Barely a month after the all-new Street Twin went on sale, Fast Bikes Sdn Bhd are at it again with an official announcement that the highly anticipated Triumph Bonneville T120 and T120 Black have arrived in their showrooms for eager bike enthusiasts to ogle over. They’ll kindly take deposits if you want to buy one but if the retro looks of the new Bonnies aren’t enough, they also have the impossibly delicious Thruxton R to whet your appetite.
As the model name suggests, the T120 Bonnevilles and Thruxton R are powered by a new 1200cc liquid-cooled engine, which is a big upgrade over the 865cc air-cooled motor used in the Bonneville T100 and Thruxton 900. Blessed with ride-by-wire technology, riding modes, traction control and Euro 4 compliance, they’re mated to an all-new chassis with top-shelf suspension and brake components to ensure the new bikes look like classics but deliver a contemporary riding experience.
The big-bang theory
Everybody’s going to look at the new engine first, so it’s a good thing it has the on-paper specs to impress. Triumph’s 1200cc parallel-twin runs a 270° crank for a linear and super smooth power delivery and develops 79hp at 6550rpm, which is an 11hp increase. There’s also 105Nm at 3100rpm, a massive 54 per cent more than the old T100, and when combined with a new six-speed gearbox, torque assist clutch and two riding modes, the new Bonneville T120 is in an entirely different league compared to its predecessor.
The Thruxton R though is in a different galaxy.
Using a ‘high-power’ version of the same 1200cc motor, the Thruxton R has 98hp at 6750rpm to call upon; along with 112Nm at 4950rpm, which represent increases of 41 and 62 per cent respectively over the previous Thruxton 900. In comparison, Triumph’s own middleweight naked sportbike, the Street Triple R 675, has 105hp and 68Nm, so expect similar if not better levels of acceleration.
Aside from all the new electronics available on the Bonneville T120, the Thruxton R also gets an extra ‘Sport’ riding mode to deliver undiluted engine response and riding performance. So it’s a good thing the bike can actually contain the performance available.
Sparing no expense
It would have been easy for Triumph to merely shoehorn their new 1200cc motor in to the existing Bonneville chassis, but they’ve taken the expensive route of making a new motorcycle from the ground up. There’s a new frame and to make best use of its new electronics suite, some uprated components too.
The Bonneville T120 and T120 Black get 41mm Kayaba forks and twin Kayaba shocks at the back with the latter getting preload adjustability. The brakes feature Nissin two-pot calipers at the front and back with twin 310mm discs providing lots of stopping power at the front wheel. ABS is standard and like the earlier Street Twin, the front wheel is now a slightly narrower 110/90 R18 hoop.
The Thruxton R gets a component list that reads like it belongs to a sport bike. The front suspension is by Showa, featuring 43mm USD fully adjustable BPF forks. A sparkling set of fully adjustable Öhlins shocks with piggyback reservoirs handle rear suspension duties while the 17-inch wheels are wrapped in Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa rubber. The front brakes feature 310mm Brembo discs grabbed by monobloc Brembo four-piston calipers while the rear has the same Nissin set up as used by the T120.
So yeah, just read the spec list and if you didn’t know better, you’d think the Thruxton R was a Triumph Daytona 675R with no clothes on.
Classic looks remain timeless
Inspired by the legendary ’59 Bonneville, the new Bonneville T120 and T120 Black incorporate more of the original’s DNA and iconic styling cues, detailing and features. From the silhouette to the sculpted flowing lines of the fuel tank, the detailed badges, lights and twin clocks, all the important styling cues are there.
The Bonneville T120 Black has the same styling cues but brings more attitude with all the bright work finished in black including the wheels, grab rail and peashooter exhaust pipes.
The café-racer Thruxton R has a flip top ‘Monza style’ filler cap on its fuel tank which is further embellished with an aluminium tank strap. A polished triple clamp, anodized swing arm and a painted rear seat cowl completes the look. And yes, in case you were wondering, those bar-end wing mirrors are lightweight, cool and legal.
Affordable cool
As the all-new Triumph Bonneville T120, T120 Black and Thruxton R are built at a state-of-the-art facility in Thailand, Malaysian buyers naturally benefit from regional incentives. Therefore, both the T120 bikes are priced at RM79,900 while the Thruxton R is RM91,900 (including GST but before other costs).
“Triumph Malaysia are excited about the introduction and immediate availability of the new Triumph modern classic motorcycle range in our market as interest in modern classic motorcycles has grown very quickly” said Fast Bikes Sdn Bhd Chief Operating Officer (COO) Dato’ Razak Al-Malique Hussain.
“From the rider’s perspective, they want beautiful motorcycles with real character and traditional values, combined with modern levels of refinement and capability and these three bikes fit the bill perfectly” he added.
(Interested to find out for yourself? Then visit the Triumph Motorcycles Premium Flagship Store at: No. 3, Jalan 13/1, Section 13, 46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia, or call 603-7960 9007 for more information.)