Words: Peter Elliott / Photos: Geoff Osborne
I put off writing about the new
Triumph T120 for nearly a year.
It didn’t seem fair. I thought that
I would show bias, or at the very
least, a not-very-journalistic lack
of impartiality.
E
very motorcycle review is a product of
knowledge, of experience, both on the
current bike and from former machines,
and the impressions they leave you
with. It is subjective, and could hardly
be anything else. So, what the hell! Up
front I admit, the motorcycle I own and
return to every time I wave goodbye to a
new machine, whether exciting, mental
or just pleasant, is my own Triumph T120 Black.
Probably the most telling thing about this
motorcycle, and of course the newer iteration
of it in the 2017 livery, is that I always anticipate
and enjoy the return. Nothing yet has made me
dissatisfied or ready to move on. To me, that’s the
greatest testament I could give this bike. But that
may not be so for you the reader. Fair enough.
So, let’s get some simple detail out of the way.
The riding position is square. I am upright, with
excellent visiblility, and any riding pressure in the