Just about every truly incredible machine from the world of two-wheels and four has made the spectacular dash up the hill climb at Goodwood’s Festival of Speed. Amongst the priceless race machines and the hypercars for today’s uber-rich, it can be pretty hard to stand out. But in recent years, one man has done that with ease, as he’s blazed the back tyre off his supercharged and nitrous slurping Triumph Bobber. That man is Thornton Hundred Motorcycles Jody Millhouse, and he’s made the Hinckley Bobber his own, with a catalogue of brilliant parts and a host of incredible builds. This black and chromed beauty has all the best bits to make sure you have the baddest bobber on the road, and it’s currently for sale to the highest bidder.
The Triumph Bobber certainly got tongues wagging when it was released to the buying public in 2017, and buying was the word. In the UK, the model finished that first year as the company’s best-seller, doubling the sales of its stablemate, the Bonneville T120. But we probably haven’t seen as many custom examples over the past six years as many of us might have expected. But Thornton Hundred has certainly been upholding their end of the bargain and Jody has been flying the flag proudly. To begin this build, a 2021 Bobber was taken straight from the dealer, in its limited edition ‘Chrome’ factory finish and dropped at Jody’s door.
Inside Thornton Hundred it was straight onto the lift and the rolling stock was instantly discarded. One of the things that first put Jody on the map was his wide-wheel packages, and this Bobber was prepared to get it ready for its own. Known as the V4 package, it begins with a set of custom machined hubs, crafted from billet aluminium. Once they’re powder coated, each end is then laced with new chemically dipped spokes to a set of fat Takasago Excel rims in black. Then it’s over to the tyre machine to be wrapped up in sticky Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa rubber, with the company’s logo laid over the top in white lettering.
But you can’t just make a wide-wheel package and throw it on, it just won’t fit. To solve the problem, Jody has designed a wide triple tree package, again machined from high quality aircraft grade aluminium. Now the front end can be pieced together, with blacked out and gaiter wearing forks, dropped through the big trees. To keep the weight down and match the extra width, each end gets its own custom made titanium axle, and you really can see that Jody has left no stone unturned. The rear end is now supported by a big dollar Fox shock absorber and the brake package is another Thornton Hundred kit, with wave pattern rotors adapted to the new rims.
The big tyre kit makes a bold statement, but all of the little things are taken care of in the looks department too. The billet aluminium machined number plate holder is another part from the Thornton Hundred online store and it drastically cleans up the rear end. At the other end, all of that rubber is helped to be displayed with a minimalistic blade fender on a set of custom mounts. The tank didn’t need a paint job thanks to the factory laying down the stunning black and chrome, but the full Alcantara solo seat with diamond stitching adds to the high-end feel.
The engine is the real party piece and here Jody works with the masters of motorcycle supercharging, TTS Performance, who have 40 years in the game and the results to back it up. The ultra neat package supports a Rotrex C15-60 supercharger in a CNC machined housing and keeps everything close to the Triumph block. An 85mm pulley sets the belt speed and then the compressed air is sent through a host of fabricated pipes, into an intercooler to reduce inlet temps, and then rammed into the engine via a custom plenum. The factory throttle bodies remain in place but have been blacked out to match and a blow-off valve vents the excess gases when the throttle plates slam shut.
An engine is really just an air pump, as is a supercharger, so helping the Triumph 1200cc motor breathe is the key to bulk power. On the inlet side, the airbox has been deleted and a K&N filter sends cool air to the blower via a custom inlet pipe. On the exhaust side of things, Jody is known for his radical designs and their ear-splitting sound, and he hasn’t skimped on this example, with twin stainless header pipes pieced together from pie cuts and barking from out turned exits. The oil-cooling system is beefed up to handle the increased temperatures and a TTS supplied engine map ensures that fuel and ignition timing are spot on.
The result is a near 100% increase in power, with the Bobber now churning out close to 120bhp at the rear wheel. To finish the build, the bike was cleansed of many factory parts, with a full Kellermann tail light package resting neatly under the seat. A set of Motogadget bar end indicators are matched up with the flipped mirrors, and help to visually lower the wide ride. Back to the lathe and a billet fuel cap is turned down for the tank and the laser cutter produces a radiator guard and a custom stainless steel seat plaque to let you know exactly who built this bike.
There are few bikes on the road with such a ‘tough’ appearance, and with the blower by its side, this Bobber makes the boost to deliver a mean traffic light smackdown.
You can bid on this beast of a bobber now on collectingcars.com
