"Too much bike" or nostalgia? 100hp 4cyl vs <50hp twin for leisurely back road riding

[Suzukian]

Those MRA vario screens are hard to come buy and cost a fortune now. I always wondered if they worked well. They get excellent reviews. I'm going with a double Bubble windshield. It would be nice to see a picture of it.

[Jedz123]

I was doing the math and I have somewhere in the vicinity of 400K miles of riding experience at this point and by far my favorite bike to ride is my 2018 Triumph Bonneville T120 which I bought new and now has 103K miles. I live in rural Vermont, 50MPH speed zones, hills, twsitys and mountains are all a quick turn out of my driveway.

I owned some hyper bikes (B-king, Vmax-17) Super tours (ZG14 with many ZX-14 tunes and power adders), a couple FZ1's, B-12.. Etc. However the best bike for my riding style around here is the Bonneville T120 with it's 1200cc Water-cooled twin engine.

I want to get it Dyno'd I'm interested to see what it develops for power to the wheel I'm guessing 80whp - 80ft/lbs of tq. Its QUICK! but it fizzles out after 100mph, it can go faster but it's really got the best leg from 2K-6K RPM, it will pull to 7.5K RPM but it's a linear power delivery not peaky like a 4cylinder. The Punch the twin offers is amazing and extremely useful for exiting twistys.

The frame design is awesome. I have mine setup with weight reduction (50lbs drop - 470lbs at the dump scale)and suspension upgrades and it is by far one of the best handling motorcycles I've ever owned (for Vermont riding) that you can put 1000 miles on of course, I've owned sport bikes that handled better....

A Stock T120 is more docile and I would recommend a re-gear if you do allot of 50-60mph top speed cruising They are geared extremely tall from Triumph (guessing to hit those MPGs). I would recommend that route, You'll be in the 70/70 whp/tq. Going tubeless and running ZR tread is the way to go. I went extreme and run 17" front (stock 18") but the Road 5/6 compliments this bike very well.

It's a weapon that you can ride for 18 hours straight. Hell of a machine. Anyone entertaining the idea of getting one I would recommend getting Cruise Control as well, it only improves the comfort of the bike. It's as comfortable to ride as my GS1000G. Unfortunately I don't ride it much anymore (or ride as much in general) since the my daughter joined the party last year so It's nice to take out and ride on occasion. I'll never sell it... Same boat, it's all the power I'll ever need but it's not ludicrous and never too much for the rural Vermont roads I ride every day.

Cheers.

[GS1150Pilot]

Mine came with an MRA vario screen with spoiler. It's noisy. I'll figure it out.
Still has original mirrors.
My throttle hand was and is suffering. I think a large part was the TB imbalance and surging at low speed. Unconsciously I had a death grip when re-applying power.
Getting better now as I figure out this single TPS lark. As I get closer to a more balanced and lower idle, more of the steam train character I was looking for is returning.
There are still a few nice 45 mph lanes around here if you know where to look.

The throttle on the BMW is stiffer than most I've encountered. Have you looked into purchasing a matched set of injectors?

They really do feel like locomotives, which I like quite a lot.

[Brendan W]

The throttle on the BMW is stiffer than most I've encountered. Have you looked into purchasing a matched set of injectors?

They really do feel like locomotives, which I like quite a lot.

Yes it is stiff. Running injector cleaner through for now. There is only 33 000 km on it. Air passages quite dirty. Hopefully cleaner and regular use will flush a lot of gunk out.

[gtem]

I was doing the math and I have somewhere in the vicinity of 400K miles of riding experience at this point and by far my favorite bike to ride is my 2018 Triumph Bonneville T120 which I bought new and now has 103K miles. I live in rural Vermont, 50MPH speed zones, hills, twsitys and mountains are all a quick turn out of my driveway.

I owned some hyper bikes (B-king, Vmax-17) Super tours (ZG14 with many ZX-14 tunes and power adders), a couple FZ1's, B-12.. Etc. However the best bike for my riding style around here is the Bonneville T120 with it's 1200cc Water-cooled twin engine.

I want to get it Dyno'd I'm interested to see what it develops for power to the wheel I'm guessing 80whp - 80ft/lbs of tq. Its QUICK! but it fizzles out after 100mph, it can go faster but it's really got the best leg from 2K-6K RPM, it will pull to 7.5K RPM but it's a linear power delivery not peaky like a 4cylinder. The Punch the twin offers is amazing and extremely useful for exiting twistys.

The frame design is awesome. I have mine setup with weight reduction (50lbs drop - 470lbs at the dump scale)and suspension upgrades and it is by far one of the best handling motorcycles I've ever owned (for Vermont riding) that you can put 1000 miles on of course, I've owned sport bikes that handled better....

A Stock T120 is more docile and I would recommend a re-gear if you do allot of 50-60mph top speed cruising They are geared extremely tall from Triumph (guessing to hit those MPGs). I would recommend that route, You'll be in the 70/70 whp/tq. Going tubeless and running ZR tread is the way to go. I went extreme and run 17" front (stock 18") but the Road 5/6 compliments this bike very well.

