Triumph Speedmaster 2018 Review. Plus Ohlins rear suspension upgrade review & Meerkat X Pipe review
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- Опубліковано 6 січ 2025
- Out there from the road after 3000 kms of riding Chapee gives you a no BS review of just how he rates the 1200 cc Triumph Speedmaster T120 2018.
i currently ride a softail heritage 114 and have had nothing but harleys. Im turning 65 and im about 145 lbs and looking to go lighter and try different brands . I was looking at the tiger 900 but, now im thinking of a speed master. great vid man
Hey there cd rider, thanks for the positive feedback. Currently riding my Speedmaster to the Burt Munro Rally at bottom of South Island New Zealand. Fully loaded with camping gear and it is goin brilliantly. Thoroughly recommend you take one for test ride. I have upgraded my suspension front & back which for travelling makes big difference. Enjoy a Triumph. Keep those knees in the breeze & your eyes on the horizon. Chapee from the road in New Zealand
I'm getting a speedmaster in a few months, and so watched loads of videos about it like everyone does! However your's is by far the most useful, answering all the questions I had, especially the comfort seat, Triumph panniers and rear shock. Also, I love camping and would love to use it for that, but not seen anyone else do it, so I'm happy now! Subscribed.
Thank you from another sheep loving nation in Wales 😂.
Hi Pauly. Thanks for the positive feedback. I'm sure you will be rapt with your Speedmaster. They are an awesome bike. Really recommend you put a Meerkat X Pipe on as makes great sound from standard pipes, saves weight, adds some horsepower and doesn't run pipes as hot. Next for me will be spring upgrade to front forks. Suggest get a 50litre dry bag to stow all your camping gear in & strap to pillion seat. Works a treat. Enjoy your riding. Keep those knees in the breeze. Chapee
Great Video, dude - I've a new 2024 SM and have managed around 6000km's - stock and I'm 80kgs in weight. I've dialed in 2 clicks on the preload stock rear and seems to be ok. @ 60yrs this bike is becoming more and more practical as a rider. I do good rides with grandees 3 hrs either ends from me here in NZ. It's just a great bike and bang for your bike buck among similar mid-weight cruisers. I got mine for $21500 which makes for that 'bang for buck'. Thanks again, dude - take care.
Kia ora Chapee, really liked the review and the safety tips re tyres, shocks and so on. That trip from the Aucks to Invers was impressive I must say. Also liked your bigger isnt necessarily better comment from a harley owners perspective. Have ridden a T120 1200 but am yet to have the pleasure of riding a speedmaster. Cheers
Thanks for the feedback Peter. Yes get on board the Speedmaster you will find the seat / ride position more relaxed than the T120, in my opinion. Taking mine back to the Burt Rally in Feb. Just doing a fronk fork spring upgrade to Wilbur springs. Will Post a vlog on that. Keep those knees in the breeze. Chapee
Thank you for emailing me back. When you installed the fork springs on your bike did you change out the cartridges are just added the fork springs. I will probably get the Wilbur for the rear shock seemed like those were all positive reviews. Thanks for your honest reviews. Levi
We just changed out the springs but we had to cut down the stock spacers by 20mm. It's all in the Wilber instructions that come with them and was easy enough to do. Putting the right fork oil back in to the exact correct amount as per their instructions is also key. Well worth the cost eh. Cheers
I too have a 2018 Triumph Speedmaster which is now my favorite bike ever because of leg issues and the Heights. Love everything about the bike except for when my wife gets on I have to do a mechanical adjustment to the shock to avoid some of the issues you were mentioning I realized more travel would be nice but not practical does anybody make a air adjustable model of shock
Hi… I own a speedy and a bobber, could you tell me the part number for the Ohlins?? Cheers
Hi Big500. I'm currently back in Australia & don't have the part details on hand. But if you Google search it will come up which is how I found it. I would say the Ohlins probably best suits heavier riders as I note for me at only 70kg I was at the very softest lowest setting for my weight and was only getting approx 20 mm of travel. Best would be 25 to 30mm. So my point is if you are a lighter rider you may be better ordering a Wilbur rear shock from their Melbourne agent as Wilbur make their shocks specific to your weight. Again if you Google search Wilbur Suspension Melbourne they will come up. Hope that helps. Keep your eyes on the horizon. Chapee
@@chapeeomgy917 Thanks for taking the time to reply… much appreciated👍👍
The speedmaster has the perfect riding design for me. The seat is low, but not too low. If you get the seat too low, it will disturb your back. It will put you back as if you are riding on a Lazy boy recliner, and then what will you do? Will you have a tall back rest for support or will you lean your whole body forward with some up front handlebars? If you do that, you might look like you are having fun riding even though you are not.
