Kev Taggart and Tim Rogers are stuck in the past. They run the English workshop Spirit Of The Seventies, turning out exquisite resto-mods based on Japanese classics like the Kawasaki Z750 and the Yamaha XS650.
So this latest bike is a surprising change of direction. “Our client came to us with a rather delectable Triumph 675 Daytona,” says Kev. “The bike was in track trim—it was virtually race-ready, with Öhlins suspension, rear-sets and a 130bhp engine tuned by T3 Racing.”
The owner had a problem though: he was due to marry, and his wife-to-be insisted that he slowed down a little and stuck to the Queen’s highway. So rather than sell his beloved Triumph, he gave it to Spirit Of The Seventies for a thorough makeover.
“Being a nostalgic bunch, we thought we could restyle the bike with a blend of Retro-GP and modern Moto2 looks,” says Kev. The fairing and seat were designed in-house and handcrafted by Ian Pitney, a vintage car panel beater. This was the first bike that Ian has worked on, and Kev was pleased with the result. “Ian overcame plenty of challenges to produce something quite dramatic, hand-cutting the side vents and molding the aluminum panels around the frame and engine.”
The central air-intake on the original 675 Daytona fairing had to be reconsidered, so a slotted, circular funnel was fashioned around the new headlight. Once the fairing was completed, Skidmarx designed and fitted a one-off screen. A leather seat pad was carved and stitched by Glen Moger, and the bodywork was covered in matt paint by D-Luck’s Paintshop in Brighton.
The Triumph was then rewired and fitted with a keyless ignition system from Motogadget. Co-Built welded up a lovely low-level 3-into-1 stainless steel exhaust system, using headers originally made for a racer in the British Supersport series.
Various other additions such as Oberon bar-end indicators were added, and the bike was serviced and dyno’d before having its super-stiff suspension softened for road use. It should make a hell of a road bike—classic looks with truly modern performance.
Images courtesy of Grant Robinson. Check out our coverage of previous Spirit of The Seventies builds here.
