I made some changes to my T100, but holy smokes, they took longer than I thought they would.

Suspension: This was the easy part- the suspension on this era Bonneville is a widely acknowledged weak spot, remedied by the aftermarket. I ordered new rear shocks and progressive fork springs from Hagon. When ordering the shocks and springs, I had to share my weight. I cheated and gave a pre-pandemic estimate. I’m going to slim down, I promise. (I remember when I dropped 20 pounds a few years ago and remember “hey, my bike is faster” and a friend commenting “because you aren’t carrying the equivalent of a big sack of dog food on the back.” Motorcycles are really sensitive to weight, but I’m sensitive about my weight. Regardless, the shocks look good and the fork springs were a direct replacement, so no mucking about with spacers and cutting PVC pipe.

Brakes: When I ordered the suspension, I also ordered some brake pads. The front brakes were soft, and the rear barely there. There rear brakes aren’t much to begin with, but I could use a little more help in an emergency stop, and something to hold me on a hill at a stop light. The fluid was probably from G. W. Bush’s second term, so it was due for a flush.

Rear brakes went according to the Factory Service Manual. Front brakes resisted. When replacing the pads, the caliper pistons wouldn’t push back far enough in to the caliper to allow enough space between the new pads to grip the disc. The pistons were coated with a substantial layer of crud. I figured I have to pull the pistons and clean them off, so I ordered some new piston seals from a UK seller on eBay. After a couple of weeks, they post office said the package was “in or near the mailbox.” But they weren’t. Had someone snaked them from my mailbox? I waited a day to see if they finally showed up, and they didn’t so ordered another set from a seller in Arizona. They arrived a couple of days later. I pulled the pistons, replaced the seals, which involved more finesse in pushing around a slick rubber donut in a thimble sized container than my fat digits were accustomed. But seal them I did. Of course, the day after I got them installed, the package of the UK seals arrived. Now I have a spare.

I flushed the brake fluid with some fresh DOT4, and took a couple of laps around the block to bed them it, and checked the front caliper for leaks incase I messed up the seals. The change of pads and fluid made a real improvement, with nice firm progressive stops, and the seals are doing their jobs.

Results: Friday I took it for a test ride to see a band at the Carousel Lounge. Everything seems to work ok. The suspension makes for a different ride, and I’ll have to double check everything to make sure that all the actions are as designed. But it stopped and ran and went around corners. And looked good doing it.

That may be end of messing with the Triumph for while. Time to put some miles on it, and maybe fine tune the suspension. It needs sprockets and a chain, but I may get a professional to handle that.