It’s been three decades since I was working in London and hit upon a very fun idea. A friend’s Triumph chopper had been stored in my modest garage for several years, having been abandoned after he crashed the 650 Bonneville some years earlier. While in the UK, I attended one of the regular Friday night bike ride-ins then a weekly happening on the Chelsea Bridge in South London. I saw for the first time, several tricked-out Triton specials and spent a couple of weeks investigating these wild and beautiful classic street racers. Sleek, silver and imbued with that unmistakable 1960s style. Tritons have always had a unique presence and hearing the roar of the parallel twin Triumph motor and feeling the precise cornering of the featherbed frame is one of motorcycling’s best thrills.
I decided then and there that I’d build one myself someday. In a pub a few days later, it occurred to me that someday could be now as I already had a donor bike in the form of the Triumph chopper and all that was needed was a frame. back in those days, several small specialty shops were still operating around London selling classic cafe racer parts and I soon picked up a Norton featherbed frame and some classic alloy bodywork for the project.
The airlines even permitted me to store the gas tank (still un-used) in the overhead storage bin on the way home, and within days, I was on the phone with a local British bike shop, looking into having the project completed intime for riding that same summer.
Fast forward 30 years (!) and the Triton has been upgraded several times. Most recently, it received a complete 750cc five-speed engine from Collins Cycle, the same shop who handled much of the electrical wiring and finishing work on the Triton all those years ago. The CRM team also added a front end from a Kawasaki W650, complete with a front disc brake and strong-gripping Magura radial master cylinder. The original aluminum Manx gas tank I’d picked up at the now defunct Unity Equipment Co. in Rochdale is still in place, and despite a couple of small dents, still looks period perfect and tops off the Triton nicely. We’ve added rearsets from Cognito Moto and a fresh pair of adjustable YSS shocks have shored up the suspension at the rear while a new lithium battery and a new pair of Amal concentric carburetors help this baby start on first kick…most of the time, anyway.
With far too many project bikes now in the CRM garage and a couple more on the way, I’ve decided (reluctantly) to offer the Triton up for sale. You can email the team via rockersrule@caferacermag.com with offers and we’re here to answer any questions from potential buyers of one of the finest original 1960s cafe specials around.
