In France earlier this year, I was struck by the popularity of the Triumph Bonneville. Many were lightly customized, but none were as smart of this Bonneville T100. It’s owned by Patrick Crépelle, and shows how Triumph’s ‘modern classic’ can be transformed by an amateur with solid workshop skills and an eye for good aesthetics.
Crépelle’s bike is a 2007-model Bonneville T100, which in stock form puts out around 67 hp. So he upgraded the engine with a Mecatwin Best Power kit, which includes new mufflers and internal parts to modify the Keihin carburetors, the air box and the exhaust air injection system. It adds 13 extra horses to the back wheel and a solid slab of extra torque throughout the rev range.
The headlamp and instruments are from the Italian Triumph accessori specialist Best For Britts [sic], and Crépelle trimmed the rear frame to fit a seat built by Montpellier-based Sellerie Concept. Bobbed fenders are matched to chunky Firestone rubber, and Crépelle painted the Bonneville himself to his own design.
“I’ve had 21 motorbikes before this one,” he says, “and this is the only one I’ve wanted to keep.” If I had it in my garage, I’d be happy to keep it too.
