Karen has decided to go to the next stage of her Triumph's transformation.

Wish list this time is: 

Slightly lower rear end.

Alloy front and rear mudguards.

Alloy seat or seat cowl.

Unrestricted reverse cone mega exhausts.

K+N style air filters (junk the airbox)

Large valve head conversion.

Polish the front fork lowers and fit Brit style gaiters.

Progress so far:

We have stripped it down and started some of the work, the forks are done and the front mudguard is fitted.

I have taken a pic of the valves in the head before we send it to Len Patterson  for the head work.

The Thruxton is finished  (for now) 

Karen will use the bike for the remaining summer and think about other mods after this.

Single "Smiths" speedo was used to help keep the simple clasic look.

It has turned out very nice without a massive spend and turns heads with its "classic look" 

Karen and Steve first road test on Triumph cafe racer. (nearly finished)

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Karen's damaged Triumph Thruxton is to be turned into a cafe racer.

Karen's affair with her Thruxton started in  her home country of Canada, after deciding to live over here she organised shipping the bike over to use in our fair country.

Before she could get the bike here it got vandalised but this has not put her off, in fact she is now more determined to get the bike back on the road but in cafe racer trim.

Karen had seen the blogs of the W650 and the T140 Cafe racers that I had done previously  and came to see me about her plans for the Thruxton.

First stage was to "patch it up" so it would pass its SVA test for the UK. This was done with the help of a speedo from an RD250 a side panel from a CB250 dream and a few other quick fixes.

SVA test passed and the real work can start. Karen was introduced to "Unity Equipe" by Steve, an hour or so later an Alloy tank, classic headlamp, tailight and a host of idea's were on there way to me.

Karen's idea is to get the Thruxton on the road so she can use it before Summer has gone, this in mind we will do the bike in two stages. Seat and mudguard mods etc will be done after she has had some fun in July and August.

I have altered the tank by welding on a rear mounting bracket and  a new petrol tap mounting plate. This will allow me to use a rubber mounting system for the tank and the original Triumph petrol tap in its original position.

The top frame tube fits nicely in the tank tunnel (with the removal of some unwanted lugs and a bit of modification here and there) Some cut down large fork gaiters provide soft rubber frame buffers.

I will have to alter the wiring to fit under the top frame tube instead of on top.

I have taken care to allow the use of the original seat (Karen wants to change this for something more "Cafe" later) this will enable the bike to be used sooner.

Patched up for SVA test

Karen tells me how the new "Gas tank" should be fitted.

Thats where my RD speedo went.

New tank before welding 

After welding 

Original tap now fits.

I knew I would find a use for those extra large fork gaiters

Tank now has a rubber strap on system. Front seat mount had to be cut off the old petrol tank.

Lines of tank and seat look good

Nice view so far with tank, seat and headlamp mounted.

After the success of the W650 Cafe,  Bill from Culcheth  asked me to make him one. After a bit of looking around for the donor bike Bill said he fancied it made from a Triumph, so a T140 bike was found and my welder was fired up.

Bill wanted it to be drum brakes like the Manx Norton so I picked up some conical hubs built them into ally rims and fitted modern TT100 tyres (from SMD Leigh)

I managed to find  a brand new set of forks and yokes to match the conical hub front wheel. (Ebay, but not cheap)

Stainless mudguards, Manx Norton tank and seat, clip on bars, new clocks and lighting, short silencers, home made rear sets a few brackets and its nearly done.

Except-----  Bill is concerned about how reliable the engine will be  ( I know it is a Triumph  T140 I hear you say) so a Full engine rebuild with new shells, rebore/pistons, followers, clutch, primary chain and tentioner,all  seals etc etc  and a new pair of carbs! make it sound and perform how it should do.

I cut up a damaged W650 and created this Cafe Racer. (The Triumph in the picture is featured Later)

The Idea was to make a classic cafe racer but with modern engine, brakes and electrics.

The project was created for Kevin at Bikesmart motorcycle training in Wigan, who wanted to get the seat height as low as possible so his wife Jannet could also ride it in comfort.

I sent the wheels to Jeff at KB Wheels in Bolton who rebuilt the wheels with 17" rims. which gave me the added bonus of a better choice of tyres as well as lowering the bike.

I also cut out about 1" of the frame at the rear and dropped the forks in the yokes the same amount at the front for good measure.

The exhaust lost some of its baffling and had to be tucked into the frame for better ground clearance (because some numpty lowered it)

The large air box was dumped and replaced with power filters, leaving more room for the battery and lower seat. smaller side panels fabricated to match.

Manx Norton Tank and seat unit were altered to fit the frame, Rear Set footrests, drop handlebars,  period controls,  modified Norton stainless mudguards and Triumph rear light complete the look.

Small bullet indicators allow both hands to stay on the bars, and a vintage black and silver private Number Plate finishes it off.