Certain bikes just have style and class wrapped up in the perfect package and feel as if they were tailor made for individuals such as Daniel Craig. Found this posting over on Wired.com, but it was written by Chris Hunter of BikeExif.com. This bike is just about perfect when it comes to a cafe racer style. As certain bikes come and go in and out of style, this particular Triumph is timeless. The girder front end and matching swingarm make the perfect matching suspension combination and dial in the lines.
This thoroughly modern custom out of England tastefully mines the past to create something that never was but could have been.
It’s called the Triumph Speed Twin Concept, a reference to the iconic 1937 Speed Twin 5T. It was designed by a pair of young British designers, Roy Norton and Tom Kasher, in what became something of an unofficial styling exercise for Triumph. The two were working on placement at the Xenophya industrial design studio when they approached Triumph with a proposal for “a bike taking retro themes in a modern direction.”
Triumph Product Manager Simon Warburton loved the idea and wrote a brief. He wanted a bike “styled to appeal to younger riders … the bike the Bonneville might have evolved into, in an alternative universe.”
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| Triumph Speed Twin Concept by Roy Norton and Tom Kasher |
Norton and Kasher set to work, drawing influence from the cafe racers and bobbers of yore. Input from Triumph ensured the Speed Twin concept was feasible from a manufacturing and homologation standpoint. Barbour outdoor clothing, another venerable English brand, helped out with materials for the seat and grips.
Warburton is pleased. He says elements from the concept could influence future projects. We’d love to see those eye-catching girder forks on a production bike. Although they’re mock-ups here, the technology is ripe for resurrection with modern materials and engineering know-how.
Photos: Triumph Motorcycles Ltd.
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| Triumph Speed Twin Concept by Roy Norton and Tom Kasher |
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| Triumph Speed Twin Concept by Roy Norton and Tom Kasher |
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| Triumph Speed Twin Concept by Roy Norton and Tom Kasher |
