An Appreciation Of The New Heritage – Respecting Where We Came From

When you think of getting a custom motorcycle, you usually think of either A., having to take your bike to a shop where a pro with years of experience and a garage full of specialized equipment can get you something unique for prohibitive sums of money, or B., having to be that pro with years of experience and a garage full of huge, gnashing machines that can do terrible, terrible things to a motorcycle.

But no longer.

Allow us to introduce Weekend Projects. Our Weekend Projects are upgrades packages designed to let any rider armed with a set of common tools and basic technical knowledge transform their motorcycle into anything they can imagine. Even better, they’re designed so that you can install them over a Saturday afternoon and have your bike ready to ride by Sunday. They’re completely thought out to contain everything you need to revamp any system on your bike.

We’re not going to tell you how to customize your motorcycle using our packages — that’s entirely up to you, and half the fun anyway — but we do want to share with you some classic motorcycle styles that we’ve found inspiring.

We have an appreciation for the new heritage, and a deep respect for where we came from. Because to know where you’re going, you have to know where you’ve been. One of the things we want to do with Weekend Projects is reconnect riders with the good ol’ days our grandparents always talked about, when things were simpler and you made do with what you had.

CAFE RACERS

Cafe racers came out of the Rocker culture of 1960s England. Considered hellions by the older generations, these rebellious youths earned their reputation by racing from cafe to cafe. They would strip down their factory production bikes, and mix and match frames and engines (the origins of the “Triton”) to create a bike capable of doing “the ton.” This entailed getting your bike up to 100 miles per hour on the winding streets of 60s London. This was not a feat easily done on these machines.

Inspired by the race bikes of the Isle of Man TT, they threw on clubmans or clip-ons, rear-set foot controls, and streamlined the bikes’ geometry with a solo hump seat. Combined with their Lewis Leathers, sideburns, and rock ‘n roll ethos, the “Ton Up Boys” were the original cafe racers.

HERITAGE

In the motorcycle world, the Triumph marquee is synonymous with the heritage of motorcycling. Producing motorcycles since 1902, the British brand grew to become one of the world’s top motorcycle manufacturers.

Inspired by Hollywood icons like Marlon Brando and Steve McQueen, the Heritage style is the one for vintage enthusiasts. True to their roots, Heritage style bikes look nearly identical to the original models, but include improved modern features that don’t detract from the nostalgic appearance and feel of the bike.

(Left) Steve McQueen on his Bud Ekins modified Triumph 650 during the filming of “The Great Escape.” (Right) Marlon Brando on his 1950 6T Thunderbird in a poster for “The Wild One.”

 

FLAT TRACKERS

Inspired by the American flat track heroes of the dirt oval, the tracker style is recognizable due to its high bars, TT or straight pipes, and 19″ wheels in front and back. In recent years this style has been adapted for street-legal bikes, which have come to be known as “street trackers.”

Legendary custom motorcycle builder Richard Pollock of Mule Motorcycles, a featured builder in our Pro Builder Series, is the godfather of the street tracker, and takes his design cues from flat track legends like Eddie Mulder, Gary Nixon, and Sonny Nutter.

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