Hello Triumph Tiger Motorcycle
Here’s an old skool styled chopper that was born during the summer of love.
MARK’S Trumpy started its road-going life as a 1969 Triumph Tiger. The motor got the Taverner Motorsports treatment. The full rebuild included a Bonnie head bolted to the top-end for a bit more get up and go.
“AS A kid growing up, my father had several motorbikes and one was a Triumph in pieces,” said Mark. “I used to play with all the pieces as he was rebuilding the bike so I’ve always loved them. I grew up riding motorbikes as a kid then later on in life riding some Hondas, Harleys and every other sort of motorbike.
“I spent about 15 years finding the right hardtail frame for this rebuild, and was lucky enough to be able to pick up the bike from a guy who had a baby on the way and needed the cash.
“Once I had the bike, I just had to find the right person to do it up, and after making several enquiries to have the bike customised to my liking, I got onto Joe Taverner and his father Paul at Taverner Motorsports — the rest is history.
“Looking at the other bikes at Tav’s workshop, I knew straight away that we were on the same page as far as custom bikes were concerned. I had to look no further as these guys really knew their stuff about Triumphs.
“I only had a couple or requirements and just let the Taverners do their thing.”
The Amen frame was just what Mark was after and the motor and stock gearbox made up the foundations for the build.
More than 200 hours went into the construction of this beauty with countless handmade parts being fabricated including the sissy bar, chain guard, oil tank, headlight mount, and custom wiring harness. Not much could be bought and so the Taverner team went to work to handcraft many of the components.
The rear guard is a Taverner Motorsports original as is that front guard that hangs unobtrusively high under the head-set on the Sonic springer front-end. So what’s the use of having a front guard sitting that far away from the wheel and what practical use would it serve in that position you may ask? Well, if you did ask that, you’re reading the wrong mag! When it comes to getting a bike on the road “legally”, well ya gotta do what ya gotta to keep the RTA people off your back and push the boundaries as far as you can to keep things rolling along, while raising a few eyebrows along the way.
The wheels are a set of Ash’s spoked units with a Honda front brake and Trumpy rear to pull things up.
The paint was laid on by Brett from Kool Kustom Paints.
The smile on Marks face on the day of the shoot told the story as he blasted up the road aboard his Trumpy custom.
“It was great just to get the phone call that it was finished and to come down and have a look at it for the first time. It was exactly as I had pictured it. Special thanks to Joe and his Dad, they made my lifelong dream come true.”
Taverners have a trusted customer base with loyal customers and newcomers requiring anything from a basic service to a ground up custom build like Mark’s Trumpy. As for H-Ds, well Paul Taverener is still campaigning one of Australia’s fastest Shovelheads to hit the drags strips, so the boys really know their way around American V-twins and most other brands of two wheeled motor transport as well. Check out their shop and have a chat to Joe or Paul.
Words by Mark and Chuck; pics by Chuck
