kroxboston
moped
Hi there!
Been riding for 3 seasons now.. mostly around town (Boston) commuting 12 miles a day. Started on a Honda Rebel 250 and put several thousand miles on that and (loved it) but outgrew it. After talking with a bunch of friends who own Bonnies (and testing one out) I bought a 2001 Bonneville with only 1,700 miles on it. Clearly someone left it in their garage looking pretty and never rode it for 10 years!! I put ~500 miles on it this season so far. I have to say its a bit of a love /hate relationship. I'm in love with the styling and power. But it has some serious issues with rough acceleration / unpredictable throttle response especially at lower speeds. Out for a weekend ride in the country I can put up with that, but at my height (5'6") in stop and go traffic, it's no fun to ride. I've had the carbs stripped and cleaned with only modest improvement. Only modification I've done so far are remove the AI's and snorkel. I am thinking next to see if the carbs need synching.
Beyond that, definitely considering suspension mods to gain some height on the beast (probably go with -30mm rear shocks and progressive fronts) - I need new tires too so am thinking to go with the 17inch front wheel to match the rear. Starting to read about changing jets, punching holes in things etc gets a bit overwhelming! I'm wondering where to start, especially given my goal is more control around town, without sacrificing comfort on some weekend country road riding. I know there are lots of tech discussions on here I'm looking fwd to sifting through... Thanks in advance!
Been riding for 3 seasons now.. mostly around town (Boston) commuting 12 miles a day. Started on a Honda Rebel 250 and put several thousand miles on that and (loved it) but outgrew it. After talking with a bunch of friends who own Bonnies (and testing one out) I bought a 2001 Bonneville with only 1,700 miles on it. Clearly someone left it in their garage looking pretty and never rode it for 10 years!! I put ~500 miles on it this season so far. I have to say its a bit of a love /hate relationship. I'm in love with the styling and power. But it has some serious issues with rough acceleration / unpredictable throttle response especially at lower speeds. Out for a weekend ride in the country I can put up with that, but at my height (5'6") in stop and go traffic, it's no fun to ride. I've had the carbs stripped and cleaned with only modest improvement. Only modification I've done so far are remove the AI's and snorkel. I am thinking next to see if the carbs need synching.
Beyond that, definitely considering suspension mods to gain some height on the beast (probably go with -30mm rear shocks and progressive fronts) - I need new tires too so am thinking to go with the 17inch front wheel to match the rear. Starting to read about changing jets, punching holes in things etc gets a bit overwhelming! I'm wondering where to start, especially given my goal is more control around town, without sacrificing comfort on some weekend country road riding. I know there are lots of tech discussions on here I'm looking fwd to sifting through... Thanks in advance!