[v12]

While on the discussion of a battery - would someone be able to advise on the availability of Yuasa YTX16-BS for the 2015 Tiger XRX. My 2015 Tiger has done around 20,000 kms. How long would the stock battery last? And how much would the OE battery cost from Triumph?

[dinu2506]

Got the YTX12-BS Yuasa from Keerthi yesterday. Costed me Rs 6652/- all inclusive. Got it home and installed it myself. All looks good now and also mentally relieved from the thoughts of the battery dying down all of a sudden

[dinu2506]

Installed the ProSpec Easy Clutch on my Bonnie. 15 min job and Madhan is a great person to interact with. The clutch feel is so light and enjoyable and a must-have for the city.

[dinu2506]

Thought of doing a small Corona special DIY. With the bike running quite less and the need for frequent battery charging if needed, thought of having a set-up by which I can use my Bosch C3 charger as a quick plug on charger for the bike instead of having to remove the seats and connect the crocodile clips to the battery terminals. Domestic male female 2 pin plug and socket was used as the connectors, domestic good quality wires were used and brass battery eyelets were used. Used insulation tape to make a good professional looking harness. Plan was to connect the leads having the female socket to the bike battery terminals and route the socket to the inside of the left side panel. The leads having the male plug will be connected to the Bosch Charger as and when needed. For charging, just open the side panel and connect the male plug to the female socket that's inside. The plug and socket positives are painted red to avoid connecting with wrong polarity.
Simple DIY, but good for quick plug-on charging on need basis without removing seat and connecting the clips. Some photos. Hope you guys like it

[dinu2506]

Would any of you have some experience playing with fork oil viscosity on the Bonnie? The stock rating is 10W. Wanted to know experiences going with a thinner (say 5W) or a thicker (15W) oil. What would the real world riding experience be? I'm 70kg and mostly ride solo. 95% of my usage is within city. Appreciate your inputs

[Manjit24x7]

Originally Posted by dinu2506

Thought of doing a small Corona special DIY. With the bike running quite less and the need for frequent battery charging if needed, thought of having a set-up by which I can use my Bosch C3 charger as a quick plug on charger for the bike instead of having to remove the seats and connect the crocodile clips to the battery terminals. Domestic male female 2 pin plug and socket was used as the connectors, domestic good quality wires were used and brass battery eyelets were used. Used insulation tape to make a good professional looking harness. Plan was to connect the leads having the female socket to the bike battery terminals and route the socket to the inside of the left side panel. The leads having the male plug will be connected to the Bosch Charger as and when needed. For charging, just open the side panel and connect the male plug to the female socket that's inside. The plug and socket positives are painted red to avoid connecting with wrong polarity.
Simple DIY, but good for quick plug-on charging on need basis without removing seat and connecting the clips. Some photos. Hope you guys like it

Hello Dinu 2506

For battery tendering i use a SAE Quick connector. one end connected to the battery and other "SAE" end clamped to the sissy bar. the Battery charger too has a SAE connector and its simple plug in/ Unplug.

The Fork oil work is to damp the rebound and also lubricate the fork walls, lower the number thinner the oil and vice versa.

The OE oil numbers are arrived after plenty of thought about the dynamics of the bike/engine/fork etc, better to stick to the OE spec.

5W Oil will make the compression and rebound quicker...but also cause it to bottom-out you feel the bouncing around feeling, on the other hand thicker oil makes the fork reactions become slow, making the ride harsh and bumpy.

Okay, another thing to keep in mind is the Viscosity and Weight, so the 5W/10W are weight and need not necessarily mean higher viscosity, look out for the Viscosity Index [VI], A 5W oil could have more viscosity than a 7W, also depends on Solo Riding vs Pillion vs Solo + Luggage etc. also long distance rides causes heat and the oil to loose viscosity, keeping all these factors in mind....better to go with what the manufacturer recommends.

Long story short, avoid playing with things that play with the dynamics of your bike.

hope you find your sweet spot.

