And yet another T120...

Whilst I had the rear wheel out to change the speedo drive, I noticed some old, dirty looking bullets for the rear light wiring up under the mudguard, so I decided to re-wire the rear end, hard wiring all the way from the lamp unit to under the seat, inc soldering an earth to the bulb holder and running that back to the battery.

Whilst I had the lamp housing off, I rememered I had an earlier version ‘in stock’ somewhere (I bought it for the Trident Hunter, but ended up fitting a super neat Old Brits item to that), so I dug it out. I ended up fitting it as it’s quite a bit nicer that the ‘chrome and reflector’ original for ‘68.

Of course, I then had to take it out for a good test ride, just to check everything out...


And yet another T120...



And yet another T120...
 
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Fast Eddie said:
Whilst I had the rear wheel out to change the speedo drive, I noticed some old, dirty looking bullets for the rear light wiring up under the mudguard, so I decided to re-wire the rear end, hard wiring all the way from the lamp unit to under the seat, inc soldering an earth to the build holder and running that back to the battery.

Whilst I had the lamp housing off, I rememered I had an earlier version ‘in stock’ somewhere (I bought it for the Trident Hunter, but ended up fitting a super neat Old Brits item to that), so I dug it out. I ended up fitting it as it’s quite a bit nicer that the ‘chrome and reflector’ original for ‘68.

Of course, I then had to take it out for a good test ride, just to check everything out...


View attachment 3132


View attachment 3133
Click to expand...

That looks a whole lot nicer than the "correct" part which is quite bulbous and out of proportion. The same bulbous mount came with my '67 US spec and it won't be on my bike when rebuilt. I can now feel smug that the earlier, slimmer alloy mount is not only better looking but happens to be correct for the '67 model year! But the obsession among some classic aficionados with "correctness" is a bit tiresome. The original owners of Bonnies would have jumped at all the mods and fixes made over the years...
 
All of that is true Dave, however I gotta say that whilst being a rivet counting originality type is certainly not for me, I do actually really appreciate them, and what they do, cos at least they are ensuring that some correct examples survive.

If everyone was like us, there’d be none left !!
 
If you are a rivet counter type, you are carrying on the story of why the brit bikes fell to the orientals. You get to see where they
cheaped out, where engineering failed, where inertia prevented change. But also you get to see where quality was maintained
(really good plating) where engineering moved things forward and,of course, how styling and finish was far ahead of the competition.
Fashions come and go and someday our current craze (black bobbers) will be as popular as choppers are now.

But for all but the most crazed of rivet counters, modern internal unseen upgrades are the rule.
 
Onder said:
If you are a rivet counter type, you are carrying on the story of why the brit bikes fell to the orientals. You get to see where they
cheaped out, where engineering failed, where inertia prevented change. But also you get to see where quality was maintained
(really good plating) where engineering moved things forward and,of course, how styling and finish was far ahead of the competition.
Fashions come and go and someday our current craze (black bobbers) will be as popular as choppers are now.

But for all but the most crazed of rivet counters, modern internal unseen upgrades are the rule.
Click to expand...

Agreed on internal upgrades and styling. If I make any external mods, I am careful to do them in a way that the bike can be brought back to bog standard spec without difficulty.
 
Well, you’re more sympathetic than me Dave.

The rear light I fitted moved everything up a bit, that, along with using a 7x5” number plate meant that too much mudguard was hanging down below the number plate (complete with some now redundant holes) for my liking.

So, I’m afraid the angle grinder had to come out to play.

Saved a bit of weight too...!
 
Bikes a dream, starts first time, goes really well, sounds beautiful.

My only remaining niggles are:

When it first starts up from cold, it runs terribly, I think I’m gonna have to fit the chokes. Trouble is, I NEVER fit chokes with Amals, so I can’t quite work out why this bike seems to want them. It would seem to indicate being on the edge of too weak on the idle circuit. But fiddling doesn’t seem to solve it.

Second, I have a slight hiccup just off of idle, when warm. This has all the hallmarks of being rich, probably the slide cutaway. But it has number 3 slides and if I recall correctly, the factory fit was number 2.5, so it’s already a tad leaner.

More fiddling required...
 
Nigel,
If I remember correctly I believe you have Premieres. Different size idle mixture jets are available for those carbs. I recall someone having to bump up one size for a similar issue. That is assuming the idle circuit is clear.
Pete
 
Nigel, some bikes need chokes and some don't. I had a TR6 that simply wouldn't start without choke even after a good tickling, one of my triples is the same , but the others are ok just tickling. A lot of premiers supplied for the triples have a no. 17 pilot jet, and from what I've gathered many owners change them to no. 19 for better starting.
sam
 
Thanks for the direction to check the pilot jets guys, it’s certainly worth a look and I don’t even know what’s in mine!

Will report back...
 
I'm with Sam; some need enricher slides, some don't. EVEN AFTER CHANGING PILOT JETS.

They are made for a reason, and they work.
 
Perhaps if your carbs are jetted for best performance when the motor is warm, it SHOULD run like a bag of shit when it is cold ? If I started my motor and took the chokes off too soon, if it didn't cough and spit - I'd be checking to see if it was flooding. I have never used anything other than #3 slides, the jets usually give enough adjustment.
 
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Well, I agree that correctly set up carbs should indeed require a choke.

As to whether or not my problem is that they’re correct, I’m not sure...!
 
When I got my Bonneville, it had no chokes and it was a pig to start, even with vigorous tickling, and this was when the weather was warm, and after the jetting and fuel levels were checked. After a few minutes of running, it would settle down to a nice, even tickover and had good throttle response. In contrast, my Commando only needed choke when the thermometer was reading in low single digits, otherwise, a tickle was enough.
 
You omitted to finish the Bonneville story Dave, did you fit chokes to it? Did they resolve the starting issues?

I’m reigned to the fact now, so next job is to fit chokes.
 
The chokes will almost certainly fix your cold starting, but they're just such a bloody contraption to buy and fit.

And then they shut themselves at high speed!
 

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