A ride down memory lane

delivered. Road mode gives you the full beans and Rain mode is just the touch of a button away to dampen things down and ensure you keep the 224kg T120 under The Triumph Bonneville T120 is a taste of nostalgia. TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE T120 BLACK PRICE: $ 20,990 ENGINE: 1200cc liquid- cooled parallel twin POWER: 59kW/ 105Nm

Classic look, powerful engine, cool factor Handlebar could be a little wider control when things get wet.

Other riding aids are the obligatory ABS and Traction Control, which can be switched off at the touch of the information button while the bike is at a standstill. This, of course, will automatically turn back on after the bike is switched off.

Pulling you to a stop are twin 310mm front rotors clamped by twin piston calipers from Nissin. Out back is a 255mm rotor with a two piston caliper. Together the brakes are more than enough to bring the T120 to a halt and the ABS helped prevent me from locking up the retro tread pattern of the Pirelli tyres when an inconsiderate driver decided to cut me off on the motorway.

On the back roads, riding the T120 is much more like a sports bike in terms of the riding style you adopt. With its short one- piece handlebar you need to put in a lot more effort than with previous Bonneville models to get it to turn in.

Once I adjusted my riding style to suit the handlebars, I found it enjoyable to treat the big classically styled bike as a sports machine, especially when cornering some more “sporty” machines during a weekend ride.

This particular T120 already has an owner, who has raided the large Triumph parts catalogue for a few choice parts to add a bit of bling to the usually subdued T120 Black. Billet aluminium parts now dot the bike in select places, bringing a little shine to the blacked- out engine.

All I’d change on the T120 Black would be swapping out the handlebars for slightly wider units for more leverage to make riding around town a little easier.

There’s not much to complain about with the factory spec. It was a joy to ride the big Triumph. By far one of the bike’s best features ( apart from its new heart) are the exquisite clocks that match this classy hero of the Triumph modern classic range so well.