It's a weapon that you can ride for 18 hours straight. Hell of a machine. Anyone entertaining the idea of getting one I would recommend getting Cruise Control as well, it only improves the comfort of the bike. It's as comfortable to ride as my GS1000G. Unfortunately I don't ride it much anymore (or ride as much in general) since the my daughter joined the party last year so It's nice to take out and ride on occasion. I'll never sell it... Same boat, it's all the power I'll ever need but it's not ludicrous and never too much for the rural Vermont roads I ride every day.

Cheers.

Awesome bike JedZ!! Do you ever go to the Bennington Triumph Bash? I rode out on my XS500 with my brother on his CB360 back in 2010. I briefly owned a bone stock '01 Bonneville in college, thought it would be a sweet spot of classic/UJM era ergos and looks and more modern performance and reliability, but found it rather bland and very restricted by overly lean EPA settings. Admittedly some minor carb and exhaust tweaking may have transformed it. Your worked over 1200cc model sounds like it'd be a rather different beast altogether!

[gtem]

As a follow-up on my own thread, I did the *unthinkable* and ended up buying an old Shovelhead harley (1980 FXS Low Rider) to see if a cantankerous plodding old V-twin would scratch the "usable characterful performance" itch.... but I think I overdid it on this one folks. It's just a bit *TOO* cantankerous and sketchy for me to currently consider any sort of touring on! You live you learn, I'm hoping I can get out of this thing without losing my shirt. Instead, my brother and I are planning to do our annual PA tour on our original warhorses: my on my well worn XS500 (needs some fresh clutch springs/plates and some more carb fiddling), him on his CB360 that he needs to re-ring and do some work on in time for a fall ride.

I've really enjoyed reading all the responses!

[gtem]

I'm finding the R1100R to be about the perfect balance between most every need I have in a roadgoing motorcycle.

By coincidence, I have the "opportunity" to buy a semi-abandoned (but titled) '98 R1100RS with 72k miles from a friend for the princely sum of $100. The catch is the bike is down in S.C. and I have to go fetch it. I was seriously considering it until I learned of the mileage. I know these older oilhead bikes can go the distance, but it just seems like too much of a potential headache to take on as a project at the moment. I will say, as I was researching these bikes, I came away with the impression that they are indeed a "goldilocks" sort of perfect all-arounder. Not too heavy, but decent on the highway with good relaxed gearing. I'll certainly put it on the "bucket list" of bikes to own or at least try riding some day.

[GS1150Pilot]

As a follow-up on my own thread, I did the *unthinkable* and ended up buying an old Shovelhead harley (1980 FXS Low Rider) to see if a cantankerous plodding old V-twin would scratch the "usable characterful performance" itch.... but I think I overdid it on this one folks. It's just a bit *TOO* cantankerous and sketchy for me to currently consider any sort of touring on! You live you learn, I'm hoping I can get out of this thing without losing my shirt. Instead, my brother and I are planning to do our annual PA tour on our original warhorses: my on my well worn XS500 (needs some fresh clutch springs/plates and some more carb fiddling), him on his CB360 that he needs to re-ring and do some work on in time for a fall ride.

I've really enjoyed reading all the responses!

Having enjoyed the hell out of building up a late model Sportster, I can say that I will definitely have another Harley (after I sell the Sporty). Probably a Fat Boy or Road King.

[Jedz123]

Awesome bike JedZ!! Do you ever go to the Bennington Triumph Bash? I rode out on my XS500 with my brother on his CB360 back in 2010. I briefly owned a bone stock '01 Bonneville in college, thought it would be a sweet spot of classic/UJM era ergos and looks and more modern performance and reliability, but found it rather bland and very restricted by overly lean EPA settings. Admittedly some minor carb and exhaust tweaking may have transformed it. Your worked over 1200cc model sounds like it'd be a rather different beast altogether!

Thanks Dude!

Yes and I'm actually going down there this Saturday to meet up with my TOMCC crew for the day this coming Saturday. The Triumph cats are awesome. I brought my GS1000G to the last club meet up and most of the guys were drooling over it. It get's more attention than my T120 does!

The earlier gen air-cooled Bonnie's were extremely reliable but SLOW. This water-cooled bike is punchy. I think flat out the GS1`000G might catch up to it miles down the road but the holeshot of the T120 makes it the most spirited of my current lineup.

If your ever in Vermont reach out and hit me up! More than welcome to take it out for a spin!

Cheers,

[Jedz123]

By coincidence, I have the "opportunity" to buy a semi-abandoned (but titled) '98 R1100RS with 72k miles from a friend for the princely sum of $100. The catch is the bike is down in S.C. and I have to go fetch it. I was seriously considering it until I learned of the mileage. I know these older oilhead bikes can go the distance, but it just seems like too much of a potential headache to take on as a project at the moment. I will say, as I was researching these bikes, I came away with the impression that they are indeed a "goldilocks" sort of perfect all-arounder. Not too heavy, but decent on the highway with good relaxed gearing. I'll certainly put it on the "bucket list" of bikes to own or at least try riding some day.

