Brighton 1964 – if you were there you were either a Mod or a Rocker. The scene to bee seen along the seafront of Kings Road. This smart chap has a leopardskin seat cover on his faired Triumph Cub whilst some other clean-cut youths gaze on. Horror films on show for period entertainment though the daily lifestyle of these two iconic subcultures were heady enough. Great photo though!
Cafe Society- perfect looking Thruxton given a suitably photogenic black and white portrait treatment. Luv Cartier-Bresson would be impressed that even in this day and age of high-def imagery we always fall back on the nostalgia of monochrome photography.
Dr Jekyll – the beast within. Specialist motorcycle performance component guru Norman Hyde has a solid history in making Triumph run quicker and faster. Under the tutelage of Doug Hele at the Triumph Racing Development Department he cut his teeth on making Bonneville’s and Tridents go like the clappers. Records were made on the drag strips with his meticulously engineered machines. Norman looks rather dapper in his weskit & jaiket astride a newer Bonneville for which he’s developed many performance parts.
My Bonneville has Norman Hyde rearsets and clubman handlebars… well, I think it goes quicker…
Clubman – getting the Bonnie prepped for the oncoming riding season. Controls reverted to the low bars to get the cafe look back. New liver-colored grips and a pair of mirrors to make sure my 6 o’clock is kept on the radar. Weather is on the up and up …
Special Three – polished to a high speed. Isle of Man custom racer with blown engine from 1981 built by scot Alistair Laurie. Hailing from Dalbeattie, Dumfries in The Borders he took great pains to ensure integrity with lightness and style.
Alley Cats – a couple of greased hair rockers compare their Triumph machines in an atmospheric image.
Lords & Ladies – I was kindly informed that yesterday’s post were society photographer Patrick Anson, also known as Lord Lichfield, and Swedish actress, and ex-wife of Peter Sellers, Britt Ekland. Being in the thick of the swinging sixties he was always surrounded by beautiful women. A better view of that Honda.
Stylin’! – Motorcycle clothing can ensure unqualified coolness; but make sure you have the hair-do, heels and neckscarf to compliment the look otherwise forget it! Cafe’d moto is a late Sixties Honda CB450 Black Bomber. Sunglasses are aviator. Silk cravat? Pure Carnaby Street…
Sweeping Lines – The Bonnie will be getting the low bars put back on for the coming riding season; the upright ones are a bit ‘tall’ for my comfort. So to maintain the cafe appearance I’ve been delving into the interweb’s selection of road racers prepared using the T120 as a basis. One item is the use of swept-back downpipes: they’re a nice touch for speedier proceedings.
Sage Rage – a wonderfully detailed Thruxton in mint green with a nicely balanced Dunstall fairing. Built by Mike Sadler of Division Motorworks in Canada as directed by owner Patrick McGregor. The side panel is adorned with the clan crest and the motto: Royal is my Race.
Rocket Goldstar – one of the British motorcycle industry’s sweetest machines is the last iteration of their pre-unit twins. Basically a tuned A10 650 engine with a complete accompaniment of Goldstar goodies: such as the alloy rimmed wheels; rear-sets, and clip-ons from Eddie Dow; a swooping siamese exhaust; close ratio RRT2 gearbox to eke our a hearty 50bhp. All-in-all a Motorcycle capable in both looks and speedy roadworthyness. Wish I still had mine…
ROCKET 3 – what a beaut this cafe racer build is! Eye-catching with a speed driven poise, and a homage to the BSA Daytona conquering triples of the early seventies ridden by Dick Mann and Don Emde (Gene Romero ran the triple engined Triumph). Builder is the extremely talented Frenchman Pepo Rosell of XTR Pepo using a 2000 Triumph Legend 900 as the starting point. Original 750/3 engine designer Doug Hele and frame guru Rob North would be proud.
The Original Speed Triple – before Hinckley Triumph rolled out their bruiser 900 naked Speed Triple it was being created by Meriden enthusiasts using the Trident lump at its heart. Here’s Jock Drysdale on his roadgoing machine during, what looks like, a speedy blast through the River Cherwell’s bucolic scenery. He’s dressed for suitably healthy velocities; I think there’s a broad grin under that lid.
Hair: Birds-eye view of a Triumph Thruxton and its lucky owner. Some motorcycles sure do have a good shape when viewed from this angle.
Coffee Bar – we noticed Dublin is home to numerous cafe’s, nearly as many as the Guinness imbibers pubs. So to celebrate here is a perfect cockpit set-up on a mercury silver BSA cafe-racer. Tachometer and sloped clip-ons mean business.
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