EB043 – 2007 Triumph Bonneville
People drop in to Ellaspede for varying reasons, one of the main ones being (not surprisingly) to talk bikes. Our latest client, Steve was one of those folk. He was interested in discussing which motorcycle to use as a base for a mild custom build. After some chat, research and box ticking he’d narrowed the possible list of candidates to just a few.
Steve showed up some weeks later with a bike that ticked more boxes than the rest he’d looked at… the ever-popular Triumph Bonneville. This one was an ’07 model, sporting some custom bolt-on items.
And they’re popular for a reason… they’re a good all-rounder that seem to hold their value pretty well, (here in Australia at least). Of course this also makes the task of customising them that much harder, unless you just want to produce a bike based on some the many after-market goodies available. Steve didn’t want that, so over a few meetings and correspondence we set about designing something to suit his brief.
The result, whilst clearly still a Triumph, uses a mix of styles that blend through the use of colour coding and texture, producing a cool classy cruiser… All the C’s!!
One of Steve’s main requirements was the stance… he wanted it low. The exact height remained a bit of a mystery though until the double stripe Shinko rear tyre was fitted up to the custom 16 x 4.25 rim and a trial fitting took place so we could spec suitable height shocks.
Progressive shocks made for a Harley Sportster with custom shims and bump stops take care of the rear whilst simple fork protrusion helps at the front to get the height down. Of course there’s a price to pay in the handling department, but Steve convinced us he was aware of this and decided the offset in handling was worth the aesthetic result.
Both front and rear rims and rotors were powder coated prior to re-lacing the rear and applying the classic tyre applications.
Classy whilst not overly bling was another directive and we knew leather was going to feature (Kangaroo in this case), so whilst discussing seat options a “chesterfield” lounge was mentioned. This was a first for our upholsterer, but they did a bang-up job in producing an authentic chesterfield result that really suits (despite some prior reservations from some).
The removable custom side bags were a partially practical inclusion and keep the theme going, as do the custom cable covers (more C’s) and grip wraps at the front.
A low mounted Bates style headlight with grill made way for a low mounted Acewell gauge, minimising things up front. Posh indicators and a modified sparto taillight were the chosen signals. The sparto sits atop a custom rear guard with an Ellaspede Ninja Star licence plate mount. The front guard and chain guard are trimmed standard items.
Behind the scenes are relocated electrics, for a clean look if Steve opts to remove the side bags and expose the K&N filters.
Charcoal pipe wrap covers the pipes whilst a custom stainless baffled extension finishes the exhaust system. Steve has two choices of baffles; one set keeps his neighbors at bay whilst the other may tempt community condemnation (Yet more C’s).
Liberal painting and polishing, finish off the aesthetics.
Read build stage 02 here
Albums we listened to during the build of this bike:
1. Two Door Cinema Club – Beacon | 2. Phoenix – Bankrupt! | 3. The Streets – A Grand Don’t Come for Free |
Photos and Features:
Photos by AJ Moller Photography | As featured on Bonnefication |
Comments (5)
Speedo Question
By: Brendan on 3 November 2020Hey Ellapsede, what kind of speedo did guys install on this job. Looking to do the same on my bonnie.
Ellaspede Response
Hey Brendan, We just used an Acewell 2853 on this one mate, you can find it here: https://www.ellaspede.com/acewell-basic-2853-speedo-tacho Cheers!
Seat
By: John Mountain on 8 October 2020I have a 2019 T120 and love the seat. Can you make one for T120 2019 in black, same length and no buttons regards John
Ellaspede Response
Hi John, We're glad you like the seat mate. Shoot us an email and we can give you some pricing and info for a custom seat. contact@ellaspede.com Cheers!
Side bags
By: Evan on 18 January 2020Hiya, just wondering if you guys still make these custom side bags? Cheers
Ellaspede Response
Hey Evan, We sure do mate, we've got a couple left! They're on sale online now https://www.ellaspede.com/hard-parts/triumph-custom-parts/
Price
By: Brad on 15 November 2019Just wondering pricing for these bikes. Thank you, Brad.
Ellaspede Response
Hey Brad! 99% of bikes we build are on commission for clients, so they're not for sale once you see them on the website. We can definitely talk about doing a build with you though, hit us up and let's chat abut some options mate! Cheers
Beautiful
By: david on 5 February 2019This is definitely a great re-work of the original. I am curious how much the changes cost (roughly), disregarding the price of the bike.