RUST magazine: RUST #44

TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE T120 ACE
The suspension certainly feels like an
upgrade on that of the Street Scrambler
and while the travel is identical
(120mm), it just felt better damped –
maybe that’s two years of development
(or an unreliable memory?!) kicking
in. But it’s nice and neutral once it’s
sweeping along and for relaxing
weekend country riding it’s a great setup.
ON TRACK
It’s a bit odd to have a race evaluation of
a model like this, especially when there
are models like the Thruxton, which
are evidently better for the purpose, but
at least we could test the Ace’s limits.
Or not – it seems they’re a way off. On
track – even a small one like Lydden
Hill – it’s funny how a bike’s persona
changes. On the track that low-end
punch kind of gets lost, instead I found
I was mostly revved-out chasing gears.
I tried riding it in the torque but it
just didn’t feel quick enough, so I was
buzzing it hard – which it responded to
with absolute ease, it’s one solid lastforever
kind of motor. The gearbox was
good, too, sweet shifting.
The real limitation was ground
clearance. In the heat of (light hearted)
battle the initial reluctant tip-in
wasn’t noticeable as I was having to
reposition my body to hang off and
this exaggerated weight shift (90-odd
kilos going inside-outside) overrode
that tip-in reluctance easily. Ground
clearance was modest and the Ace was
grinding away its footrests quite merrily
– even with the rear preload set to max.
What I was impressed with, was neither
the centrestand nor the sidestand
touched down – which is good news
because these two can lift a rear wheel
off the ground if they dig in heavily.
So knowing you can have the pegs
chewing themselves to bits, but nothing
structural likely to upset the plot, is a nice
position to be in.
The track also showed that those meaty
310mm discs with twin-piston calipers
are more than up to the job of hauling up
well over 300kg of bike and rider in very
short order. Yep, but for the want of more
ground clearance the Ace would have
cut a pretty decent lap time.
w
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