Photo: Catalin Garmacea
No name, no info, no tech details can be seen around two special bikes at the Triumph booth in Milan, 2014. The only thing around the bikes is a small plate that prohibits touching the bikes and obviously, hopping in their seats. As we shoot our photos, a technician appears and starts bolting several posts to the floor to create a barricade around the two machines.
Triumph brought them and set them on display. Enigmatically and without too many explanations, these British beauties DO draw attention, because they’re nothing you’ve seen from a Bonnie. But we’d definitely like to see such machine rolling down the street! They are so simple, so pure, and yet so strikingly bold…
The ground clearance is impressive and this bike WILL go anywhere. Highway, jumping fallen trunks in the woods, all types of gravel and fire roads, you name it and it will get you there. And back. Two things catch the eye first, the beefy and tall Nitron upside-down forks and the mind-blowing single-sided aluminium swingarm.
With a front end designed as if to strike fear in the beholder’s heart, the off-road Triumph concept bike looks like nothing could stop it. The front tire is in fact an 130mm rear TCK80, matched by an even wider (180mm) one mounted on the rear rim. Both wheels have exquisite reversed wire spokes, and the front one also shows off a large-diameter single petal rotor with a radial caliper.
The swingarm is custom made and has a direct-mount Nitron rear monoshock. The original Bonnie frame is almost completely gone, with the downtubes being all that’s left. The rest was replaced with machined aluminium parts.
A ProTaper handlebar was used, with sport levers replacing the stock ones and a digital dash instead of the old-school gauges. The engine looks stock, but we know it pulls harder. The airbox is gone, and we can almost look inside the cylinders through the open funnels.
This “superscrambler” got a new rear subframe which is taller and accommodates a classic ribbed two-up seat. The tank however, is “something completely different” to throw in some Monty Python classic vibe. A carbon fiber unit that replicates the original Bonnie one, with a slightly distressed Union Jack flag on it, all covered under a thick coat of clear varnish which makes everything look really luxurious. Add in custom grips, braided lines, aftermarket foot controls, slash-cut shorty exhausts and two minimalist carbon fiber fenders. Doesn’t it look a bit too good for mud action?
The machine has also ditched most of the original Bonneville frame, and replaced the whole rear section with a bespoke tubular construction which kind of reminds us of the Tiger’s frame. Even though the fluid, organic shape of the swingarm could trick you into believing you’re looking at a mobile structure, this is a pure hardtail.
It’s the retro solo seat which is loaded on a separate hinge and supported by a show absorber mounted high on the frame, in the rear section of the tank’s special-design cutaway. The descending lines of the swingarm are intersected by the upwards slant dual exhausts which ten follow the curvature of the rear fender for perfectly balanced aesthetics.
Fox shocks equip both the seat’s suspension and the custom girder fork, and they are obviously, fully adjustable for impeccable performance and road stance. And to take thinkgs closer to the present day, the front suspension can be adjusted using bar-mounted + and - buttons for on-the-fly convenience. A radial Brembo caliper ensures front wheel stopping power, and is accompanied by a two-pot rear unit. The lines connecting the masters and the calipers are copper, for killer looks.
Now, there is something really intriguing about the carburetors located in the front of the engine and the rear-facing exhaust ports. Frankly, this is puzzling, and we suspect that this is only a move dictated by aesthetic reasons, and this particular bike is not exactly a working prototype. Even more, open funnels facing forward would certainly transform your cylinders into a bug barbecue after several dozens of miles…
Anyway, the machine looks spectacular, and the custom vintage gauge incorporated in the tank makes everything even better. Cue the sleek two-tone paint and the classic retro Avon tires and get ready to… dream.
What’s your favorite Triumph concept?
Update: According to some of our readers, the latter of these two amazing Triumph machine is a fully-functional bike, as well. This is obviously a really neat piece of information, but again, it would be interesting to know how does the engine cope wiht dust, bugs, and other debris on the road?
