A MODERN CLASSIC CAFE RACER TRIBUTE
1950 TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE
We knew that there would be interest in our Bonneville CR kit by some of the Triumph dealers, but we didn't expect to get a build offer the weekend we debuted the original CR at the Barber Vintage Festival! The story goes like this. (With a little liberty with words...)
Webb & Jeff (the brain-trust behind Gulfcoast Motorcycles) were watching the races from the top of the hill at Ace Corner when Webb caught out of the corner his eye a rather tasty modern Triumph custom. After nudging Jeff they both made their way over to the DCC tent and start salivating on the bike. Herm came up with a rag and asked them politely to not drool on the machinery and they laughed and simply responded "Sorry man! It's just too cool!"
After looking the bike over Webb said to Jeff "Wouldn't it be great if we could have one of these in our showroom for sale?" "Yeah, too bad its a full custom and there's not way we could every have it make sense to sell through our dealership." Jeff replied.
And that's when Herm smacked them both in the face with the Dime City CR parts catalog. Like two children who just got tickets to Willy Wonka's, to say they were ecstatic, was an understatement. At that point the meeting went from cleaning up drool to exchanging cards and them telling us they'd be by to drop off a shiny new T100 for us to let loose on.
Low and behold, not too long after that meeting the Gulfcoast tailor showed up at DCC with a shiny white T100 just begging for some new shoes and fancy new outfit. We went over the particulars with the guys and they basically gave us free reign to create what you see here. Again, all with bolt-on parts from our CR catalog.
"Forged from a passion to live in the days when men were men and speed was speed, Dime City Cycles has partnered with British Customs, Progressive Suspension and The Speed Merchant to bring you the Triumph CR line of products. An aftermarket accessory ensemble to customize and individualize your modern Triumph Classic in honor of the Gods of Speed.
"Starting with white and gold T100 Herm and Jason tore into the British lump with a goal of making it a sleeker higher performer than it's big brother, the Thruxton. This is where it gets fun!Starting at the front, we realized we need to get everything low to help the lines. This entailed fitting our Low-Pro headlight ears and gauge cluster that incorporates a 1.9" tach unit (single speedo version available too.) We then took it one step further and opted to not go the standard clip-on route and instead fit our new SPEED bars which essentially place your controls at the position of a clip-on but still utilize the riser. Finish it off with retro barrel grips and our adjustable levers and we reckon it'll crack the TON in comfort.
And for those wondering, that's actually a Scrambler (same as Thruxton) front fender we fitted. Moving to the middle of the bike we opted to fit classic Triumph knee pads and brushed chrome tank badges to pay homage to the classic Triumph Twin's that tore through the streets of London in the 50's and 60's. Moving a little lower we fit a set of retro styled finned covers to the sprocket housing and right side case from our pals over at The Speed Merchant. Discreet and noticeable upon close inspection the raised fins balance with the high polished factory engine fins, a match made in heaven.
Helping the "433" breathe as efficiently as possible we fitted a British Customs airbox eliminator kit combined with a set of K&N filters for maximum intake. On the exit side of the head we fitted a set British Customs 2-into-1 performance exhaust with the new Cone Engineering "Quiet-core" Muffler. The result is a quiet idle with a romp that would make vintage Triumph proud!In addition, we eliminated the air injection system and the 02 sensors and worked with Twin Power UK to perform a dyno tuned ECU upgrade. (Left the system in place.) These fine chaps are based in England and have been in the business for quite some time. They specialize in unique products for the Triumph Twin range of bikes and all of their performance products go through exhaustive dyno and road testing. These are exactly the kind of quality control standards DCC rolls by, so it was a perfect fit.
The TTP EFI tunes are the final piece to the tuning puzzle. After an owner has installed their hardware mods, a TTP EFI tune will bring them all together to give a tractable, powerful and yet economical engine. They have been developed to cater for the multitude of different configurations of induction and exhaust modifications that many twin owners carry out to their bikes. TTP tunes fit in between the Triumph factory tunes which cater for minimal exhaust changes and expensive dyno sessions for special engines with many internal mods. The criteria for TTP tunes is for them to give owners excellent power from their mods when required and good economy whilst cruising. Sound to good to be true? Trust us, it ain't!
And to keep control of that power we installed our Factory-fit rearset kit. Machined from thick durable aluminum with multiple index points for maximum adjustment, we feel there isn't a better solution on the market for a factory-ish kit that improved upon the weak points of the stock items. Smooth action is provided by a bronze bush system and a HEIM joint based linkage. Digg it. You won't find any wonky brackets, extensions or bent master cylinder rods here - just quality components that work the way the factory would need to.
Moving to the back half of the CR you'll find our completely ground up designed seat. With factory Triumph components and ease of installation being paramount we went through an exhaustive process of 3D CAD/CAM design engineering with multiple plastic prototypes until we got the exact fit and finish one would expect from a factory Triumph component. Hence, our nomenclature "Factory-fit.
"The seat simply installs by removing the two rear 6mm bolts and sliding it backwards. It's really that simple. And if you fit a set of British Customs Low-pro seat screws it's even easier. The seat is formed from two pieces of 1/8" ABS plastic and fused with a proprietary method to ensure maximum strength and durability. So, if you need to grab a six pack or take the lady for a ride, just keep your stock seat handy in the garage and you won't skip a beat! Oh, and did we mention it has a felt lined glove glove box? Yeah, bad-ass. We know...
Finishing off the rear section of the bike we fitted a set of Progressives 412 series dampers. These babies are the best-in-class when you need better handling but don't want to lose a hand in the process of purchasing them! We also ditched the big bulky rear fender and opted for a sleek British Customs fender eliminator kit with a clean and classy cat eye taillight kit.All-in-all we couldn't be happier with the final result. And we think Gulfcoast was too seeing as how it sold within five minutes after removing the cover at the unveiling event!
SPECIAL THANKS TO...
Kevin Bates Professional Painter
DCC Parts List
