New Bonneville owner from TX

[KennethJ89]

Hi everyone, I have recently picked up a 2017 Triumph Bonneville Bobber with only 1200 miles on it. Now, while the bike is new to me, I registered on your forum to learn from you folks and get ideas on mods and add-ons.
Cheers!

 

[KennethJ89]

Just wanted to share pictures of my Triumph.

 

[rbirkey]

Welcome, Kenneth! Looks like you picked up a nice Bobber! Personally, I always look for a good used bike over new ones to get much more value per dollar.

I think the place to start on modifications is to think about what kind of riding you will do, and what your personal design sensibilities are. It may help to follow sites like http://www.bikeexif.com/ - https://silodrome.com/ - http://www.bonnefication.com/ - to see what others have done creatively to their bikes, and develop a prioritized list of what you want to do.

Based on my personal tastes, I would remove all the reflectors, replace turn signals and taillights with something more retro and streamlined. I would also remove the catalytic converter, replacing it with an X-pipe, and higher performance exhausts with a retune of the engine based on those changes... just to add a few more HP and improve the sound.

I would also replace the front rotor with an EBC floating rotor and high-performance EBC brake pads for better/safer braking power.

I am also not a fan of windscreens, so I would not go that route. I don't think a windscreen is in keeping with the original point and idea of a bobber. I like the feel of the wind hitting me in the chest and helmet. I doesn't take long to develop strong neck muscles when riding like this!

 

[KennethJ89]

Appreciate the advice and warm welcome, sir!

 

[ILeftNJ]

Congratulations. I just bought a 2015 Bonneville T214 yesterday. She has 1,000 miles on it. Returning rider and have to take a safety test and get the license again. Good luck!

 

[rbirkey]

ILeftNJ - Congrats on your purchase! I would love to see some photos of your Special Edition Bonnie when you get a chance. Also, ILeftIL !!!!

 

[ILeftNJ]

Hey thanks I am really excited about it. No pics yet. I take delivery in a couple weeks. Yea grew up in Jersey but moved out 30 years ago/

 

[Triumphup]

Hi everyone, I have recently picked up a 2017 Triumph Bonneville Bobber with only 1200 miles on it. Now, while the bike is new to me, I registered on your forum to learn from you folks and get ideas on mods and add-ons.
Cheers!

Congrats! I have just bought a used 2003 Bonnie myself.Looking for a source for parts myself and of course suggestions as well.

 

[rbirkey]

Welcome Triumphup! I always love to hear of new Bonneville owners who obtain the earlier, air-cooled, carbureted versions! I myself own and ride a custom 2008 Bonneville Black, and have three project bikes going up for sale this spring: 2002 Bonneville, 2006 Scrambler and a 2004 Bonneville. You can read more about them on my blog at https://triumphbonneville.org/project-bikes/

These bikes have unlimited potential for customizing and modifying. I can probably help you with resources and suggestions once I know what you would like to do to the bike, and the kind of riding you do.

 

[Triumphup]

Thanks for the warm welcome... it's soooo good to be back in the fold. Being 68 rings old (numerous surgeries) has limited my riding. To your question, I ride recreationally under 50 miles on most trips, wife goes with me on most. Looking to maintain mostly the "Original" with some modifications.

Now to the bike, needs tires, both sprockets (I think) and the chain over 2" loose to start with. Would like to add LED running lights. These to start with so your direction would be very helpful.

 

[Triumphup]

OH I needed to add the bike has 25000 miles

 

[rbirkey]

Triumphup, OK, thanks for the info. Some of my favorite resources for customizing and modifying my Bonneville's are:

• NewBonneville.com
• BritishCustoms.com
• DimeCityCycles.com

They all offer some LED lighting options, 525 sprockets and chains. On the chain issue, you could consider going with a 520 chain instead of the original 525 and lose some weight. I did this on my 2008 Bonneville that has been upgraded to 1100cc and over 100 HP. The original 525 chain is way overkill!

The 2003 Bonneville with the 790 engine has a 17-tooth front sprocket and 43-tooth rear sprocket. Sprocket Center Conversion Kit: https://sprocketcenter.com/street-s...-ring-chain-triumph-800-bonneville-02-06.html

You could also consider improving the performance of the smaller 790cc engine by doing a few things:

• Remove the Air Injection System - the first thing I always do
• Debaffle the airbox and install a low-resistance air filter - this will require a slight carb re-jet
• Install lower-resistance traditional looking exhausts such Norman Hyde Toga's (These look and sound great!)
• Or, remove the airbox completely and install Pod Filters, low resistance exhausts and a carb re-jet for maximum performance boost. The sources above sell airbox removal kits and exhausts as well.

