Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Accessories TriumphPerformenceUSA .com Billet Intake Manifolds

Here is the email message I just sent to the manufacture since it doesn't look like the ones I got will fit my stock '05 speedmaster.
Anyone one here have these on the bike? (basicly stock 865 '05 Speedmaster)
As sent-
I purchased a set of billet manifolds from one of your authorized dealers for my stock 2005 triumph Speedmaster.
The manifolds I received are machined straight across (90degree angle) on the carburetor side as well as the head intake port side and measure overall about 70 mm.

My 2005 865 engine has intake ports on the head that are not parallel to the downstream end of the carburetor.
When measuring the stock manifolds including the boot (where it bottoms out on the carburetor outlet side) the top measures about 72mm and the bottom measures about 62mm. corresponding to the angle on the head intake port.

The information on your site says you have the manifolds for my model bike and that they are compatible with stock carburetors.

Did I possibly receive the wrong manifolds for my bike?
The dealer where I got them said they are a new product for him and he assures me they should work. Before I go through the effort of pulling the carburetors off, I need to know if these are right.
In looking at them and making careful measurements I have to say that it is not possible for them to fit into the existing space between the carburetors and the heads intake ports.

If these are the correct pieces then why the difference from my stock units to these very nicely done manifolds?

Thank you,

Gary

I think you should have included any part numbers you could find on the part or packaging of the part.

No part numbers, no installation instructions (don't think i need them) just the part discription "TPUSA billet intake manifolds" from New Bonneville as shown on their web site.
I had to return the Spiegler brake lines I got as well.

Thay were marked for a '03 Speedmaster" and i'm hoping they should have said "05". the angles on the stock bajo ends were differnt.

Have you got pics of the manifolds?

There should not be a difference in the brake lines from 03 to 05 on the speedy. Weird.

Have you contacted brent?

Since the banjo ends are universal parts, they may not match exactly.
33 degrees is pretty common on them.
They should work, though.

The brake lines are the same for the 03 and 05 bikes. Keep in mind that you're not ordering Triumph parts. They may differ slightly from the OE parts on the bike. This doesn't mean they don't work. It simply means they differ slightly.

Since the Billet Manifolds are a new product for us, I'll defer to the experience of the guys at SouthBay/TPUSA. These manifolds were designed by Matt Capri and have been used for years on these bikes. Please keep us updated on their reply.

-brent

If I remember correctly, the Spiegel brake lines come with a little blue 2 piece plastic gizmo that you can put around the end of the line and clamp it in a vice. Then you use a wrench to turn the banjo end to the same alignment as your stock line.
The angle of the banjo portion may be slightly different from the stock, but it's no big deal once you get the ends turned to match the stock lines.

My guess is that they sent you the intakes for the Bonne/T100. Call Matt directly at South Bay Triumph.

No reply from TPUSA yet but - I got a reply from Brent at new bonneville yestarday and he said the brake lines will work. He said he had eliminated the bend at the rear brake caliper because he though it would be better and I agree with him as it will eliminate a high point there in the line and will look better as well .
The angle bent into the hard pipe banjo fitting at the front brake master cylinder, IMO, should be provided with a ~40 degree angle same as stock.
Bottom line is the lines will work but as a fabricator of many of my own bike parts I am a little more obsessive of how things should fit. I also have non stock risers so that probably affects the fit as well from what New Bonneville intended.

As for the intake manifolds:
I didn’t know Matt designed the manifolds. Was he at Cambria last year for Party at the Palms?
Any way Brent told me to get in touch with Carlos at SouthBay TPUSA to discuss my concerns about the manifolds. I want them to work but as I said previously, I just don’t know how a square peg is supposed to fit into a trapezoid slot.
From what I can see in holding them up to the bike (semi dry fit) is that with the manifolds bolted on the head (which has a port cut at an angle to the carb outlet end) and fitting up to the carburetors, positioned where they are, and connected to the air box, the boot would be sitting at an angle and seemingly not seal to the carb.
I hope I’m wrong but I’m not pulling the Carburetors until I hear from Carlos or Matt.

Gary

hopefully they get back to you better than me, i tried asking them questions about a bog bore which i was willing to buy and it was like pulling teeth to get a reply, never mind the answer to my question, goodluck

Frank

Using the OE carbs there is a marked improvement?

Would love to see before and after Dyno runs with just that part.

Called Carlos at TPUSA in CA this morning and he said he would check into it but first said they have put the manifolds on hundreds of bikes but he wasn't sure about the 05 Speedmaster. He called me back an hour later and said that sure enough the 05 speedmaster has a different air box and they would not fit my bike.
I guess they will have to change their web site info to say they do not fit at least 05 speedmasters.
Maybe some one out there knows the details on which bikes have different air boxes between years and type Bonnevilles.
I came very close to taking them from the shipping box to my buffing wheel for polishing. I ordered them unfinished so I could. At the last minute I held them up to see how they would fit and the rest is in the forum thread.
This shows that it is a good idea to take your time and look at thing like this closely before going through the work necessary to install pieces and parts we get for our bikes. This would have been quite a few hours of missed riding time.


I was looking forward to that advertised improvement.
Carlos did say that if I wanted to use their air box removal kit that they would work but that is not what the website says.
I would like to hear from anyone who has put them on a 865 engine with stock carbs to say how they improved performance.
roundy77 asked about pictures of the manifolds - you can see them on Brents NewBonniville.com site.

