Triumph Bonneville Street Twin – the “Salt Flat Racer”

Triumph Bonneville Street Twin – the “Salt Flat Racer”

As a range of retro-styled motorcycles bought up-to-date with today’s tech, Triumph’s “Modern Classics” range has proven to be very popular with the riding public, one of which is the base model Bonneville Street Twin. At its essence a naked “universal” motorcycle, the Street Twin lends itself to customisation easily.

The Triumph Dealer Custom Built Competition is a contest organised by Triumph for its worldwide dealer network. Using the current Triumph Street Twin as a basis, dealers are allowed to display their skills and talent in customisation, with the proviso that the machine remain somewhat road legal.

Taking a Triumph Bonneville Street Twin, Triumph Groningen, from the Netherlands, created their version of the famed “Salt Flat Racer”. Closely mimicking the lines of the larger Thruxton R, the Salt Flat Racer is the brainchild of Triumph Groningen owner Leonard Wagenmakers with the design by Roger Koers and metal fabricator Rinaldo Wiegman.

Completed in only two weeks, the Triumph Bonneville Street Twin Salt Flat Racer is their idea of what a care racer should look like, with a milieu of fabricated and hand-built parts. The bodywork for the racing seat cowl is made from rolled one millimetre think steel, and conceals a transparent Triumph logo made from glass that is lit by a brake light from an Opel Vectra.

A single PIAA headlight is located asymmetrically on the front fairing, which follows the classic lines of racing machines from the sixties. In the cockpit, the fuel tank, lifted off the Triumph Thruxton R, is painted to imitate the patina of a slat flat racer, along with the cut-down levers that served to cut down wind resistance in the days before motorcycle aerodynamics was properly understood.

Retro-bikes with modern under-pinnings seem to be enjoying a renaissance of sorts at the moment, and not just amongst the hipster crowd. There is a segment of the riding population, notably new riders and those coming back to the sport, who appreciate an approachable and easy to ride machine like the Triumph Street Twin, which retails in Malaysia for RM56,900 in 2017.

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Mohan K Ramanujam

Coming with diverse and extensive experience in heavy engineering, Mohan enjoys making anything with wheels go fast, especially motorcycles. His weapon of choice is the Desmoquattro engine, and he has a penchant for anything with a dash of Italian design. Strangely enough, he insists he's a slow rider.

 
 

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