The 1100 Oil-heads are very sought after, generally "reliable" (a word I'm using loosely to describe this particular BMW model). I picked up a R1100R and it was a bit of headache to bring back to life. If the bike is complete the things to look out for are the Hall effect Sensors (for fuel injection), rear main seal and clutch (dry) and the rear diff. The bearings go bad in the rear diff but you can rebuild them, it wasn't too hard to do. It was a cool bike, made an interesting noise and the motor pulled very well. The suspension, weight distribution and geometry was amazing. The motors are stout but the clutch can give out from 75K miles to 125K miles. That requires to "crack the lobster" you have to basically take half the bike off to get to the clutch. BMW guys say they are reliable but anything is reliable if you keep throwing money at it. I do wish I still had it, kinda. It was a uniquely fun bike to ride, nothing quite like it.

[GS1150Pilot]

The 1100 Oil-heads are very sought after, generally "reliable" (a word I'm using loosely to describe this particular BMW model). I picked up a R1100R and it was a bit of headache to bring back to life. If the bike is complete the things to look out for are the Hall effect Sensors (for fuel injection), rear main seal and clutch (dry) and the rear diff. The bearings go bad in the rear diff but you can rebuild them, it wasn't too hard to do. It was a cool bike, made an interesting noise and the motor pulled very well. The suspension, weight distribution and geometry was amazing. The motors are stout but the clutch can give out from 75K miles to 125K miles. That requires to "crack the lobster" you have to basically take half the bike off to get to the clutch. BMW guys say they are reliable but anything is reliable if you keep throwing money at it. I do wish I still had it, kinda. It was a uniquely fun bike to ride, nothing quite like it.

I read about your R1100R build elsewhere, Jedz. I'll be replacing the exhaust to drop the weight it drops, probably do the Booster plug mod then, too, but before too long, I'll upgrade the already great suspension to Wilbers stuff and have a seat redone by Sargent. Like your Triumph, I find it ultra comfortable for long trips. Mine only has a little over 16K on the clock, and I've only put about 1200 miles on her this far, but longer trips (so far, taken her to Flagstaff and down to Bisbee) are in the works after I make my move to New Mexico.

[gtem]

Thanks Dude!

Yes and I'm actually going down there this Saturday to meet up with my TOMCC crew for the day this coming Saturday. The Triumph cats are awesome. I brought my GS1000G to the last club meet up and most of the guys were drooling over it. It get's more attention than my T120 does!

The earlier gen air-cooled Bonnie's were extremely reliable but SLOW. This water-cooled bike is punchy. I think flat out the GS1`000G might catch up to it miles down the road but the holeshot of the T120 makes it the most spirited of my current lineup.

If your ever in Vermont reach out and hit me up! More than welcome to take it out for a spin!

Cheers,

Thank you for the generous offer! Say Hi to Mark for me (i think he's one of the main organizers), he's the one who invited us in 2010 after we met via Advrider.

[LAB3]

As a follow-up on my own thread, I did the *unthinkable* and ended up buying an old Shovelhead harley (1980 FXS Low Rider) to see if a cantankerous plodding old V-twin would scratch the "usable characterful performance" itch.... but I think I overdid it on this one folks. It's just a bit *TOO* cantankerous and sketchy for me to currently consider any sort of touring on! You live you learn, I'm hoping I can get out of this thing without losing my shirt.

Rode a shovel for eight years, two top end rebuilds and a rod/ pin set later I switched to rice. They can be a solid and reliable machine but as you probably already figured out, you MUST stay on top of every little thing constantly for it to be that way. Who where the guys that broke down on a Saturday run? The ones who didn't spend at least on evening a week in the garage!

[gtem]

Rode a shovel for eight years, two top end rebuilds and a rod/ pin set later I switched to rice. They can be a solid and reliable machine but as you probably already figured out, you MUST stay on top of every little thing constantly for it to be that way. Who where the guys that broke down on a Saturday run? The ones who didn't spend at least on evening a week in the garage!

I spent a good several weekends just catching it up on maintenance wear/tear stuff, oil tank and cooler lines, checked/adjusted the primary chain, new oil and filter. The bike has 19k miles on the clock, and has had dual plug heads installed/machined at some point in the late 80s(?), I don't have any real history on the bike unfortunately. It runs and rides fine, just feels like a bit of a ticking timebomb to me, mostly as a function of my lack of familiarity with the breed. The one thing I do know is that I can't just hunt down a used junkyard motor for a few hundred dollars like I can one of my old UJMs! At the moment I trust my XS1100 to make it out to the California coast more than I do the FXS to make it to the state line. That could be all in my head, but that's just how the two bikes "feel" to me. I think my old XS500 splits the difference pretty well. A bit of a sense of adventure to ride than thing even several hundred miles from home, but atleast I know I'm not out a lot of money if it does bite the dust (I have a "fresh" 10k mile motor sitting as a spare in the garage).

[Rob S.]

Two questions:

Is that steering dampener stock?

Isn't that quite a bit of length of gold exhaust for an experienced DIYer like yourself? That's lean, right? (Blue would be rich?)