The Triumph Street Triple is one of those rare bikes that have been a universal hit with riders all over the world. Ever since the first generation was launched, almost fifteen years ago, riders have raved about its performance and handling.
The streetfighter-esque styling has always been controversial though. The twin headlamps of the first model got the tick from most folks, but the slanted lamps of later models were far less popular. (Even a cursory Google search throws up multiple conversion kits.)
The polarizing looks have triggered the start of many a custom journey for owners of the current Street Triple, and that’s how this story started. This RS model had just 3,000 kilometers on the clock when the owner booked it into Angry Lane of Hong Kong.
Since 2012, the expat Parisian brothers Guillaume and Ben Barras have expanded their upmarket leather apparel business by crafting stylish customs for Hong Kong natives, and even shipping a few bikes overseas. (They’re also now the Hong Kong dealer for CAKE motorcycles.)
“The owner of this Street Triple mostly rides his bike on the twisty roads of Hong Kong,” says Guillaume. “He was offered a trade-in, towards an MV Agusta Superveloce, but he loved this Triumph too much.”
It’s not hard to see why. The 765cc powerplant is one of the top middleweight engines in the sports category, making the Street Triple RS the ultimate street bike. A hefty 121 horsepower output is matched to 41mm Showa upside-down forks, an Öhlins STX40 shock, and a Brembo M50 brake setup.
“The client sent us a couple of pictures—including one from Bike EXIF—asking if we could give the Street Triple a more aggressive look, while keeping the bike mechanically stock.”
Guillaume and Ben love to mix old with new, so they decided to go for an 80s endurance racer look. They removed as many plastics as they could from around the engine, plus the seat cowl, the passenger pegs and brackets, and the huge headlight assembly that juts out well ahead of the bars.
Fiberglass parts arrived from Airtech Streamlining in California. “We opted for a race half-fairing, and a Moriwaki-style cowl,” says Guillaume. “Both were cut and shaved to achieve the look we were after.”
“The issue with big fiberglass parts is that they twist easily; if you’re not careful, parts can be distorted and look odd. Our friend Tom, who welded the brackets, had a very hard time trying to keep the fairing straight.” The cowl required a substantial trim to make it fit and match the proportions of the fairing: after cutting about a third off the original, everything matched perfectly.
An Evotech tail tidy is used to discreetly attach the license plate, and a pair of vertically stacked brake lights adds to the classic vibe. A tiny full-carbon hugger keeps dirt off the underside of the tail unit.
In Hong Kong, Angry Lane are known for their leatherworking skills as much as their bike building, so the seat pads are both luxurious and minimalist. They’re hand-made by Ben, using high-quality Italian hide on the sides and waterproof leather with a grippy ‘digital’ print on the top—sourced from the English specialist Pittards.
The front end is now finished off with a Koso LED headlight, clip-ons from the German maker ProBrake, Motogadget’s tiny mo.blaze pin indicators and a full carbon fender. The stock muffler was replaced with a Spark titanium unit—which knocks six kilos off the weight and adds a few horsepower. An Antigravity Lithium battery saves even more weight.
“The original Street Triple weighs only 166 kilos dry, and now it should be around 152,” says Guillaume. “That gives it a power-to-weight ratio similar to the Superveloce.”
For the colors, the brothers and their client chose three Porsche hues from the late 70s: a brocade red used on the 924 in 1977, plus highlights of oak green metallic and tobacco metallic. The owner got all his old parts back, and since Angry Lane left the grinder on the bench, the Street Triple can be returned to its original state quite easily.
Which is sadly fortunate, because over the weekend the owner hit a patch of oil in a corner and the bike slid out from under him. He’s fortunately unharmed, but Angry Lane are going to have to order a new fairing and seat cowl.
If you’re lucky enough to have a 2020 Street Triple in your garage and fancy replicating this look, drop the brothers a line—they’ll be willing to create an extra version of the kit for your own bike.
Angry Lane | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Ben Barras / Angry Lane
