[adi_petrolhead]

So after a very long time, almost 10 years, I have gone back to two wheels. Hurray to me! Actually I've never been a rider all my 'driving' life, but recent inflow of these imports in to India, was just too tempting to ignore and boy am I a happy bunny or what!?

My short list included the Kawasaki 650 range, Benelli 600 range, Ducati Scrambler series and the Triumph Bonneville series.

Now one might ask that why are there no Harley Davidson bikes on my list. That's quite simple, I wouldn't like the low end Street series bikes and I wouldn't spend as much as 12 lakh on an Iron 883.

Taking test drives:

I'll be honest, I tried the Benelli 600i some time last year, but the model at the time didn't have ABS. Hence it was crossed off then and there. Recently they did launch ABS variant but again, the low and mid range of that 4 cyl mill was not what I was looking for. But what a sound track with the IXIL exhaust that 600i has, no other bike could come close in that range at least.

I then stopped looking for a bike actually, since my other set of wheels, the Octy, kept me occupied a lot with some problems and I was just not in the mind set to buy a bike worth 7-9 lakhs.

Kawasaki, well I was not even sure they have a showroom in Ahmedabad, hence didn't try to research. (my heart was already set on a Triumph T120)

Ducati does have a flagship showroom in Ahmedabad, still I didn't go in for a test drive for the fact that the Scrambler was a bit weird looking for my taste and also the reliability factors were settling in to my mind. Or may be I was too lazy to go and have a look at the bike, but really the kind of wires sprouting from everywhere in the front, it made it look like a Honda Navi in my mind.

The actual test drives, and the final ones:

So I shoot a mail to Triumph dealer here and get a quick price list, accessories brochure etc. I was invited for a test drive. I picked the T120 going by the price list there was hardly 2 Lakh difference between the 900 motors and the 1200 ones.

I AM FLYING! Thats what the test drive felt like. And that was with traction control on, and in Rain mode for more aggressive traction control set up. I didn't dare turn it off. I came back a happy man with a wide grin plastered to my face.

I wanted an all black T120 Black edition. Sadly Triumph India doesn't sell these here, and I was looking at the Street Twin which they had in the showroom in all matt black finish (but the exhaust) and I had decided, its either a T120 black or nothing at all. After a lot of back and forth with the dealer on probable launches, they had only two models to be launched, the Thruxton and the Bobber. No T120 Black in near future, also the inventory of the T120 was zero, and it would take around 3 months to get one. There was also of course the confusion about Euro 3 and Euro 4, hence I decided to wait.

After the dealer confirmed that theres no way to get a Black edition T120, it was done. No bike for me.

The dealer called again, and asked me to try the Street Twin once. It was a similar test drive, super punchy 900 cc High Torque motor, light weight, low seat, nimble handler. Not as comfy as the T120 but it did fit the bill.



The dealer managed to get me a Euro 4 bike, and I placed the booking for it to be billed from Triumph India to the dealer. Got delivery in about a week as the bike arrived at the dealership pretty quickly.

Delivery and overall buying experience:

The dealer, West Coast Triumph (WCT here in after) was very cooperative, patient, open to discussions, late night WhatsApp chats and what not. I felt I was actually treated like a customer should be, I felt almost obliged to just buy the bike . But jokes apart, very detailed work had gone in to finalising the model, colour, finance options, delivery etc. I hardly had any problem in the overall experience and I would highly recommend Triumph India's effort to educate the dealers and make them actually talk about the bikes passionately and with proper knowledge.

Got the delivery early April, with exactly '0' kms on the odometer. My first vehicle with ZERO kms on the clock.


Pictures from the showroom of my unveiling the bike to myself

Unboxing the bike:


The first start up:


What a stance this thing has!


Rear profile and the Silencer pipe:



The all important High Torque 900 cc Parallel Twin(drools.....)




The Oil reservoir in this matte black shade of bike, is also darkened. Other colours have a white plastic material instead.


I haven't got any accessories yet, besides a dresser bar. The Accessories are too tempting and one can transform their own bike in their own way without any boundaries. I was interested in the Vance and Hines exhaust from the start but now it doesn't seem I need it. The bike has completed 1400 kms till date and I will be doing much of riding this whole year with an aim of 10-12000 kms. It seems doable because the engine and its performance with everything else is just too good to be true.

[adi_petrolhead]

Features:

I'll list down the important features, it has many but the most used ones, safety features, and a few extras.