With 25K miles, the engine should have had its valves checked and shimmed where necessary. Do you know if this was done? If not, this is a highly recommended factory maintenance procedure.

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[Triumphup]

Triumphup, OK, thanks for the info. Some of my favorite resources for customizing and modifying my Bonneville's are:

• NewBonneville.com
• BritishCustoms.com
• DimeCityCycles.com

They all offer some LED lighting options, 525 sprockets and chains. On the chain issue, you could consider going with a 520 chain instead of the original 525 and lose some weight. I did this on my 2008 Bonneville that has been upgraded to 1100cc and over 100 HP. The original 525 chain is way overkill!

The 2003 Bonneville with the 790 engine has a 17-tooth front sprocket and 43-tooth rear sprocket. Sprocket Center Conversion Kit: https://sprocketcenter.com/street-s...-ring-chain-triumph-800-bonneville-02-06.html

You could also consider improving the performance of the smaller 790cc engine by doing a few things:

• Remove the Air Injection System - the first thing I always do
• Debaffle the airbox and install a low-resistance air filter - this will require a slight carb re-jet
• Install lower-resistance traditional looking exhausts such Norman Hyde Toga's (These look and sound great!)
• Or, remove the airbox completely and install Pod Filters, low resistance exhausts and a carb re-jet for maximum performance boost. The sources above sell airbox removal kits and exhausts as well.

With 25K miles, the engine should have had its valves checked and shimmed where necessary. Do you know if this was done? If not, this is a highly recommended factory maintenance procedure.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Good Morning!
Yes I followed your advice I purchased the 520 chain and sprockets from Sprocket ctr. To the valves, not sure if valves have been adjusted, will have that done once bike is back together. Not sure I can deal with Airbox and re-jeting of carbs, might be above my paygrade. I ordered the Dunstall mufflers hope that's a wise choice, and going back to Dunlop tires for front and rear. Looking forward to your comments.

Regards,
Triumphup

 

[Triumphup]

Also... concerned about spoked wheels, should go with tubes or tubeless?

 

[rbirkey]

Can you be more specific as to which Dunstall mufflers you ordered? If they are more free-flow than stock mufflers, you may need to re-jet the carbs anyway to get any benefit and/or make it run well. Spoked wheels require inner tubes because they are not air-tight. I have been running spoked wheels with inner tubes and tires since 2008 with no problems. I had one flat because the valve had corroded at the point it protrudes through the rim. Since then, I leave off the washers on the valve and only use 1 threaded retaining ring. This allows moisture to evaporate or drain away more easily and keeps the corrosion from happening. Have had no problems since.

 

[Triumphup]

Good Morning!
In regard to the Dunstalls, they show to be "Fast moto # 80-84050 and 27 1/4" they seem to have baffles, on a another note the "British custom" were the reverse Megaphone that I took off ( He layed it down on the left side, all scratched up ) they were wide open. I am going with the tubes.

Regards,

Triumpup

 

[rbirkey]

Triumpup, thanks for the added details. The BC reverse megaphone mufflers you removed are most likely called "Predators" and they are open flow exhausts that require re-jetting of the carbs. If that was in fact done, and your new Dunstalls are more restrictive, you may experience a loss of power and poor engine performance. Changing the exhausts affects the fuel-air ratio and therefore the carbs need to be tuned for this. Most people end up tuning for Predators by changing the idle jets from size 40 to 42, and the main jets from size 110 to 120 or 130. You can check this by removing the carbs, then removing the bottom bowls, and with a magnifying glass look at the stamped sizes on those jets. I wrote a blog post about this on my personal blog site here: https://triumphbonneville.org/re-jetting-the-keihin-cvk-carburetor/

 

[ILeftNJ]

ILeftNJ - Congrats on your purchase! I would love to see some photos of your Special Edition Bonnie when you get a chance. Also, ILeftIL !!!!

 

[ILeftNJ]

Been out getting my feet wet to the tune of about 100 miles every weekend. Its been HOT and I ditched gear. Cooler weather coming so looking forward to longer day trips. Its a 2015 but now has only 1900 miles on it.
Original owner put a few upgrades in. Handle bars Chrome Grab bar and I think hydraulic front disc. Also LED turn signals I think are upgrades.
Thanks for looking.

 

[rbirkey]

ILeftNJ, Looks like you are having fun! The Dunstalls you installed look good. They look very similar to the Norman Hyde Toga's, which I have used on some Bonneville's and like the sound of. Since your Bonneville is a 2015 model, it is electronic fuel injected (EFI) and does not have carburetors. In this case, your computer adjusts itself for the change in exhausts. There may be a better computer "map" for your setup, but you would need to research that and be able to reprogram the onboard computer. If the bike runs well as is, I would just enjoy the ride!