Passion, /ˈpaʃ(ə)n/
noun
1. strong and barely controllable emotion.
2. a state or outburst of strong emotion.
3. an intense desire or enthusiasm for something.
Passion, it is a strong word, isn’t it? It makes you do things which you wouldn’t have done otherwise. It gives you will, courage, and perseverance to achieve the unthinkable. If it wasn’t for passion, people wouldn’t have climbed the highest of the mountains and explored the deepest of the oceans.
Passion varies with people, but it also brings them together; strangers become friends, rather family. And if you’re a biker, a motorcyclist, or an automobile enthusiast, you’d understand clearly what we’re trying to say. MotoGP, motocross, rallies, off-roading, touring, or just riding for the heck of it; it is all passion. It is a strong feeling, isn’t it? There is a community which share a similar sort of love for custom-built motorcycles. It is a completely different story in itself.
We, at Bike Nation, share that love with you guys, ‘The Community’. We understand the level of attachment you have with your custom-built motorcycle, the time, money, patience, repetitions, and pain you’ve gone through to have the bike you have right now. It’s one of the things that we are passionate about, too. And that’s why we are always seeking ways to feature you, ‘The Community’, and your special rides. And for that, we’ve started a new series called ‘Custom Catch’. As the name suggests, this special series is whole-heartedly dedicated to custom motorcycles. We invite everyone who has or built a special bike to contact us so that we can feature you and your rides. This is the episode one featuring Andrew and his ‘Sweet Baby Bonnie’.
The Story
Andrew lives in Dubai and is a keen motorcyclist. Just like you and us, he too loves his rides. He came across a neat 2014 Triumph Bonneville T100. Later he found out that one of his friends is the owner. One day Andrew test rode the bike and that was it. She struck the chords of his heart and he instantly fell in love with her. Without wasting any time Andrew purchased the bike and brought her home.
The Bonneville was in complete stock condition. It was born and brought up in Thailand and was imported here in Dubai. Being the 2014 model, it had a modern-classic look to it. It was a very unique bike in its own manner but Andrew wanted to magnify its uniqueness and turn it into something that looked nothing close to the original or stock version. So he got to work.
The Process
In the beginning, Andrew wasn’t so sure as to what he exactly wants his ‘Sweet Baby Bonnie’ to look like. So he played around by tweaking and replacing small parts. And with time he figured out that his bike will be something old-school; not a complete cafe racer, not a classic, but an old-school model with just bare-minimum clothing. Quite a vision he has, right? So, this is how the process began.
The Mods
To achieve his aim, Andrew had to make many changes. Since he isn’t a professional custom-motorcycle builder, he took help from a mechanic to transform his ride. Following are the things that they got replaced:
Front Fender
The front fender of the stock 2014 Triumph Bonnie T100 has a very classy touch to it. It has a chrome license plate holder and was itself quite long to cover up the entire tire. Considering the fact that it didn’t gel with Andrew’s vision and that there’s hardly any rain in Dubai, it was taken off and was replaced by air. Yep, nothing. Remember ‘bare-minimum clothing’, right? That’s how you start.
Rear Fender
Well, if there isn’t a front fender then why should there be a rear one to cover things up, right? Just like the front one, the rear fender too was very classy. It emerged out from under the seat and curves to accommodate the entire rear tire. It also had the license plate, turn signals, and brake light with lots of chrome on them. All of them were removed by, yes, you guessed it right, air (nothing).
Seat and Tires
After removing the rear fender, the next step was to shorten the long saddle of the bike. This not only made the bike a single-seater but also exposed the rear tire a bit too much which looks super cool. Talking about the tires, the stock ones were replaced by massive knobby ones which look much more muscular and beefier and bring out the masculinity of the custom motorcycle.
Wheels
To keep the old-school theme intact, only the rims have been done in black and the spokes are left as they were. Andrew and his mechanic initially thought of going with a set of matte black alloy wheels and powder coated rims and spokes. But they dropped the ideas.
Custom License Plate Holder
In the absence of a rear fender, the placement of the license plate became a question. After giving it a lot of thought, it was decided to put the plate vertically on the left side of the bike. The holder also has a rotating mechanism which allows rotating the license plate either in or out.
Gas Tank
The stock gas tank has been stripped off of its accessories, knee pads, and chrome badges, and painted in a white and black color combination which suits the old-school theme of the motorcycle.
Lightings
The headlight is among the major aesthetic elements that really define a motorcycle. In order to make his Bonnie stand out of the crowd, Andrew had to let the stock headlight go. It was a big circular unit with chrome surrounds. There were a plethora of aftermarket headlights available that Andrew could have picked up. However, after evaluating his needs he narrowed down to a twin-headlight setup.
The side or turn indicators at the front are very tiny units that are located on either side of the headlight. Similarly, the rear end gets them near the suspensions. They also double up as brake lights which eliminated the need to place a separate brake light.
Exhaust
The massive chrome stock twin-exhaust setup would have spoiled the entire look of Andrew’s Bonnie. He had to get it replaced by something special. So he got the stock twin-exhaust pipes cut and fitted custom matte black exhaust pipes. The length of these pipes has also been shortened. As far as the exhaust note is concerned, it is a growl that would definitely turn a lot of heads.
Another thing that has been done with the exhaust pipes is wrapping. Instead of getting the remaining part of them painted, they’ve been wrapped by a white insulation strip. It is a nice touch to match the white and black gas tank.
The Ending
It wouldn’t have been an easy task to get this project completed. But we can totally understand and appreciate Andrew’s love, dedication, and passion that helped him get his ‘Sweet Baby Bonnie’ the unique look he desired. Congratulations, Andrew! Thank you for sharing your story with Bike Nation and ‘The Community’.
So, guys, this was the episode one of our newest series ‘Custom Catch’. We hope you would’ve liked it. We are looking forward to getting more such wonderful stories like Andrew’s featured in the future. Stay tuned and ride safe!
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