Its chassis is more than capable of carving through the bends, but it has far more limitations imposed on it than the sportier Thruxton when it comes to cornering. Ground clearance is quite limited and the 18-inch front wheel can give a slightly lazy feeling to the front end and odd feedback if you are more used to a 17-inch item. The suspension is soft but perfectly suited to the bike’s relaxed outlook on life.
The new parallel twin motor may be 1200cc, but in the Bonnie it has been tuned for maximum ease of use. You don’t need to go hunting for an elusive bit of torque, as long as the rev counter is showing above 2000rpm the T120 is ready to waft you forward with minimal fuss and revs. It’s silky smooth in its throttle response and has virtually no vibrations, certainly not enough to make the mirrors do anything as ungainly as vibrate.
Triumph has lavished huge amounts of time and effort on the T120 and the level of detail and finish is excellent. It is a beautiful bike to just stand and admire and MCN can’t forsee any reliability woes. The motor’s service intervals have been extended to 10,000 miles, which is also good news.
In March 2019 a recall was issued for some versions of this bike. Find out how to get yours sorted here.
The Bonnie offers a lot of technology and style for a very reasonable price. The optional two-tone paint is worth the extra cash as the hand painted pin stripe does really set the bike apart. The T120 Black replaces the T120’s chrome for matt black should you want a more subtle style at no extra cost.
The only adjustment on the suspension is the rear preload, however the Bonnie has two-level heated grips as standard, ABS and traction control. The dash is loaded with useful information such as fuel range and a gear position indicator. A pillion grab rail is standard fitment.
In May 2019 Triumph revealed the T120 Ace and Diamond special editions - regular T120s that were dressed slightly differently to seperate them from the crowds.