Cheers

[dinu2506]

Originally Posted by Manjit24x7

Hello Dinu 2506

For battery tendering i use a SAE Quick connector. one end connected to the battery and other "SAE" end clamped to the sissy bar. the Battery charger too has a SAE connector and its simple plug in/ Unplug.

The Fork oil work is to damp the rebound and also lubricate the fork walls, lower the number thinner the oil and vice versa.

The OE oil numbers are arrived after plenty of thought about the dynamics of the bike/engine/fork etc, better to stick to the OE spec.

5W Oil will make the compression and rebound quicker...but also cause it to bottom-out you feel the bouncing around feeling, on the other hand thicker oil makes the fork reactions become slow, making the ride harsh and bumpy.

Okay, another thing to keep in mind is the Viscosity and Weight, so the 5W/10W are weight and need not necessarily mean higher viscosity, look out for the Viscosity Index [VI], A 5W oil could have more viscosity than a 7W, also depends on Solo Riding vs Pillion vs Solo + Luggage etc. also long distance rides causes heat and the oil to loose viscosity, keeping all these factors in mind....better to go with what the manufacturer recommends.

Long story short, avoid playing with things that play with the dynamics of your bike.

hope you find your sweet spot.

Cheers

Thanks for your very pertinent points. I use the Bosch C3 charger for multiple vehicles and since the unit only comes with a single SAE Quick Connector, I could not use this exclusively for this bike. Hence this jugaad, which is in fact doing the job pretty well. I tried my best, even writing to Bosch India to source me a second SAP connector for a cost, but it just fell on deaf ears or asking me to contact the dealer etc.

On the suspension front, the Bonnie is not known for a good suspension, its just ok at best. I have upgraded my front with progressive springs from Tec and I have added preload adjustment capability. It now behaves how a proper premium bike should. The rear has also been upgraded to Tec Gas shocks with preload and damping adjustments. I don't buy into your recommendation not to meddle with manufacturer specs. Many a time, products are manufactured to a cost, so it may not necessarily be the optimum. I feel there are far better aftermarket options available if you research around.

In my next service in October, I will be changing to Maxima Fork Oil 10W which has a better VI than the Liqui Moly 10 that its currently running on. The same 10 weight of Maxima is slightly more viscous than the 10 weight of Liqui Moly at 40C. Fork oils are a hit and miss, a ideal one for one may not necessarily mean for the other. So, wanted to check if any on the ground experiences from anyone. Lets see, will keep you updated

[dinu2506]

Changed the rear tyre of the Bonnie. The Bonnie OE tyre is a Metezeler 130 80 R17 which is not a common size. In my first change, I had put in a Michelin Pilot Street 140 70 R17 which I have been running few years now. This is not exactly the correct upsize but there were no options that time. This has a slightly lower profile compared to stock and there was a slight dip in GC and ride comfort. Nothing perceptible but.. The correct and perfect upsize was the 150 70 17 but that was also a rare size and was available by some brands at obscene prices. For my use case which is predominantly in the city, I did not want to spend much. When the Honda CB350RS was launched, that came with an MRF Kurve 150 70 17 tyre which was perfect. The MRF website showed an MRP of Rs 4290. Managed to find a slightly old but unused - Oct 2021 tyre at an MRF Authorised outlet and promptly picked it up and installed last week.

My, My, what a change. Lovely ride and increased GC has transformed the bike from the already good ride. The looks are also enhanced due to the beefy size. I have preload adjustable front and preload and damping adjustable rear. Played around with the settings and the bike rides like a dream now. Really happy.

However, the increased width meant the TEC Bikeparts accessory Centre Stand had to go, as it was slightly rubbing the edge of the tyre. I could have modified the stand slightly but I used the stand only for chain lubing and I already have a motojack for that purpose. So got the stand removed. In case anyone is interested in the stand, please PM me.

Meanwhile some photos of the bike with the new shoe