There are many advantages for having a low seat height, but when you get it too low, it won't work so well, not for me anyway. There is always a trade off however. You won't be standing up on the pegs when you come across a bump in the road. However, street bike riding isn't dirt bike riding.
I just ordered the Wilbur rear shock. Before ordering the front shock springs. I have a question. When yall installed the front springs did you have a cartridge in both forks ? How did you drain the oil with no drain plugs ? Did you have to remove the forks from the bike ?Im ordering these parts from a Ted Porter Beemers Shop in California he wanted to know what I found out before ordering the fork springs. Thanks Brother..
Yep we had to remove the forks to drain. There is an inner cartridge from memory & the separate spacer that we had to cut down as per the Wilber instructions. Had mates with a good garage & tools took us a couple of hours. Let me know how you like the ride once it is all done. Cheers
Did the Olin shock keep from bottoming out as easy ? and did you do anything to the from suspension ? Did the new Metzler tires help with softening up the ride and how do they grip in cornering . Thanks for your honest review.
Hi Leviteeler, Happy to give you my feedback. Yes the Ohlins rear suspension upgrade did stop those bottom out jarring issues on big bumps. Well worth the upgrade. On the front I got upgraded Wilber suspension springs in from Melbourne. They are excellent. The whole bike rides much smoother but most importantly is stable & true in most situations. But I do regret not getting the Wilber rear upgrade unit instead of the Ohlins. Reason say this is I'm finding the adjustment nut on the Ohlins really very difficult to adjust. It just doesn't want to budge & yes I have taken the small plastic lock nut out but still doesn't adjust easily. So in hindsight would have preferred the custom made Wilber rear upgrade unit. The Metzler tyres are friggen awesome. They grip well in all conditions but the big difference is they last way longer than other tyres I have had. The rear has done the South Island Burt trip twice now & still plenty of tread to go!! Overall with the suspension upgrades & the Meerkat X Pipe upgrade I'm rapt in how my Speedmaster runs, sounds & handles. Hope that helps ya. Keep those knees in the breeze... Chapee
Great Review! Have ordered the Ohlin suspension upgrade. Could you add some more detail on the differences once you did that? Also we’re the Avons worn out before you went the Metzlers? Did you feel any big difference ?
Hi Mark. Appreciate your positive comment. To your questions. Re Avons the bike only had 6000 kms on it when I bought it so they still had plenty of tread on them. But I am not a fan of those tyres so decided to replace both them. Plus they were over 4 years old by then so the rubber can start to harden. Loving the metzlers & I have been in heavy cold rain through to hot twisty roads. I find the bike just tips into corners so much more smoothly. With regards the Ohlins rear shock upgrade one thing to make sure when you fit it is to make sure the small plastic tension screw that you have to remove to allow it to adjust is facing upward & accessable. Because it has dampening & preliad I found the bike didn't flatten out on higher speed bumps in the road. Plus once you get those adjustments right for your weight & load the bike should rebound smoothly out of a bump and not kinda feel like it's jumping out, if you know what I mean. Next upgrade for me will be progressive front fork springs as now with the rear suspension working way better I am feeling the front needs improving. Long answers apologises but hope that helps. Keep ya knees in the breeze. Chapee
Yes indeed Chapee that helps a lot. My rear Ohlin shock has arrived and that black plastic screw thingy is indeed on the top as per the installation instructions so will make sure my installer puts it in the right way up! I have the Ohlin fronts on order (not easy to find!). Very interesting about the Metzlers and and improved roll in and wet weather. My Avons are the originals with 6k on them and plenty of tread but I hadn’t thought about them hardening up. Thanks again and once I get things installed will come back here and drop in another post. Keep up the great work! It’s hard to find reviews these days that are about the real world of Aus/NZ riding and not “round the block” stuff! Stay safe!
@@marktafft7025 hey mark, do you mind sharing the part number for the Ohlins front on the Speedmaster? I’ve been looking too. Was wondering if they are the ones for the 41mm fork bobbers
@@sharulllll here you go Ohlins Nix 22. Model Number: FKS 219. It seems to be for both the Speedmaster and Bobber Black 2017-2020. I think after that, Triumph upgraded the front forks to the wider diameter.
@@marktafft7025 ahh I knew it haha I checked with my local authorised Ohlins dealer and they said there is no kit for the Speedmaster… but the pre-2021 Speedmasters have the same 41mm forks as the bobber so I was puzzled why they said there isn’t. Have you installed the FKS 219? Would love a review. I had to resort to finding other brands like the Nitron and Matris