Bonesheart Thruxton R by D&O
By Ross Sharp - 26 Oct 17
We first heard about Bonesheart when deBolex Engineering turned up at Bike Shed Paris 2015 with a pair of stunning, identical Honda CB750s. Bonesheart is a relatively new concept to the scene that aims to allow custom bike fans the chance to own a top notch motorcycle that they potentially couldn't otherwise afford. It's fairly simple, you buy a lottery style ticket for €25 and cross your fingers. Similar to the sports cars that one can win in most big airports these days.
For this latest collaboration Bonesheart teamed up with the UK's most prolific Triumph customisers Down & Out Cafe Racers in South Yorkshire. D&O have perfected the art of taking the latest models straight from the showroom and converting them into the bikes that the designers probably sketched originally. Bonesheart has each bike professionally rendered by Holographic Hammer prior to the tickets going on sale, so you know what you're getting.
Rather than throw a load of expensive parts at a T120 Bonneville Boneheart wanted to start with the most premium donor in the Triumph range, the Thruxton R. With Öhlins shocks, a Showa USD fork and radial Brembos as standard all D&O needed to do was add their scrambler touch. Well, a bit more than that.
D&O's bossman Shaun Walker has a background in choppers and hotrods, where exposed wiring is a real no, no. Pretty much the first thing to be removed on one of their builds is the switchgear, replaced by internally routed wires and micro switches. The ride-by-wire throttle on new Triumphs is tricky to bypass so the housing for that remains, everything else is hidden within a pair of LSL motocross bars. The polished top clamp has been replaced by a specially machined version to accept LSL bar clamps. Triumph seem to fit control cables without much extra length so a longer clutch cable was fitted to cope with the swap from clipons. The speedo assembly sits ever so slightly flatter thanks to machined mounts.
Neat stainless steel bracketry is something D&O have designed, produced and perfected over the last few years and a punter can order kits to tidy-up their own bikes. The mudguard and headlight mounts here are straight off their own shelf. The headlight itself is a slightly smaller version and utilises micro LED indicators as the mounting bolts. Another pair at the rear and a simple Bates stye taillight ensure the bike remains fully road legal.
The rims have been powder coated satin black along with the swingarm and mudguards - these are hand rolled and just long enough to be functional. Dutch had a set fitted to his T100 and never arrived to work with road grime on his face. Practicality was key to this build so the stock seat base with key latch was retained and modified before being re-upholstered in brown vinyl. The excess subframe rails have been lopped off and a rear loop seamlessly spliced in. Probably one of the most common mods customers ask for at D&O and the guys can do one with their eyes closed.
The Thruxton R's engine has such a good power delivery and character that is rarely warrants being messed with, releasing the lovely bass tones usually suffices. The clever double skinned, hidden catalytic converter headers from the stock bike are probably now on eBay, superseded by a minimal snake of stainless and stubby reverse megaphone silencer. We love the sound of a 1200cc T120 uncorked and this bike should be no different.
No street scrambler (sorry Triumph, we or Bike Exif or someone coined that term before you made yours) is complete without a nod to adventure so a pair of inimitable TKC 80s and numbered side panels complete the transformation.
Bonesheart's aim is to create a community of riders, owners and builders with it's platform and we welcome it if that means someone who isn't in the position to own such a bike has a chance to for the price of a few beers. As this Thruxton R was collected from D&O a Yamaha MT-01 was dropped off at deBolex.... more on that soon.
For now see more builds in the Bonesheart pipeline Web | Facebook | Instagram
And check the extensive D&O back catalogue Bike Shed Archive | Instagram | Facebook
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Images as usual by Simon Krajnyak Photography