Gary

SATXRON
I would like to hear from anyone who has put them on a 865 engine with stock carbs to say how they improved performance.
Sorry I missed what you said about the improvement with OEM carb.
What Bike Do you have?
Gary

I recommend returning the intakes. '05 airbox is no different than any of the others. Just return them and end the drama. You won't get anywhere with those guys. Oh...and BTW..you won't feel any gain. Just Freak the thing and be done with it. Brent's/BC Freak and you'll be happy.

Were they made for the Bonneville based bike or the Speedy/America? The airboxes are different between them. Like Doug said the air boxes on all the years of Speedy/America are the same. But they are different than any of the Bonnie based bikes.

Soren

I do not know the answer to the questions other than say that they, New Bonneville and TPUSA, thought and advertised that they would work on the 05 Speedmaster until now.
I guess these kind of things can happen when dealing with non triumph parts and pieces.
In all farness, I havent been hurt here just disappointed.
And the more we talk about this stuff the more we will all learn from it.
Carlos at TPUSA did say that the majority of the bikes they have put these manifolds on also got the air box eliminatyion kit. Using the individual air cleaners would eliminate the problem of angles and distances from the head intake port (except the Carburetors would not be sitting level/parallel to the engine and I do not know if that matters) to the carb outlet end.
I'm just glad there are people out there like Matt and Carlos at TPUSA and Brent at NewBonneville spending their time try to make these bikes even more fun than the manufactures are able to do from the economical or regulatory side of things.

Gary

Gary the 05 Speedmaster airbox is the same as my 05 America airbox. I have the feeling they will not fit our bikes with the existing airbox no matter what year.

On the other hand I question the improvement or gains for the money without other mods. Maybe you accidentally saved $175.00.

Carlos at TPSU was talking some about the other model bikes but I was on my cell when he called with a bad connection and I didn't hear all said.
I won $2000 form the CA lottery on new years eve and had been eyeing these for a while. Guess I'll have to figure out what is next for that $175 before my wife gets it in her hands. One of the reasons I bought them beside looking forward to some improved low end that I lost with the long cannons to air flow was the idea of polishing them. I actually ordered them unfinished and saved $20 so I could shine them up easily. I might just pull my stock ones at the next valve adjust and try to polish them.
Nothing gained nothing lost.
Still having fun after 18,375.2 miles.
Have a good one!
Gary

That's great advice Chris. I could see that is one thing they had done in the TPUSA billet manifolds. I will deffinetly look at that when I get them off.
Thanks again,
Gary

I was just riding alongside a friend that had installed these on his first year Bloor Bonnie.
(2001 for yous neophytes)

The manifolds DO NOT allow the carbs to match up with the air box rubbers. The carbs when mounted on Triumph Performance USA's (the High Performance Aftermarket division of South Bay Triumph) Billet Intake Manifolds, sit directly inline with the jugs. This realignment raised the rear of the carbs about 3/16 of an inch too high for the air box rubber boot to slip onto the carb(s).

My Point? From reading this thread, it is apparent that if you have a stock air box on ANY Bloor parallel twin, then these manifolds will NOT work for you.

The air boxes on the 270 motors are all the same, at least up to but perhaps not including the 08/09 Throttle body editions. The air box is different on the Bonneville. The manifolds do not interchange on an '05 speedy and the TPUSA's billet manifolds do not interchange with a 2001 Bonneville.

Draw your own conclusions, but if you are normal they won't work. If you are freaked, they will.

Chris,
On your advice - I just realized that the plastic insert/spacer between the head intake port and the alloy intake manifold is likely to need shaping as well. Do you know if there is enough plastic there to grind and still hold the o-ring in place?
Anyone else out there with this experience?
Thanks in advance.
gary

even if you can you would have to have to perfectly square to seal up

Frank

Frank, sorry I was not very clear. I was refering to the ID of the plastic piece and I think you are talking about the ends of the plastic piece which I agree would not allow for reshaping. The bolts would not line up or would be on anangle when trying to put it together.
Gary

oooooooo i misunderstood ya, my mistake

Frank

I would guess that you are right that they were originally made for the Bonny engine and they assumed all the egine/air box dimenssions were the same. I was at the dealer last week hoping to see a new R3 Touring (no luck) and took a couple minutes to compare bike models and what the intake port looked like. I notices that what I did see, all but the america and speedmaster had straight cut ports but the america and speedmaster had angle cut intake ports.
The billet intakes were cut square. I think I saw bonnies, thruxton and scrambler.
Gary

I just install the manifolds last night on my 07 Speedy. The air box is removed and the Freak semi installed (just the back mud plate.) The problem I ran into is that if you install the manifolds with the stems up, then there's too much raise to seat the carbs. Switching them to point down corrects that. And the other problem is length. The manifolds add another .5 inch which makes putting on the left filter impossible. So I'll be replacing my K&N will a shorter set.

What do I get? A rock solid stable platform for the carbs, and it looks great. Anything else you'll have to dyno it to know.

Robert,
Glad to hear that someone had the guts to try and make them work. Would have been nice to have a before & after dyno but they should provide some performance boost since they give a smoother flow pattern with the ID being larger and should better fit the intake port on the head and they look cool.
I didn't want to replace or remove my airbox being in CA as no doubt the state will start smog inspections soon and the bike already runs so strong with just the easy stuff to revers. I did the specilty spares long cannons and jets. Runs great with that alone.