Tamarit Motorcycles has enough plug-and-play parts in their catalog to turn any Triumph modern classic into a passable café racer. But the Spanish shop also knows how to take a bike like the Triumph Thruxton, and turn it into something truly spectacular. With over 100 custom Triumph builds in their portfolio, they’ve learned a thing or two about how to make them click.
This Triumph Thruxton 1200 R is one of the most radical café racers that Tamarit has built yet. Its aggressive stance and exaggerated proportions are what catch your eye at first. But once you’re drawn in, you’ll spot an interesting set of mods—and some deft part swaps.
The Triumph Thruxton 1200 R is about as good a donor as you can get for this type of build. It’s one of few factory café racers currently on the market, with enough go to match its show. With 97 hp from its 1,200 cc parallel twin mill, and a mix of Showa, Öhlins and Brembo components, it’s no slouch.
That said, Tamarit saw fit to upgrade the Thruxton’s already capable running gear even more. They kept the Brembo brakes, but swapped out the Showa forks out for a set of upside-downs from the Öhlins Blackline range. A stealthy Öhlins steering damper adds extra stability to the front end.
Moving to the rear of the bike, Tamarit made a change that we haven’t yet seen on the Thruxton; they installed a Triumph Scrambler 1200 swingarm. Not only is it better looking than the original unit, but it’s also longer, stronger and lighter.
Gone is the OEM twin shock setup. In its place, Tamarit braced the swingarm and built a svelte bolt-on seat support with a new upper shock mount. An Öhlins unit connects the two, with a remote preload adjuster mounted just under the tail for easy access.
The bodywork is a mixed bag of custom and repurposed parts. Tamarit started by adapting a Triumph Speed Twin fuel tank to the bike, then fabricated a tapered tail section directly onto it, effectively creating a one-piece body. LED taillights are embedded into cut-outs at the back, with a slim seat flowing right up onto the back of the fuel tank.
Hit a button on a remote, and the whole body lifts up on a hydraulic shock, offering access to the Thruxton’s wiring. It’s a trick that Tamarit has used on a number of builds already, but we’re nowhere near sick of it yet.
The front fairing is a riff on Triumph’s own aftermarket part for the Thruxton, but with a few notable changes. For starters, the traditional headlight arrangement has been traded for a slim LED daytime running light, with a more powerful round LED light sitting lower down. Tamarit also lined the inside of it, with a dashboard that molds itself around a digital Motogadget speedo.
The Thruxton’s clip-ons are fitted with tiny Motogadget push buttons, and Rizoma grips, mirrors and bar-end turn signals.
To help the motor along, Tamarit installed a pair of Free Spirit pod filters, mounted on intake tubes that thrust them forward. The twin exhaust system comes from the Italian exhaust specialists Zard.
Going deeper, the team rewired the bike with a Bluetooth-enabled Motogadget mo.unit control box. But that presented its own challenge, since the Thruxton’s stock ECU is extremely fussy about what it’ll work with. In the end, Tamarit found an additional box that acts as a conduit between the OEM ECU and the new brain.
Other mods include a generous sump guard, that also doubles as a radiator protector, and a custom-made front fender. The stunning 17” wheels come from Canyon, and the tires from Pirelli. No stone was left unturned—which is why it’s no surprise that this build took almost a year to complete.
Taking the build over the finish line is an elegant black paint job, and a lot of chrome. Tamarit chrome-plated obvious parts like the swingarm and wheels, then went even further by stripping, chroming and re-assembling the brake calipers. Custom engine and tank badges, and a contrasting Tamarit logo on the swingarm brace, add tasteful finishing touches.
The Thruxton’s stretched, forward-biased design likely won’t appeal to everyone. But there’s one person that’s a big fan: Tamarit’s client. He traveled all the way from California to Tamarit’s shop to take delivery of the bike in person, and has already ordered another custom Triumph from them.
We’ll count that as a win.
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