There’s no denying the Triumph Thruxton R is a great looking bit of kit. When the Hinkley team created a new version of their top of the range Modern Classic it exceeded pretty much everyone’s expectations. Their designers took cues from classic race bikes of the 50s and 60s and blended them with the design trends they’d seen in the current custom scene. Then to top it all off they fit it with the latest in suspension and brake technology and a hopped up version of their impressive new water-cooled twin.
For me, it’s the Thruxton R’s styling that is its most appealing feature, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be improved upon and over at the Italian workshop of Alo’s Café they’ve done exactly that.
Alo’s Café is a Triumph dealership, aftermarket parts manufacturer and custom workshop. They’ve been building cafe racers for their customers for over a decade. So when the Swiss watch brand Meccaniche Veloci approached them requesting a custom motorcycle that possessed the same technical precision and handmade construction as their timepieces, a Thruxton R was the obvious starting point.
The concept they developed for the Thruxton had the 3 essential ingredients of power, sound, and metal, and each has been added in generous servings. The added power and sound come primarily from the modifications made to the bikes exhaust system. The reverse megaphone-style mufflers hail from Italian exhaust specialist Zard. The mufflers have been fit to the bike using custom-made, high mount headers that snake their way back from the engine utilizing open space around the casings and cylinders for a figure-hugging fit. Taking inspiration from Meccaniche Veloci’s unique timepieces Alo’s Cafe created custom alloy inserts for the tip of each muffler that features a unique 4 hole design that is reminiscent of the 4 faces of the companies Quattro Valvole watch.
When replacing the Thruxton’s plastic bodywork with metal Alo’s chose the lightest material they could work with, aluminum. It’s the first time they’ve dabbled in alloy bodywork fabrication and over 100 hours went into creating it. At the front of the bike is a completely custom made half fairing that consists of 3 individual parts. The nose cone and 2 side skirts are bolted together with stainless fasteners and wrap around the exhaust headers to offer the rider additional heat shielding. To keep the bike’s proportions tight a pair of slim alloy panels were also made to allow the mufflers to be mounted close to the bikes body and an alloy front fender was rolled to follow suit.
The bike’s seat is a completely new design made in-house at the Alo’s Cafe workshop. The full grain black leather has been sewn using the same contrasting stitching seen on Meccaniche Veloci’s watches and has been finished with an aluminium speed stripe along the spine of the rear hump. On the end of the handlebars are matching leather grips sewn around machined alloy sleeves that tie everything together.
Similar to the face of Meccaniche Veloci’s watches Alo’s Cafe opted to leave the bike’s bodywork raw. The original tank was also stripped of paint and given the same brushed finish before being sealed with a coat of clear. The only paint applied other than that was the black used to stencil Meccaniche Veloci’s logo to the bodywork.
The finished product is what Alo’s Cafe have coined the ‘Bullet’. It’s a raw yet refined interpretation of Triumph’s Thruxton R and we love it.
