A couple of years ago Brian Thompson decided that it hurt too much to race his speedway bike and it was time to hang up his leathers. While he still enjoyed the thrill of twisting the throttle and feeling the bike pull him along, he didn't really enjoy dodging all of the other bikes, or picking himself up out of a pile of bikes and riders that tended to gather up in the corners, and he started to appreciate brakes. So he parked his Jawa and decided to build something a little more roadworthy.
Bryan had always had a soft spot in his heart for early British bikes and decided to build a Triumph Bobber using period-correct parts. So he started combing the Internet, the swap meets, and even digging through the back rooms of his buddies' shops, collecting parts to put together the slick silver 1966 Triumph TT that you see on these pages. It all started with a 1966 TT frame that has been fit with an old-style rigid tail section, a set of rebuilt 1968 Triumph forks, and a 19-inch front and 18-inch rear wheel that have been laced into a set of factory drum brake hubs by the folks at Buchanans.
With the rolling chassis shaping up quickly, Thompson turned to his good friend Mickey Peters of Bakersfield, CA, to provide motivation for the project. Mickey put together a 1973 Triumph 650 motor using mostly NOS Triumph parts. About the only time he deviated from the factory Triumph parts is when he installed the mild cams, the Boyer electronic ignition, and the velocity stack on the Amal carburetor. Bryan did find some finned aluminum covers to finish off the look of the exterior of his very fresh Triumph motor.
Brian bolted the new engine into the chassis and began to "fill in the blanks." He found a beautifully preserved 1969 650 fuel tank, 1951 Triumph oil tank, Flanders handlebars, Bates ribbed rear fender, Bates seat, Bates headlight, Monard oil cooler, speedway-style push bar, and even a period-correct Vincent taillight. After he had all of the pieces of the puzzle, he shipped the frame and sheetmetal off to K-Daddy's Kustoms in Bakersfield for paint. All of the chrome went to A.C. Plating in Bakersfield, everything that needed to be powdercoated went to San Luis Obispo Powdercoating, and the seat went to San Luis Obispo Upholstery.
Bryan would like to thank Mickey Peters, the crew at Buchanans, A.C. Plating, San Luis Obispo Powdercoating, San Luis Obispo Upholstery, Rabers, Dave Frazier, and K-Daddy's Kustoms for all their help getting his real deal bobber finished.