Triumph Bobber Build-off challenger announced

The UK challenger for the Triumph Bobber Build-off has been chosen at Laguna Triumph

Triumph Bobber Build-off

THE UK winner of the Triumph Bobber Build-off has been announced over the weekend at the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride in London.

The expert panel of judges consisted of England and Arsenal legend Ian Wright, Bike shed founder and all-around custom motorcycle addict Dutch van Someren and Triumph’s Steve Sargent. After the public had whittled the UK entries down to three it fell to the panel to pick the winner, between Pure Triumph Wellingborough, Peterborough Triumph and Laguna Ashford Triumph.

The motorcycle-enthusiast judges combined opinions to agree, collectively, on this year’s overall winner; Laguna Ashford Triumph. The team were presented with a custom tank trophy to celebrate their creative, well executed win.

The Ashford team assembled a Thruxton track racer fairing to their untouched Bonneville Bobber. This accelerated them towards the origin of a Bobber drag bike-themed idea, steering them down the straight and towards a retro classic drag bike end goal, making perfect sense to name the build as The Drag Racer.

“The whole silhouette just looks right from the first moment you see it, the retro paint creates a bodywork line that looks fresh out of a factory design studio. When you dig a little deeper behind the concept, the Bobber's surprising start-line performance and torque is more drag-bike, so creating a build with pretensions for increased performance feels more appropriate than its competition,” shared Dutch.

Steve Sargent, Chief Product Officer, Triumph Motorcycles added further “The Laguna Drag Racer is a stunning piece of design and is probably the least expected way to customise the original bike. The bike has a stance and design language that emphasises the performance angle of the motorcycle and I am sure that anyone who has ridden the Bobber can testify this is a bike that makes you smile when you open the throttle. What has really impressed me with this bike is how good it looks from every angle. The bodywork flows naturally from front to back and is incredibly well-executed. Dare I say it, I actually like it more than the original Hurricane that inspired it. Now I just need a chance to ride it.”

Triumph Bobber Build-off UK finalists

Triumph Peterborough – Bob 01

Peterborough Triumph decided to base the design of their Bobber on an aircraft colour scheme because of the passion that the Webbs' team have for historic aircraft.

They considered a number of different aircraft for the inspiration, but decided that it needed to meet a specific criteria. One, it must be a British icon, and two, Peterborough Triumph has always been affiliated with East Anglia, particularly Lincolnshire, 'The Bomber County', so basing it on a bomber would be a perfect idea.

Pure Triumph Wellingborough – A Pure Ed Turner

While discussing the "Bobber Build Off" in their workshop, there was an enamel sign on display advertising one of the most influential Triumph models, the original 1938 5T Speed Twin.

The inspiration came when the team noticed the similarities in the shape and lines of the original Speed Twin and the current Bobber, and decided to recreate its key features, bringing it up to date in a modern guise.

Laguna Ashford – The Drag Racer

The wonderful Ashford team decide to fit a Thruxton track racer fairing to their untouched Bonneville Bobber. This accelerated them towards the origin of a Bobber drag bike-themed idea, steering them down the straight and towards a retro classic drag bike end goal.

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