“This is not “Project bike” is a lie I often tell my girlfriend. 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 was a pretty bike when it came out of the factory, it looks even better as you slowly phase out the stock model.
I didn’t want to grind down the Bonneville frame with an angle grinder, nor did I have the time or money to cover it with custom parts. So this project was all about big wins from small changes—the kind of work that can be done in an afternoon and a few beers. The stuff Sam at Motone Customs sent over fit the bill.
Based in Newport, Wales, UK, Motone produces a fairly extensive catalogue of both generic and model-specific parts. While they cover a wide range of brands, they have more Triumph-specific parts than any other brand, covering everything from the early 2000s carbureted Bonnevilles to the new liquid-cooled bikes.
The box that arrived at my door contained replacement parts for most of the things I didn’t like about my Triumph Bonneville SE—the wide seat, the giant plastic fenders, the cheap turn signals and taillights the previous owner had installed. It also included some racks and wiring harnesses, a few other cosmetic parts, and a few genuinely practical upgrades.
It took just a few hours to put everything on the Bonneville, using only a 4mm hex key, an 8mm and 10mm socket, and a Phillips screwdriver. I also used a drill and a file to lightly modify a part or two—but everything else went off with minimal fuss.
It should be added that most of these parts do not come with detailed instructions because they are usually very easy to install. But there were a few cases where the logic didn’t work for me and I had to resort to the Internet for help. However, nothing shown here requires a degree in rocket science.
Motone Skinny Krait Saddle Covered in premium vinyl with traditional rolled and folded stitching, Motone Skinny Krait Saddle cuts a much slimmer profile than the Bonneville’s bulky footrest. But despite that, it’s more comfortable—and actually about an inch taller.
That’s because the original Bonneville seat is less padded than it looks; the sides of the seat extend down to wrap around the frame rails, creating the illusion of a thicker profile. The Motone seat not only sits on the frame rails (which looks much nicer), but it’s also more padded with premium foam. While I wouldn’t call this a touring seat, it’s both an aesthetic and practical upgrade over the original.
It’s also narrower—which, combined with the slight increase in height and the bench-like design, makes it easier to maneuver around the bike. (Together with the tall, wide handlebars I installed, the riding position is now nearly perfect.) It’s also long enough to carry an extra person.
But the best selling point of the Motone Skinny saddle is how easy it is to install. Its injection-molded seat base is a replica of the original Triumph part—so it can be swapped out in seconds.
Motone sent over a pair of theirs. ‘quick release’ seat bolts They’re also much easier to use than the hard-to-reach bolts that come with the bike. (If you haven’t had the pleasure of owning a Bonneville, those are the domed hex-head bolts that sit deep under the rim of the original seat—and everyone hates them.)
The Motone ‘quick release’ screws have a CNC milled body with an integrated stainless steel hex bolt. You can tighten them pretty much by hand, then tighten them with a hex key. And even if you tighten them too much to remove them by hand, they’re still much easier to access than standard bolts.
Motone sells these in a variety of finishes, but I chose a black set, which features subtle contrasting details. This design is repeated in the Motone fuel tank cap and quick release side plate fixing pin which I also installed, creating visual consistency between the bike’s details.
Motone High-Tail Rear Bumper Fenders are a controversial topic here, but I had a clear idea of what I wanted for the rear of the Bonneville. I didn’t want to go without a fender, I wanted something slim and clean, significantly shorter than the stock part, but still long enough to accommodate a taillight and license plate mount. It also needed a sharp departure angle, so it could float neatly over the rear wheel with the extended TFX shocks I was using.
Motone Rolled Aluminum High tail rear bumper ticks those boxes. It’s as short as possible, while still adding a bit of practicality to the rear of your bike. Available in polished and brushed versions, it also comes in a unique finish that uses a black anodized layer over a brushed base—as seen here.
The top of the fender has two mounting brackets with threaded lugs that perfectly replicate the mounting points on the Triumph OEM fenders. So, like the Motone seat, the High-Tail fender is a direct replacement (although I did have to use some force to get it to fit properly where its front edge meets the bike’s plastic airbox).
The rear edge of the fender is pre-drilled into a triangle that fits all Motone taillights, with a few grommet-lined holes to thread the wires through. However, it lacks the clips underneath to hold the rear assembly’s wiring in place—a small but nice feature that’s present on the stock unit.
