Many lofty dreams started with “someday, when I retire,” but very little of it actually gets done. Luckily, Origin8or Cycles’ Rob Chappell is in the business of making dreams come true. So when a client wanted to pamper himself with a special retirement gift, Rob broke the brutal custom. street fighter.
The brief calls for a no-repentance machine that will draw inspiration from the hooligan street bike culture of the 90s. Rob started with clients in 2008. Triumph Speed Triple 1050, but in the end all he kept was the engine and front forks.
“We discussed around ideas about which engine to use for the project,” says Rob. “He originally wanted a more classic engine, but most four-cylinder options are wide, heavy, and less efficient.”
“A few weeks later he texted and asked ‘what if we used my Speed Triple?’ The bike is already a great runner with only 20,000 km [12,427 miles] on the clock, so it means no engine is needed and the three-cylinder powerhouse will keep it relatively narrow. We have our plan. “
First on the list is a new swingarm, as the Speed Triple’s single unit doesn’t match the classic sportbike. Rob started by designing a pair of dropout materials that could double as shock mounts, then sent the designs to Joe Kaslowski at Random Crafting to build them. Next, he built the jigs and built the bike’s gorgeous new twin-tube swingarm.
“Of course I was also planning to do a full new frame, but that didn’t go well,” says Rob. I was pretty sure I could make a cradle frame to house the motor, and I was about 90% done, when I took the bike off the table and onto the ground and decided I hated it. I removed it and started over.”
“Based on the idea of a hooligan street fighter, and less of a nostalgia, I recall my youth, yearning after the Spondon frames I would see in superbike magazines, but never can be bought. So that’s the plan for round two! I wanted to keep the design distinct enough from the stock frame, but still be unique and functional. “
Rob soldered some brackets to attach the three-cylinder engine to his crafting table, then put the swingarm and bracket in place. From there, he connected the dots until he got a design he liked.
The new chassis is not only compact and powerful, but it is also built with usability in mind. The customer plans to take the bike back to his native Wales — so Rob used OEM bearing sizes throughout the build, to easily source replacements. Even the swingarm swingarm is made to match the original Speed Triple part.
Matching the new frame is the stock Speed Triple fork, with a fully adjustable YSS shock absorber running at the rear. Looking closer, you’ll also spot a pair of Dymag’s coveted carbon fiber wheels, wrapped in Metzeler Racetec RR tyres.
As the frame of the wheelchair moved, Rob turned his attention to the bodywork. Every part you see here is made from solid aluminum – including the front fender, headlight bezel, radiator cap, side caps, fuel tank and tailgate. Rob first visualized each part as a wireframe, then hand-formed the final sections.
“I tried the ‘foam flower’ method,’ he says, ‘but really hate clutter and can’t see through whatever I’m working on to get the look right. I reverted to my tried and true wireframe method, as this allowed me to visualize the gaps where the fuel would be kept and I could easily see the inside and outside when stacking all the fuels. parts of the body. “
Other exclusive parts include a flush-mounted gas cap and custom seats from Rob’s brother’s company, Tuffside. Customers also specify a set of Accossato levers, Domino throttle, ProTaper handlebars and handlebars, and Rebelmoto switches. Mirrors, turn signals and dashboard all come from Motogadget.
The original Triumph was equipped with a full Arrow exhaust system, but it needed to be changed. So Rob matched the Arrow headers to a Hindle end can, with a custom middle.
The bike is also wrapped around an Antigravity Lithium-ion battery and a Motogadget mo.unit controller — but this proved to be challenging. “We have been told by several people on forums and elsewhere that the bike will work fine without the stock gauges,” explains Rob. “So with a plan of attack, we had to work with the harness when the bodywork was painted.”
“We’ve got four weeks until the bike will be unveiled at its first show, Motoblot, which seems like a lot of time… until it isn’t. The short answer, for anyone trying, is that the stock meter is required for the CAN bus system and the ECU to enable the boot sequence. I took the meter out of the case, buried it in the back of the bike, and sped up and around the block.”
With so much love for construction, Rob was hesitant to take the chance to leave the paint job. So he designed three options that he knew would look good and let the customer choose his favourite. The red and silver you see here won; Mat Tobin at Jensens Custom put it down, while FlashFire Coatings painted the frame red.
Rob told us: “The surprise for the client was to add the dragon from the Welsh flag, as a nod to his legacy and the future home of this building. “The number 77 also has special meaning to him, as that was the year he completed his studies, got a job and moved out.”
The final product looks so good it’s easy to forget what’s powering it: the 1,050 cc trio makes 131 hp and sounds like nothing else out there. When retirement gifts go away, this is hard to come by.
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