2005 Bonneville Winter Mods

[thearcticsea]

* unposted photos, plus higher resolution versions of the ones posted here can be found on my Flickr page : http://www.flickr.com/photos/james_c/sets/72157622838403448/

Just going to continuously post the work I'm doing to my bike over the winter.

First post will just show a "before" pic, and a quick little thing I did today.

There's a large stockpile of parts and accessories that are waiting, so keep checking if this seems interesting to you.

November, 2009 :

2005 Triumph Bonneville - Stock

 

[thearcticsea]

First quick little mod - LED lighting

Followed BenajminDickens (forum member) and scored some quick LEDs for my gauge cluster. D9 will hopefully supply me with a more attractive gauge bracket, and the tachometer will be installed with matching lights once I get the bracket. (D9 expect a PM again).

This change was very easy to make, and you can get any color from SuperbrightLEDs.com

The bulb sizes are WLEDx5 and 74xHP3

Removed the gauge bracket. Careful not to be too rough.

Once the bulbs are installed simply install the cluster the same way you removed it.

Once reinstalled the lights are ready to shine.

Looking very clean and modern. Choose your color and go with it.

 

[thearcticsea]

Began further disassembly of the bike.

Removed :
Seat
Rear Lights
Rear Fender
Airbox covers
Front Fender Stay (1)

Then I had to go hang a curtain for the wife : P Back to it another day.

 

[Hamr Mark]

I need closure!

Whats going to happen? argh!

I have been thinking about the led's myself. Probably turn into a winter project as well.

Could you post a link directly to the bulbs? I went looking and I cannot find them for the life of me. Thanks

 

[tooblekain]

+1...looking to do the LED conversion too. The stock bulbs to light up the clocks is not bright enough. Now if they can get the clocks to be lit up in green, the it will really match my Goodwood Green Bonnie. I'm looking at changing the idiot lights on my Bonnie to LED too...I saw a link for those at newbonneville.com

So where can we find the LED bulbs for the clocks?

Also, how many bulbs are needed to light each clock? I would think one is not enough.

EDIT: Nevermind...saw the link

But...the WLED-x5--is that for the clocks or the idiot lights?
And for the 74xHP3--same question...is that for the clocks or idiot lights?

I have a T100 speedo and tach...I'm assuming the bulbs for the speedo are the same for the clock

 

[thearcticsea]

Hi toob and Hamr. Both of the lights I listed are for the clocks. I was surprised to find out that the Speedometer uses two bulbs, one large and one smaller. If you have a Tachometer I think you'll need 2 more of the larger size (WLED x5).

The idiot lights you can find at Newbonneville.com under the lighting area. Also a very easy mod, but something I decided would wait till I put on the new bracket.

Stay tuned.

 

[tooblekain]

Hi toob and Hamr. Both of the lights I listed are for the clocks. I was surprised to find out that the Speedometer uses two bulbs, one large and one smaller. If you have a Tachometer I think you'll need 2 more of the larger size (WLED x5).

The idiot lights you can find at Newbonneville.com under the lighting area. Also a very easy mod, but something I decided would wait till I put on the new bracket.

Stay tuned.

Hey articsea...

thanks for answering :headbang2: I was comparing bulbs at Bike Bandit studying the microfiche and came to that conclusion as well. I think for the idiot lights you use the smaller ones (the 73 whatevers). I will be doing this mod soon for sure because I use my Bonnie quite a bit. The lights on the clock are starting to dim out. Plus I already burned out the bright lights idiot light already. Thank goodness for waranty. Im gonna go with the greens to match my Goodwoood Green .

 

[thearcticsea]

Spent a little bit of time in the garage this weekend, getting things ready for further mods. Here's a bit more progress, nothing too fancy.

Removed the front fender and fitted a smaller bracket.

Fitted the replacement fender as a test run. It fits, so off it comes for paint preparation to begin.

Next I figured I might as well remove the stock mufflers. I removed the passenger pegs first.

Came off without a hitch. Careful not to be too rough on the rubber bushings. They can sheer easily.

With the peg removed, next, simply loosen the muffler clamp.

With a bit of persuasion the muffler should slip right off.

Removed mufflers. You can see my seat cowl on the bench with a mockup of the upcoming paintwork. Very rough mockup. : P

Next, I shoved all my take-off parts into storage. Mirrors, mufflers, fenders, side-covers, etc.

Bike is prepped for the works now. Pretty soon I'll post my airbox elimination, AI elim, sprocket change, and exhaust install. Then it'll be on to the preparation for paint. Even though this is fun, I'd rather be riding.

