One of the reasons we sometimes run road tests on British-built retro machines is to compare the old with the new, but is Triumph’s new and extensively-researched 1200cc T120 Bonneville Black muscle bike the best way to go? Frank Melling brings his impressions first-hand.
Cubes without vibes – Triumph’s 1200cc Bonneville Black
For such a big, torquey bike, the T120 Triumph Bonneville Black scores highly enough in the handling stakes.
The all-new T120 Triumph Bonneville is a vitally important motorcycle for Triumph’s future, with the bike targeted to be the biggest seller in the Bonnie range which, in turn, will account for 25 to 30% of all motorcycles sold by the Hinckley factory.
Fifty engineers have worked for over four-and-a-half years bringing this motorcycle to market, so it’s a machine that Triumph had to get right.
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An increase in the bore size to 97.6mm takes the engine to a whopping 1200cc, which has necessitated a new cylinder head, but it’s still a single overhead camshaft design to keep things short and neat.
The reworked engine makes 54% more torque than the outgoing T100 at a tractor-like 3500rpm, so you really could pull a trailer-load of spuds with it!
Read more in May’s edition of OBM