1. ABS, Traction Control, Slip-assist clutch. These three take the cake! In my 1000 km stint with the bike, I've had the misfortune of facing a near miss one time, it was at a roundabout and a person on a Splendor just came out of nowhere and crossed me. I braked and I mean I jammed the foot brake as well as the front brake lever, the bike stopped in a jiffy! No skidding no jerks, just the ABS doing its job and I was so happy to see the braking being so sharp with a single disc set up at the front. I was in two minds to go for the T120 just for the dual disc set up in front on offer. But no regrets there. Will talk about the braking in more detail in the Performance review section. On loose surfaces the TCS takes total control and cuts off power immediately so that the wheel doesn't spin off. With TCS off, it can do 50 footer burnouts all day long! No, I haven't tried cooking the tyres yet and don't intend to either. Slip assist clutch is such a breeze to use, with its feather lite operation and adjustable levers, after 5 hours of continuous riding, my left hand didn't feel even a pinch of discomfort. There's minimal tyre lock up on aggressive downshifting. Very easy to slide the tail with help of Slip assist and ABS.

The left hand stalk and adjustable clutch lever; it has 4 levels of adjustment for reach:



The right hand stalk and adjustable brake lever; it has 5 levels of adjustment for reach/play:



2. Ride by Wire throttle with single throttle body: What this does is it gives a smooth rev manner, linear acceleration, but with a slight delay which can be discounted off once you're on the move. It does take time to get used to it in traffic but out on the open roads, its as close to the throttle response on my Octy.

3. MID and other conveniences: The MID displays rider information as under.

• Gear Indicator
• Fuel level
• Odometer
  
• 2 x Trip meters
  
  
• Instantaneous fuel consumption
  
• Average fuel consumption
  
• Distance to empty
  
• Current time
  
• Traction Control On/Off position. This is available only when ignition is on and not while riding. You can turn off the TTC by long-press of the " i " button.
  

There are various symbols on the clock though, such as low oil and fuel indication, ABS and TCS lights, Neutral indicator, High beam indicator, turn signal indicator. What I sorely miss, is an RPM reading. It was very difficult for me to constantly think about the RPM especially during my Running in period.

There's also the absence of a self-cancelling indicator, something very useful on my old Pulsar.

4. USB socket, helmet lock, side stand: There's a single usb socket under the seat why Triumph?? Completely pointless and inconvenient. But I'll discount this faux-pas for the way they have handled the wiring on this bike! You cannot spot a loose wire on the outside of the bike at all! Amazingly neat wiring and OCD satisfaction for me! Helmet lock is also accessible only by opening the seat, hence never used it till now. I just lock the helmet in place on the seat strap. Side stand, while its made of good quality, I feel is a bit flimsy for the weight of this beast. There is no centre stand, and is available through official accessory. Will need it since the chain service interval is very very short and without a stand its impossible to do so.

5. Another feature, or inconvenience? You decide: The headlights stay always on. There is no "pass" switch either, so its a double tug at the high beam switch even if I want to flash someone ahead of me. Its quite bothersome. Also I believe the BS4 norms call for headlight always on, but they could have done better integration with some DRL type set up in the T120. Check out the detailing in the headlamp though, it makes a rather dull design, quite attractive if you look for the details.

[adi_petrolhead]

Ride, Handling & Comfort:

Enough of criticism! Now lets get to the good part yes, the ride!

Well to say the least, every single time I start the bike, get in the saddle, it makes me feel big, huge, at the same time makes me feel like an integral part of the machine. The heavy dry weight is not felt at all once you ride off.

1st and 2nd gear are quite easy going, but its the remaining three cogs that make you grin from end to end If you so wish, this bike will do;

0-70 km/h in 1st gear
70-100 km/h in 2nd gear

Overall acceleration 0-100 km/h will be accomplished in under 6 seconds with timely shifts and good tarmac. I am yet to testify that claim because of the running in period.

But really this machine isn't made for this type of riding. The sweet spot is in third gear about 80 km/h and then reach a steady cruise of 100-120 km/h in fifth. There is zero vibration from the bars or pegs, and only after riding for more than a couple of hours, that too without good gloves, you might feel slightest of tingling in your palms. But this is nothing to complain about.

Grip from the tyres is superb! Pirelli Phantoms not only do the job well of sticking to the road, but also look the part, completing the ST's vintage chopper look. There's a bit of a grey area about these tyres, lasting only about 15-16K kms. Apparently they cost around 15K for the set (front and rear), this is what I was able to see online. Not sure how much the dealer will charge. But they're excellent in the ride comfort, cornering grip and braking department. You can do some serious bank angles on this bike although it being a Street naked.

Braking is very good for a single front disc setup as mentioned earlier, mighty impressive stopping power along with ABS. On the topic of ABS, no, its not switchable, and yes, it works perfectly well in our conditions. The roads I have to ride on, its better to keep ABS fully on at all times, along with Traction control. Brake pad life is claimed at 7-8000 kms by the dealer, but thats if you have a habit of resting your foot on the brake. Only time will tell, how much I can squeeze the life out of these copper pads.

I am still learning high speed cornering and learning to balance between the front and rear brake force. So can't comment on aggressive handling, but manoeuvring in the city with traffic is very easy and turning radius is fantastic. It is super stable on the highways too, and even sharp undulations don't unsettle the bike much, meaning I hardly have to stand on the pegs, but I do so from habit. For a novice like me, its very easy to ride this motorcycle. Pros will feel even more at home.