Damn this winter...

 

[simpson]

Can't wait to see the finished product!

-simpson

 

[thearcticsea]

Handlebars went on tonight.

First things first. It's 8 degrees outside, so my buddy Kris gets the propane going.

First, squeeze a screwdriver into the clutch-side handgrip to creat an air pocket.

Spray some WD-40 into the cavity created by the screwdriver.

Give the screwdriver a bit of a twist, then remove and twist the grip with your hand. It should give a nice pop and then slide right off.

Next, loosen the allen screws on the clutch mechanism and throttle mechanism.

Next, pop the little covers off the centerclamp allen screws, and unscrew them with a 6mm allen wrench. Then simply coax the throttle mechanism and clutch mechanism off the bars.

We've now removed the mechanisms from the old bars and slid them on to the new ones. My friend Kris tightens the allen screws on the center clamp so that I can get a good feel for where I'd like the bars to end up.

Kris holds the bars in place as I use a torque wrench to tighten the clamp bolts. Tighten the forward bolts first, then the rearward two. The proper torque spec is 26 newtonMeters.

After feeling for fit, adjust and tighten the bars and the clutch/throttle mechanisms so that they're comfortable and functional. Job done!

The bars are on and looking great. On to the next project.

So that's that for tonight. Next week I'll be relocating the ignition, replacing the headlight brackets, and working out the front turn signals.

 

[Hamr Mark]

It looks like you guys need more heat, and more light in your shop.

So, I am thinking of another set of bars for my Bon. but I don't want to spend weeks getting different bars to find out that they don't work for me. So what kind of bars do you put on? Why that particular brand? What were you looking for when you went with those bars? What is your height? Whta kind of riding do you mostly do?

Too many choices....

 

[Bonniebret]

Great pics. I'm a sucker for the step-by-step stuff. Keep 'em coming!

 

[thearcticsea]

We definitely need more heat and light since I just moved into this house in October. The light is easy just haven't hung them yet. Heat I'll have to work on.

The handlebars I went with were superbars. They're about 2.5 inches lower with about 2 inches less pullback. They give a more sporty riding posture without being as low as clipons. Basically they're a happy medium between stock and clipons. I think I'll like them.

 

[wobblygong]

Great pics. I'm a sucker for the step-by-step stuff. Keep 'em coming!

Ditto that for me.
I'm particularly interested to see how the seat cowel turns out. Do you intend to change tank colour in your repaint?
I'm looking at changing my stock seat to a Thruxton Gel seat with a seat cowel I can pick up cheap on fleabay-but it's fire engine red. I will need to repaint it to match my tank colour (Lucifer Orange/Silver with gold pin-striping. '02 Centennial T100 colour scheme).
Ya bikes' going to look great. Can't wait to see end result!

Cheers,
wobbly

 

[thearcticsea]

The tank is being removed and stored away and replaced with a newly painted tank. Just haven't gotten to that step yet. For the next month I'm going to be focusing on the performance side of things (not getting too crazy) then I'll continue on with the paint prep. It'll all be documented here and on Flickr so keep checking if you're interested.

 

[wobblygong]

Roger that thearticsea.
Will be watching with interest.

 

[bonnieblktrk]

Really good write-up. Takes alot of forethought to put that together.

 

[thearcticsea]

I'm not sure about forethought, but thanks. I've got a lot more to post, but not ready yet. British Customs is unbelievably slow with shipping. Once they get me the parts I ordered I can complete the process.

 

[bikeypikey]

So, I am thinking of another set of bars for my Bon. but I don't want to spend weeks getting different bars to find out that they don't work for me. So what kind of bars do you put on? Why that particular brand? What were you looking for when you went with those bars? What is your height? Whta kind of riding do you mostly do?

Too many choices....

+1 on the NB Superbars. I'm 5'10 and love the position. I'm using std footpegs and the ergos are fine. Mostly medium/fastish road riding and a little firetrail. The only downside to the NB Supers is that when I was offroad and had to stand on the pegs for a long time, my back ached. Maybe that's just me though....

Arctic, maybe you've seen it on another thread, but check the routing of your clutch cable as when I swapped to NB Supers, the cable rubbed and melted a little on the l/h downpipe. There's a hole in the front of the crankcase that you can cable tie it to.

A great thread and thanks for taking the time and effort to bring us in on it. Can't wait for the next installment!

Cheers,

Pikey.

 

[thearcticsea]

Thanks for the heads up. I'll check it out later today.