One look at this bike you will see the detail is simply incredible.
This is Karl’s 10th Triumph build each comes from a single inspiration point. He set out to build a bike that would represent and perform like a drag or salt-flat bike of the early 1960’s.
He chose a Duplex frame that was available in 1961-’62, because he like the light look. Then he found a 30mm Ceriani front end reminiscent of the era which allowed the bike to present itself to him. The Ceriani meant extending the stem of the frame 5/8 inch to fit. His next challenge was to find a front spool that would fit in the narrow 4-1/4” gap between the legs. He searched to find a brake hub and was about to give up on the front end when he saw a Montessa unit at the ticker-tape bottom of an eBay search. He inquired about the Montessa Impala double levered hub and it measured 4-1/2”. Simple enough, he shaved 1/8” off each side, eliminated the grease felt and added closed bearings and it fit right in.
The hard-tail was built by Factory metal works with a 2” stretch, and 1-1/2” drop. Excel high-shouldered aluminum rims with stainless steel spokes hold the rubber. The rear hub is a complete aluminum brake/sprocket kit shaving 3 lbs off the standard steel unit.
Karl designed the fuel and oil tanks from cut cardboard and brought them to OC Cars in Lake Forest, CA where Bill shaped them out of aluminum. The mastery and attention to little details took the bike far beyond Karl’s imagination. It is a great collaboration.
Weight is an issue so the tanks and fender are raw aluminum sanded in one direction for a beautiful finish with no weight from paint and finish. Aluminum handlebars and drilled seat and primary cover provide more lightening. The oil tank has holes going through to help cool the oil and work with the visual theme. The seat has a high-heat resistant powder coat to keep from branding your butt.
The frame and engine case are 1962 but not numbers matching. A ‘64 650 crank was balanced and lightened to 17lbs. The case was matched with 1970 Bonneville heads. The E-3134 cams were dialed in by and old flat-track guy. The exhaust painstakingly match the frame angles. The megaphone pipes maintain a level bottom and sweep up on the top. The bike gets to 4000 rpm really nice and doesn’t want to stop there. Like a racehorse it wants to run even more.
I met Karl when I had Blacktop Depot and he brought his previous bike an equally detailed black bobber. Karl has a fine arts degree as a sculpturer who built hot rods then went into building Triumphs. He says that he approaches the build as a sculpturer who happens to build bikes.
“When you build Triumphs you can never get to a place where you understand them. They always give you a Left Hand Turn”. Karl whimses.
His process is simple. He builds a bike, then rides it while he builds the next. When the second bike is done, he sells the previous bike. This gives him a different bike to ride at any given time and funds to build the next one. We stopped by his home garage to see the nearly finished eleventh bike. A stripped down bobber with worn paint and more incredible details.
See it on the streets at BlacktopTV on YouTube.
