“This is not “Project bike” is a lie I often tell my significant other. But the truth is, I can’t help it (and she knows it, judging by the way she rolls her eyes). While my 2012 Triumph Bonneville SE is a pretty bike out of the box, it looks even better once you start stripping away the factory extras.
I have no desire to take an angle grinder to the Bonneville frame, and I don't have the time or money to cover it in DIY parts. So this project is all about big wins from small changes – things you can do in an afternoon over a few beers. These goodies, sent over by Sam at Motone Customs, fit that bill.
Based in Newport, Wales, UK, Motone produces a pretty impressive catalogue of generic and model-specific parts. While they focus on a few brands, they have more Triumph-specific parts than any other brand, covering everything from early 2000s carbureted Bonnevilles to the new liquid-cooled bikes.
The box that landed at my door contained replacements for most of the parts I didn’t like about my Triumph Bonneville SE – its wide seat, giant plastic fenders, and the cheap turn signals and taillights the previous owner had installed. It also included a handful of brackets and wiring accessories, a few more bits of decoration, and a couple of genuinely practical upgrades.
It took no more than a few hours to fit everything to the Bonneville, using only a 4mm Allen key, 8mm and 10mm sockets, and a Phillips screwdriver. I also reached for a drill and file to slightly modify one or two parts, but everything else went without fuss.
It's worth noting that most of these parts didn't come with detailed instructions, as they're generally very easy to install. But there were a few instances where logic failed me and I had to turn to the Internet for help. Still, nothing shown here requires a degree in rocket science.
Motone Skinny Krait Seat Covered in high quality vinyl with a traditional 'roll and fold' stitching pattern, Motone Skinny Krait Seat has a much slimmer profile than the bulky Bonneville perch. But despite this, it's more comfortable—and actually sits an inch or so higher.
That’s because the standard Bonneville seat is less padded than it looks; its sides extend down to meet the frame rails, creating the illusion of a thicker structure. The Motone seat not only sits on top of the frame rails (which looks much better), but it’s also more padded with superior foam. While I wouldn’t call it a touring seat, it’s both an aesthetic and practical upgrade over the original.
It's also narrower, which, combined with its low height and bench-like design, makes it easier to move around on the bike. (Along with the tall, wide handlebars I installed, the riding position is now nearly perfect.) It's also long enough to accommodate a passenger.
But the Motone Skinny's biggest advantage is its ease of installation. Its molded seat pan is a replica of the standard Triumph part, so it can be swapped out in seconds.
Motone sent a pair of their grooved ones quick release seat bolts Plus, they're a lot easier to use than the hard-to-reach mounts that come with the bike. (If you're unlucky enough to own a Bonneville, those are the dome-head Allen bolts that sit deep under the edge of the standard seat, and everyone hates them.)
Motone quick release screws have a CNC machined body with a stainless steel hex bolt built into them. You can tighten them by hand and then tighten them with an Allen key. And even if you tighten them too much to remove them by hand, they are much easier to access than standard bolts.
Motone sells them in a variety of finishes, but I went with the black set with subtle contrast details. This design is repeated in Motone fuel tank cap and quick release side panel fasteners which I also installed, creating visual consistency across all parts of the bike.
Motone High-Tail Rear Fender The fenders are a contentious topic here, but I had a clear idea of what I wanted for my Bonneville’s derrière. Not wanting to give up the fenders, I wanted something slim and tidy that was significantly shorter than the stock part, but still long enough to accommodate a taillight and license plate mount. It also needed a sharp exit angle so it would float neatly over the rear wheel with the extended TFX shocks I’m running.
Aluminum rolling Motone High-Tail Rear Wing fits these parameters. It’s as short as it can be, but still adds a bit of practicality to the back of the bike. Available in polished and matte versions, it also comes with a unique finish that uses black anodizing over a matte base – as pictured.
There are two brackets on the top of the fender with threaded tabs that perfectly replicate the mounting points on the original Triumph fender, so like the Motone seat, the High-Tail fender is a simple replacement (though I did have to work hard to get it into place where its leading edge meets the bike’s plastic airbox).
The rear edge of the fender is pre-drilled in a triangular pattern that fits all Motone taillights, with several holes with grommets for routing the wires. However, it lacks clips underneath to hold the rear assembly wiring harness in place, a small but brilliant feature that is on the stock part.
