C-PAP machine (welcome to middle age) Fully packed, the bag weighed in at 38 pounds.
See thumbnail for photo of loaded and packed bike.
As for myself, over the years I have come to appreciate Aerostich’s Roadcrafter suits. Mine is well over 20 years old, and looks it, but when I wear it it feels like I am riding with an old friend. The Roadcrafter is probably not the most aesthetic thing I could wear on a bare-bones roadster, but at my age I long ago passed up style for comfort and convenience.
The bike handled just fine fully loaded. A pleasant surprise was me not wishing for highway pegs to stretch out on. The seating position allowed comfort for even my ancient knees. The seat easily stayed comfortable between gas and “pit” stops. On one hand, I wouldn’t want to do a Four Corners, or a Three Flags or an Iron Butt on the T120. But as long as the pace was easy, I could easily spend three weeks on it.
The only Achilles Heel of the T120 was the spoked wheels. Yep, I picked up a nail in a remote part of Montana early on Sunday morning. Although I had tire irons, a patch kit and an air pump, I could not, for the life of me, break the bead to get to the tube. Even when a bunch of friendly Harley riders stopped, with me and two of the more hefty ones stomping on the tire, it wouldn’t budge. Were the rims tubeless, I would have fixed the flat in 20 minutes. So, out came the credit card and cell phone. Next time I take one of those compact bead breakers.
If I may be so bold, it occurred to me during the ride that the T120, at least to me, more closely pays tribute to the UJMs of the 70's - bikes that were powerful, comfy, and could do about anything - rather than the Bonnevilles of the 60's. And to me, that's a good thing.