Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Performance Mods 2 Yr. service and more...

I took my bike in yesterday for the 2-year service one week before my warranty is up (D & D Cycles - Pensacola). Besides checking the valves and all the regular stuff, they are going to replace my speedo loop and cush drive on warranty. They are putting in the Thunderbird cush drive - now recommended by Triumph as a replacement.

I also decided on some performance improvements. They are replacing the flywheel with a direct retrofit they designed and use on their racing Thruxtons which is 2 lbs. lighter than stock. They also are going to drill the carbs and put in adjustable needles along with rechecking the jets. They will do a pre and post change dyno runs which I will post.

The only thing left I would like to do is have them do their own 904 kit with their custom designed high compression pistons. I'm waiting until the new crusier comes out to make the final jump. I love my bike but don't want to have 2 bikes. Unless the new bike is unresistable to me, I'll keep tweaking my America. I really like the light weight and handling - not sure I'm ready to give that up for better cruising.

Got my bike back. They installed a custom dyno-kit with adjustable needles, re-jetted, drilled slides, and changed the flywheel for a 2 lb. lighter one. They did the full 2 year service including adjusting the valves, carbs, etc.

I don't completely understand it but here are before and after dyno runs. The torque went up slightly and the HP went from 53.4 to 58.8 at the rear wheel. The two charts are confusing to me due to graphs and scale. The bike does accelerate much smoother with absolutely no hesitation. 6 of the 8 valves needed shims and the sewing machine noise did go down a bit. They went back to 42 pilots and I'm getting more popping on decel, but with the less restrictive pipes, losing too much decel popping is losing power.

D & D designs a lot of their own parts for the Triumphs. The lighter flywheel being one, along with their own 904 kit, adjustable needles, etc. They also replaced my cush drive (with Thunderbird part) on warranty (1 week left).

That's about it for me for now. I will probably go for the 904 kit later, if I decide against the new cruiser.

I have one of those on the shelf. No way it will fit my bike. Are you sure they used a T-bird cush drive?
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Fastdude I had my doubts about the Tbird Rubber. I actually took a hammer and block of wood to finish the assembly.
So to answer your question, yes it will fit but it was tighter than a nun.
I did have some vibration after the installation when going through the gears. This lasted a couple 1000 miles. It now is gone and the bike pulls great.
Mike

They definitely put the Thunderbird cush drive in. After almost 9000 miles my stock one already had noticeable slop. I hadn't noticed vibration yet, but the bike feels much better changing gears.