The saddle height is just right. Your feet are just under you, not forward not backward. My only grouse is the seat padding. I am just not able to seat myself in for more than an hour at a stretch. May be its because of the heat or my jeans, I don't know. But the seat on the T120 is far far more comfortable. Will be trying to retrofit the same on the ST in near future. What I don't understand is the price of a seat being close to Rs. 25K. Will have to source something else like a gel padding add on, but cannot locate anything on the net as of now.

[Rehaan]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[wangdu]

Congratulations Adi. What a way to dust off 10 years of exile. Welcome to the RAT world.

It's love all over again as soon as one test rides these marvels. For me it had been like U2's "..still haven't found what I'm looking for.." before test riding the Bonnie.

I really liked the ST for its flick-ability compared to Bonnies but I wanted something substantial upfront (speed+tacho) and pure retro looks. I bought my T-100 within a week of first riding it despite the usual bank balance worries & protesting brain. But then all else is forgotten once astride the bike.

Happy miles, Cheers!

[PISTONS]

Congratulation Adi, You made a perfect choice with the matt black one. I completely agree with you on dealer awareness and response during pre & post sales process is one of the best in India currently. I have experienced the same while I was picking up mine.

You generally feel some heat till the first servicing and then onwards, it's not so much as to say unbearable.

Everytime I ride mine, It's like the bike is tailormade for me. Generally the stature of the Bonnie is, It fits almost all kinds of builds.

The pride of ownership is very high with these machines. So One life, Have fun.

[mobike008]

Congratulations Adi. You are the second Adi on the forum to own a Bonnie/ST

Not surprising to know it left a silly grin on your face (it left one on mine long ago and it came home instantly) and is addictive for sure

How comfortable are you with the low seat and overall compact dimensions of the bike as you seem to be a tall person (guessing from the picture)?

Nothing teaches you more to become a better rider than riding your bike more and more and trust me that is the biggest tutor for you than reading anything about honing your riding skills (especially after a 10-year hiatus)

So keep riding and see yourself becoming an expert on your ST in a short time

Enjoy and Ride Safe !!!

[vishy76]

Congratulations on the new ride. I have come across many sports and touring bikes but this is a very unique proposition.

BTW, you seem to have an all black garage now. Two monsters share it. An explosive 1.8 TSI octavia DSG and a 900 cc super bike!

Enjoy her for miles to come and keep us updated sir.

Regards,
vishy

[dkaile]

Congratulations on a fine machine mate. Wishing you years of riding pleasure. Ride safe, ride fully geared.

Cheers...

[laxmanrk]

Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead

Attachment 1639138

Kawasaki, well I was not even sure they have a showroom in Ahmedabad, hence didn't try to research. (my heart was already set on a Triumph T120)
.
.
.

I wanted an all black T120 Black edition. Sadly Triumph India doesn't sell these here, and I was looking at the Street Twin which they had in the showroom in all matt black finish (but the exhaust) and I had decided, its either a T120 black or nothing at all. After a lot of back and forth with the dealer on probable launches, they had only two models to be launched, the Thruxton and the Bobber. No T120 Black in near future, also the inventory of the T120 was zero, and it would take around 3 months to get one. There was also of course the confusion about Euro 3 and Euro 4, hence I decided to wait.

You know, that makes two of us!

My heart is so set on the T120 Black.

Congrats on the buy mate. Do keep us posted with your shenanigans on the bike.

[@sohel]

Congratulations Adi. It looks beautiful it matt black. I am glad to see someone from gujarat on this forum (There are very few of us I guess). We should plan a meet ��

[r_nairtvm]

Congratulations.

Enjoy your ST and look after it. I am sure it will reward you with long and trouble free service for years to come.

Yes get the hang of getting more of front brake bias in to your braking habit and the happier you would be

Best Regards & Ride Safe

Ram

[giri1.8]

Haven't seen an street twin in flesh, but from the pics I could see that there is something about the way Triumph has given attention to the little details, I mean the instrument cluster looks simple but classy(just an example).

Congrats and ride safe !

[HariRE350]

Congratulations Adi! Welcome to the triumph world from a fellow T120 & Cranberry Street Twin owner. The street twin is my brothers and we simply can't have enough of this bike.
The bikes are Euro 4 compliant from its launch and the oil reservoir is blacked out in the latest models of the street twin. Triumph had a few issues with the bikes which are not uncommon on first generation engines. The best part is they proactively listened to customers and fixed everything.
The brothers wish you many many happy miles of pure unadulterated fun!

[classic86]

Congratulations Adi! Welcome to the league bro! I'm happy you are enjoying the rides and I wish you many more.

Btw! How did you get km/l on the fuel efficiency indicator? Mine still shows L/100 km.