The “supermotoscrambler”
It would be hard to find the best description for the taller of the two. Luckily, we’re not the ones who have to baptize these bikes, so we’re happy feasting our eyes on them. The first one we approaches looks like the child of a supermoto machine and a Bonnie, after receiving a massive treatment with off-road genes.The ground clearance is impressive and this bike WILL go anywhere. Highway, jumping fallen trunks in the woods, all types of gravel and fire roads, you name it and it will get you there. And back. Two things catch the eye first, the beefy and tall Nitron upside-down forks and the mind-blowing single-sided aluminium swingarm.
With a front end designed as if to strike fear in the beholder’s heart, the off-road Triumph concept bike looks like nothing could stop it. The front tire is in fact an 130mm rear TCK80, matched by an even wider (180mm) one mounted on the rear rim. Both wheels have exquisite reversed wire spokes, and the front one also shows off a large-diameter single petal rotor with a radial caliper.
The swingarm is custom made and has a direct-mount Nitron rear monoshock. The original Bonnie frame is almost completely gone, with the downtubes being all that’s left. The rest was replaced with machined aluminium parts.
A ProTaper handlebar was used, with sport levers replacing the stock ones and a digital dash instead of the old-school gauges. The engine looks stock, but we know it pulls harder. The airbox is gone, and we can almost look inside the cylinders through the open funnels.
This “superscrambler” got a new rear subframe which is taller and accommodates a classic ribbed two-up seat. The tank however, is “something completely different” to throw in some Monty Python classic vibe. A carbon fiber unit that replicates the original Bonnie one, with a slightly distressed Union Jack flag on it, all covered under a thick coat of clear varnish which makes everything look really luxurious. Add in custom grips, braided lines, aftermarket foot controls, slash-cut shorty exhausts and two minimalist carbon fiber fenders. Doesn’t it look a bit too good for mud action?
The “tubular tracker”
Finding a name for the second concept Triumph is no easier task, either. The sight of this bike simply makes us hate November and the approach of the winter. Honestly, this bike has southern California or Australian highways written all over it.The machine has also ditched most of the original Bonneville frame, and replaced the whole rear section with a bespoke tubular construction which kind of reminds us of the Tiger’s frame. Even though the fluid, organic shape of the swingarm could trick you into believing you’re looking at a mobile structure, this is a pure hardtail.
It’s the retro solo seat which is loaded on a separate hinge and supported by a show absorber mounted high on the frame, in the rear section of the tank’s special-design cutaway. The descending lines of the swingarm are intersected by the upwards slant dual exhausts which ten follow the curvature of the rear fender for perfectly balanced aesthetics.
Fox shocks equip both the seat’s suspension and the custom girder fork, and they are obviously, fully adjustable for impeccable performance and road stance. And to take thinkgs closer to the present day, the front suspension can be adjusted using bar-mounted + and - buttons for on-the-fly convenience. A radial Brembo caliper ensures front wheel stopping power, and is accompanied by a two-pot rear unit. The lines connecting the masters and the calipers are copper, for killer looks.
Now, there is something really intriguing about the carburetors located in the front of the engine and the rear-facing exhaust ports. Frankly, this is puzzling, and we suspect that this is only a move dictated by aesthetic reasons, and this particular bike is not exactly a working prototype. Even more, open funnels facing forward would certainly transform your cylinders into a bug barbecue after several dozens of miles…
Anyway, the machine looks spectacular, and the custom vintage gauge incorporated in the tank makes everything even better. Cue the sleek two-tone paint and the classic retro Avon tires and get ready to… dream.
What’s your favorite Triumph concept?
Update: According to some of our readers, the latter of these two amazing Triumph machine is a fully-functional bike, as well. This is obviously a really neat piece of information, but again, it would be interesting to know how does the engine cope wiht dust, bugs, and other debris on the road?
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