The formula for those wanting a shop-built custom seems to be this, buy a donor bike and then take it to workshop XYZ to have them then work their magic. All well and good, but what if the donor bike you’ve chosen isn’t really suited to the style of bike you’re actually after. And given many workshops have customised literally hundreds of bikes, aren’t they better positioned to pass on their wisdom as to just which donor machine would be the best for your build? Thankfully one very wise customer sat down for a chat with Tamarit Motorcycles, took on board their advice, and walks away with the reward, this incredible Triumph Thruxton that simply cannot be missed.
Spanish outfit Tamarit Motorcycles host an amazing facility packed with employees, offering a huge line of custom parts and have racked up nearly 100 complete builds including this white and chrome chariot known as ‘Claus’. “When Jose Luis, owner of Claus, contacted us to ask for a quote on a Speed Twin, he was not very clear about how he wanted his project to be. After a couple of conversations, we finally realised that we had to change the base of the bike and make the conversion on a powerful Thruxton 1200 R, much closer to the final result we wanted to achieve.”
With Tamarit being masters of all things Triumph, Jose not only took their advice on the donor but also allowed the team to work their magic. He was ‘the perfect client’, realising that once team Tamarit knew his desires, it was best to leave them alone to get on with the job, rather than be one of those people who pop their head in each day and try and micromanage the project. Even the donor Thruxton R was picked and purchased by the crew, before taking the factory machine and ripping into it.
The first change is an interesting one, knowing exactly the look they were after, the boys pulled the lightweight alloy swingarm off and replaced it with the beefier item from a stock Thruxton. The bike still runs the amazing Ohlins rear shocks and with the different geometry of the changed combo, you get a very aggressive looking back end. The front forks are the big piston 43mm Showa items and armed with Brembo discs and radial calipers, you know stopping is not an issue.
To add an aggressive touch, however, big dollar Kineo wheels look stunning wrapped in Pirelli MT90 rubber. Next in line for the Tamarit touch is another rarely seen commitment, that to chrome plating a large portion of the engine. It sure makes the big 1200cc parallel-twin pop with all that bright metal work and there is a method in the madness. With the raw metal castings of the fins and cases blasted clean and allowed to contrast against the chrome, with some extra badging thrown in for good measure.
The theme continues with the chrome intakes that feed off pod filters under the seat and the newly freed space. And the high pipes from Zard, with their chromed out shielding and crazy customised muffler. But try as you might, you just can’t get away from that colour and it’s a rare thing when this much chrome can be upstaged. But that’s exactly what the white paintwork does, although it nearly wasn’t to be with black originally on the cards. To make the pure as snow hue work, gold is used to break it up and the two colours are combined in a number of stunning custom enamel badges.
The body that it lays over is not standard either, with the rear hugger a rather large unit that is sculpted to envelop the rear tyre. The front guard has a similar vibe and is a clever combo of using the stock mounts, with the centre cut out and replaced with a ribbed fender. The tail section is handmade and very much in the cafe racer tradition, “and, for the first time, upholstered in camel-colored suede. A single seat that adds softness to the design and comfort while driving. In tune with the seat, a centre line made of suede and polished steel has been added to the tank.”
You can see how much effort has gone into contrasting the old with the new in this project and to provide the classic, wireless look, a special box was built under the seat to hide all of the modern electronics. The headlight bucket might be round, but that’s where the old school of the unit stops, with a Gyroscopic LED centre to peak around those sharp bends. The rear is all minimalist, with the under-seat cover housing very simple LED taillights. Again, there is enormous contrast, simple one moment and then boom, that huge XXL sump and radiator guard.
It’s a bike that makes a hell of a statement, and one that blew Jose Luis’ socks off when he saw it for the first time, when it was delivered to his door.
[ Tamarit Motorcycles – Instagram ]