100% Biker - Jan 2020
Tim's Triumph
We were delighted to have Tim's Triumph T100 featured in 100% Biker magazine...
There are times in life when it's good to try something that's both new and a little out of your comfort zone. Here at Raw Steel Choppers we are pleased to be known for our custom frame builds - but that's the only thing for which many people know us! We do a lot of rolling chassis, but it is rare that we take on a complete build.
WE DECIDED THAT A NEW CHALLENGE COULD BE JUST WHAT WE NEEDED
When we were approached by Tim to take on this project, it was definitely different to our usual day work, but we thought about it and decided that a new challenge could be just what we needed. Our customer had been staring at a picture of a modified Triumph Two for over three years, all the time dreaming of owning something similar. Eventually he bit the bullet and asked us whether we could make it for him, while also saying that he wanted Raw Steel to add its own twist to the build to make it a 'one of1'. After some deliberation we decided 'Why not!', and the dream started to become a reality…
A suitable donor bike was soon found and stripped of all its unwanted parts at the Raw Steel Choppers' workshop in Great Easton, just north of Great Dunmow in Essex. However, the front end was a little more tricky to find, but we finally managed to track down a Street Triple upside down front end which was in immaculate condition. With a little bit of fabrication from our local CNC shop, we had it fitting on the Two in no time. We had decided that the wire wheels would be the ideal choice for the look that we wanted, but now the original wheels weren't going to fit the new forks (or at least the front wheel wouldn't lit and of course we wanted them to be a matching pair). We contacted our friends at Fastec Racing who machined us up a bespoke hub. The rims were then sent over to Rich at Wheels in Motion for painting and re-lacing and the wheels were back with us and looking awesome.
The seat hoop was where the main area of fabrication took place on this build. We made a fibreglass base for it and then sent that over to Tom at East County Customs—who does all manner of car and motorcycle upholstery—for him to cover. We wanted a brushed steel finish on the tank and that was accomplished by aqua dip and paint as this will give a longer lasting finish than lacquered bare steel. The paint job was completed by Peter and Josh at Padded Cell and when we got the parts back the work just blew us away! Peter had airbrushed in the side panels (rattler than cutting into the plastic and putting mesh behind) to create the vision we wanted!
As always with these kinds of builds it's the last 20% of the work that takes 80% of the time. The paint was so good that we hardly dare touch it, but after several long clays (and nights) it finally all came together, with the 'wow' factor we mentioned at the start and that Tim wanted, When it was time to fire the bike up for the test ride ‘we all waited with bated breath. Setting off down the road, the Triumph looked and sounded awesome and was, I have to say, surprisingly quick for a twin.
We then delivered her to our customer and several handshakes later I left Tim to admire his new machine with a rather large grin on his face. Our mission was accomplished. Another happy customer and further proof that it is well worth the challenge of stepping out of your comfort zone every once in a while.