To get around this, I drilled a couple of small holes in the area of the fender that is covered by the seat and ran a cable tie through them. It's a fairly simple modification, and to be fair to Motone, there are several ways to route the tail section wiring – I just prefer to do it this way.
That one drawback aside, the Motone High-Tail fender fits great and looks much better than the bulky original. It's one Bonneville mod I'd highly recommend, especially if you've already upgraded your bike's seat to something sleeker.
For the opposite end of the bike I settled on the Motone Short wing in the same matte and anodized finish as the rear wing. I also chose high mount bracketdesigned to hang the front fender from the existing mounting points on the Bonneville's lower crossmember.
I ran into a snag when the holes in the fender didn't quite line up with the holes on the high-mount kit. Sam's reasoning was perfectly reasonable; the fender is bike-specific, so it fits the 17-inch front wheel on my Bonnie “mag wheel,” giving it a tighter radius. Apparently, the Bonnevilles, with their larger front wheels, present less of a problem.
If I'd paid for the parts, I'd have sent them back. But in the end, some judicious adjustments brought everything together neatly. Ironically, I wasn't sold on the overall look, so the Motone Shorty fender will probably end up moving back to its original position.
Motone Eldorado LED Tail Light Motone’s overarching strategy is to develop an ecosystem of parts that work together seamlessly, and nowhere is this more evident than in their taillights. While Motone offers a variety of taillight designs, they all use the same mounting system, which in turn fits all of their fenders.
My Bonneville's setup is based on Motone Eldorado LED Tail Lightchosen for its minimalist retro aesthetic. It is accompanied by Motone license plate bracketand plug-and-play wiring harness for this particular model of bike, eliminating the need for any wiring work.
The Eldorado's cast aluminum body measures 78mm. [about 3”] in diameter, with a lens occupying 50 mm [about 2”] of this space. It comes in a variety of colors and can be purchased with or without Motone's standard mounting kit, which includes a mounting plate, rubber base, hardware kit, and the necessary Allen key. Attaching the light alone is a breeze, but connecting it to the rest of the accessories can be a bit tricky.
First, you'll need to disassemble the taillight housing and carefully unscrew the circuit board inside it. Then, you'll need to pull the wiring out of the back of the housing, slide the Motone steel license plate bracket back into place, and reassemble everything. (And if you're like me and don't pay attention to wiring, you'll need to repeat the process two or three times.)
The whole thing then attaches to the rear fender as a single piece, making for a very tidy tail. The Bonneville-specific wiring is a boon, as it plugs directly into the OEM connector, significantly reducing the amount of wiring at the rear of the bike. Once connected, the Eldorado's LED running lights and brake lights are more than bright enough, and there's a cutout on the underside of the light for a license plate light.
(Motone also sent me a pair of mounts that allow the turn signals to be attached to the license plate holder. However, they were too short to fit under my wide South African license plate, so I replaced them with a pair of metal clips from my spare parts stash.)
LED Turn Signals Motone Pico Completing my Bonneville's tail end upgrade are a pair of beautiful Motone Pico LED Turn SignalsFeaturing a traditional bullet design in a tiny aluminium body, they are as stylish as they are flashy. They are also road legal in the UK despite their size.
But what's impressive is how thoughtfully the Pico turn signals are put together. Their wires are neatly encased in braided housings, and their nuts and washers are slotted to make them easy to slide onto the wiring.
Motone once again supplied custom air cooling for the Bonneville. Wiring adapters to take the guesswork out of wiring up the Pico turn signals (though I still managed to get it wrong the first time). The adapters have Triumph-style plugs on one end and bullet connectors that match the connectors on the turn signals on the other. Once everything is connected, rubber grommets can be placed over the locking nuts to protect the wiring.
The only difficulty with these little turn signals was figuring out where to mount them. The rear turn signals sat well on the Motone tail light, but the front turn signals were a bit of a stretch to poke out from where the original Bonneville turn signals were; recessed mounting points on the headlight ears. So I had to construct a “spacer” to allow them to sit a bit wider.
Moton Customs | Instagram | Facebook | Images from Wes Reineke
Full disclosure As is typical with our riding gear and parts reviews, Motone sent these parts free of charge. They did not pay us for this review and do not expect me to say only glowing things about their products. As always, our opinions are unbiased and our own.