If Triumph ever wanted a custom motorcycle to lead the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride, Tamarit’s Miss Hyde would make a convincing case. It starts with one of Hinckley’s most recognisable modern classics, dresses it in a spiffing seat worthy of the Ride’s unofficial mantra, “I feel the need, the need for tweed,” and then rewrites almost everything else. The Bonneville Bobber 1200’s relaxed riding position, floating saddle and minimalist bodywork give way to a café racer built around new engineering, revised ergonomics and a long list of Tamarit’s own components. It’s a conversion that asks an interesting question: how much of the Bobber can you change before it becomes something entirely different?
The answer begins with the bodywork or lack thereof. The floating factory saddle is no more, replaced by a one-piece subframe that combines the seat and its tail-like rear section into a single assembly complete with lighting. Below, an airbox delete is neatly finished with a chrome cover to hide the wiring that would normally be left exposed around the rear shock linkage. Further south, the swingarm has come in for modification too, the heavily braced upper section given the chrome and speed hole treatment. Viewed side-on, the Bobber’s familiar stepped silhouette is replaced by a much flatter, more horizontal line from the headlight through to the tail.
That new silhouette required considerably more than replacement parts. Supporting brackets, mounting points and the integration of lighting all had to be reconsidered, allowing the headlight and tail to fit tightly against the chassis while retaining full road-going functionality. That front headlight has been mounted hard up against the forks and, when combined with the tiny blade-like front fender, helps to further simplify the leading edge of the motorcycle. The tank, however, is largely left alone, with a billet filler cap and glorious Tamarit badges filling the space between the stunning paint job.
The riding position has undergone an equally significant change. Clip-on handlebars replace the upright factory controls, working with the foot controls to shift the rider’s weight forward and lower. The cockpit has been simplified, with clean cable routing, compact instrumentation that has been mounted off to the side, and billet left switchgear that suits the narrower riding position. Then there’s the seat itself. Upholstered in tweed rather than leather, it references British tailoring without becoming a novelty, making Miss Hyde look as comfortable outside a city café during the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride as it does carving through a favourite stretch of back road.
The parallel twin remains unmistakably Triumph, but Tamarit has changed the way it’s presented. The outer engine covers have been chrome-plated, creating a sharp contrast against the matte barrels and lower section, while bespoke Tamarit engine badging replaces the factory emblems. Polished hardware continues the theme across the engine, picking up the finish of neighbouring components without overwhelming the darker mechanical elements. To complete the airbox delete, a set of pod filters are bolted to the carb-like throttle bodies and an all-important oil breather added to match.
Around the rest of the engine, the same approach continues. The exhaust system follows the centre line of the motorcycle to add an aggressive element to the proportions, tucking in hard where the rider’s leg crosses its path and utilising a carefully crafted heat shield to ensure the heat exits via the custom muffler and not through human skin. To add a layer of armour, Tamarit have deployed one of their industrial-style sump guards that matches brilliantly to the changes on the swingarm, and a radiator cover is bolted on for extra insurance.
To get the stance right, the simple factory rear shock has been ditched in favour of something that gives much more adjustment, while the front forks are rebuilt internally to match before coping the full chromed-out treatment. The brakes get a simple upgrade, the aggressive wave pattern rotors adding as much to the look as they do to the performance, while the re-laced black rims with chrome spokes and meaty Firestone rubber certainly fit the theme. Paint is used sparingly, allowing the different materials to do much of the work. The deep blue finish sits alongside chrome-plating, satin-finished mechanical components, brushed metal details and bronze accents, without relying on elaborate graphics to separate them.
Nothing about this machine is conventional; it’s instantly recognisable as a Tamarit build, the Spanish workshop’s bold personality on full, unapologetic display! Miss Hyde then, is an interesting mix, the Bonneville Bobber is still clearly present in the frame, engine and fuel tank, but almost every surface the rider interacts with has been redesigned, remade or refinished. It’s a modern classic viewed through Tamarit’s own lens, a Bobber reimagined as a crazy café racer, and one that wouldn’t look out of place leading a sea of tweed jackets through the streets on a Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride in your favourite city.
