“Classic looks with a modern twist
Bike is bit heavier than the previous 865cc model
Plus is that this makes it more stable for cruising and great for a pillion
Minus is that it takes more work to hustle around bends (but it's not a sports bike!)
Sounds great and bags of torque make it a blast under normal day use”
“This red and silver T120 Bonneville is by far the best looking machine I have ever owned. I bought it for the way it looks, performance being relatively unimportant. The performance is actually better than I expected, when you read that it puts out "only" 79 BHP it seems very little for a 1200cc motorcycle engine. Crack the throttle in any of the first 3 gears and from 3000 rpm it surges forward as though you have been hit from behind. It is quite heavy at 223 kg dry which is about the same as a Thunderbird Sport 900 but without the top heavy feel of that bike. I don't ride bikes hard these days, probably due to being over 60 years old and I have been getting consistently over 60 mpg, the best being 69 mpg !!! The bike has very high gearing which equates to around 85 mph in top gear at 4000 rpm. This gearing suits it really well and I no longer keep trying for another gear as is so common on many other bikes I have owned.
The build quality is superb and the attention to detail is second to none. Look at the machine from any angle and you cannot see any ugly hose pipes and unsightly brackets as is common on a lot of naked bikes. This is the first bike I have ever owned which fitted me perfectly, I haven't needed to alter a single thing.
I have found that riding on country lanes with sweeping bends is what the T120 is best suited to, the steering needs a bit more effort to change direction, the 18 inch front wheel probably slows the steering a bit. The brakes are more than up to the job with twin front discs and equipped with ABS.
The rev counter and speedometer are equipped with very useful displays consisting of fuel gauge, fuel range, gear indicator, twin trip meters, clock, average and instant mpg, traction control, riding modes, abs and maybe others which I can't think of right now.
The slip assist clutch action is extremely light so no more aching wrists in traffic jams. When riding this machine in easy going mode I have never needed to rev it beyond 4000 rpm, having bucket loads of torque from tickover. As of now I can't think of another bike which I would rather own. I hope to keep this bike for a very long time.”