To solve this, I drilled a few small holes in the fender area that was hidden by the seat and threaded a cable tie through it. It’s a pretty simple mod, and, to be fair to Motone, there are plenty of ways to route the rear end’s wiring—I just prefer doing it this way.
That one quibble aside, the Motone High-Tail fenders fit and look much better than the bulky originals, and are a Bonneville upgrade that I highly recommend, especially if you’ve swapped out the seat for something slimmer.
For the opposite end of the bike, I decided to go with Motone short fender in the same brushed and anodized finish as the rear fender. I also chose a High mount bracketDesigned to hang the front fender onto the existing mounting points on the Bonneville’s lower swingarm.
I ran into a snag when the fender holes didn’t quite line up with the high mount holes. Sam’s reasoning makes sense; the fender is bike-specific, so it was specifically designed for the 17-inch front wheel on my Bonnie ‘mag wheel’, giving it a tighter radius. Bonnevilles with larger front wheels are probably less of a problem.
If I had paid for the parts, I would have sent them back. But in the end, some sensible filing put it all together neatly. Ironically, I don’t like the overall look, so the Motone Shorty fenders will probably be moved back to their original positions.
Motone Eldorado LED Taillights Motone’s overarching strategy is to develop an ecosystem of components that work seamlessly together—and nowhere is this more evident than with their taillights. While Motone offers a myriad of taillight designs, they all share the same mounting system—and, in turn, fit all of their fenders.
The setup on my Bonneville is focused on Motone Eldorado LED Taillightschosen for its classic minimalist aesthetic. It comes with Motone license plate holderand plug and play wire For this specific bike model, no additional wiring is required.
The Eldorado’s cast aluminum case measures 78 mm [about 3”] across, with 50mm lens [about 2”] of that space. It comes in a few color options and can be purchased with or without Motone’s standard installation kit, which includes a mounting plate, rubber feet, a set of latches, and the necessary hex key. Mounting the light is easy—but pairing it with the rest of the accessories takes a little more work.
First, you’ll need to disassemble the taillight housing and gently pry out the circuit board inside. Then, you’ll need to pull the wires out of the back of the housing, snap the Motone steel license plate bracket into place, and reassemble everything. (And if, like me, you didn’t pay attention to the wiring, you’ll need to repeat this process two or three times.)
The whole thing then mounts to the rear fender as a single unit, making for a very clean rear end. The Bonneville-specific wiring harness is a boon, as it plugs directly into the OEM connector, significantly shortening the wiring at the rear of the bike. Once plugged in, the Eldorado’s LED running and brake lights are bright enough, and there’s a cutout on the underside of the light to illuminate the license plate.
(Motone also sent me a pair of brackets that allow you to attach your turn signals to your license plate holder. However, they were too short to fit my wide South African license plate, so I replaced them with a pair of metal bars from my parts bin.)
Motone Pico LED Turn Signals Completing the redesign of my Bonneville’s rear end is a handsome pair of Motone Pico LED turn signal lights. With a traditional bullet design in a small aluminium case, they are both classy and shiny. They are also road legal in the UK, despite their large size.
But what’s impressive is how thoughtfully the Pico turn signals are assembled. Their wires are neatly wrapped in braided housings, and their nuts and washers are slotted, making it easy to thread them through the wiring.
Once again, Motone offers an air-cooled engine specifically for the Bonneville. power cord adapter to take the guesswork out of wiring up the Pico turn signals (although I still got it wrong the first time). The adapters have a Triumph style plug on one end and a bullet connector to fit into the connector on the turn signal on the other end. Once everything is connected, the rubber tubing can be slid over the lock nuts to protect the wiring.
The only trick with these tiny turn signals is figuring out where to mount them. The rear turn signals fit neatly into the Motone taillight assembly, but the front turn signals barely stick out from the Bonneville’s stock turn signal locations; the mounting points are recessed into the headlight ears. So I had to build a ‘spacer’ in the backyard to accommodate them a little wider.
Motone Customs | Instagram | Facebook | Image of Wes Reyneke
Full disclosure As is customary with our reviews of motorcycle gear and accessories, Motone sent these parts free of charge. They did not pay us to write this review, nor did they expect me to say anything but glowing things about their products. As always, our opinions are unbiased and our own.
