Low-key, vintage bobbers are beautiful to look at, and this 1969
Triumph Bonneville from Johannesburg is a classic in more ways than one.
It belongs to Justin Steyn, who started the project way back in 2009.
The style is utterly timeless, and like many of the best bikes,
deceptively simple. The build process was anything but, though. It
started when Justin bought a basket case oil-in-frame Triumph 650 from a
friend: “I had two wheels, a frame and an engine—and little idea where
to start,” he admits. He eventually found a old-school Triumph
specialist, Peter Moody, who completely overhauled the engine.
Then things got tough. “There were no hardtails available for the
oil-in-frame models,” says Justin, “so I couldn’t get the basic rolling
chassis going. Then Peter found a complete 1969 Bonneville, minus its
engine.” The build started to come together, literally.
Tiago from local workshop OneOne Customs
stripped and prepped the tank. And Justin discovered a whole new world
of fellow bobber aficionados. “A few of us would meet at OneOne a few
times a week to work on our bobbers, using Tiago’s equipment and bugging
him for advice … As each mate made progress and another bike was fired
up, we would cheer in excitement and each have a ride on the brakeless
deathtrap late at night. Good times!”
From the USA came a bolt-on hardtail from Lowbrow Customs—with a 4” stretch and a 2” drop—plus a handmade oil tank, a Vincent taillight and a Biltwell
seat. “Once the parts were in my hands, things started to get moving,
Tiago taught me how to weld, and I got cracking on the seat, chain
tensioner and oil tank mounts.”
Drawing inspiration from the web, Justin decided on Ferrari blue, red
and brass for his classic color scheme. Spokes were ordered from the
UK, and Justin was lucky enough to secure a batch of untreated brass
spoke nipples too. “Henry Kinnear built the wheels and did the spray job
on the rims, and when I saw the end result I asked him to help out with
the spray work on the frame, fender and tank.”
“Henry and I worked on getting the bike together, bit by bit, taking
parts off for brass or paint and then re-fitting.” And although the
Bonneville wasn’t fully finished, with exposed wiring and no
leatherwork, Justin decided to enter it into a local bike show. He took
second place in his class.
After blowing up a battery on the ride to the show, he got a leather
battery box made (and the seat done) by Dion of Leatherman D in
Pretoria. Peter Moody finished the wiring, fitted new Amal carbs and
tuned the engine.
And now she’s done. Beautiful, wouldn’t you say?
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