1970 TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE

LaMar’s “Brass Bonnie,” was a 1970 Triumph Bonneville 650 chopper he bought in 2013 and then rebuilt from the ground up for the next 4 years before it became what it is today. Very little on the bike has been left untouched, with almost everything being rebuilt, modified, changed-out, or removed altogether. It’s hard to believe that it is the same bike when comparing to what it once was when he first bought it almost a decade ago. For starters, the engine was, to say the least, one of Frankenstein’s creations. The top end was pieced together with Triumph parts from many different eras and models, meaning that, without a proper rebuild, the bike would never be able to run anywhere close to even its baseline potential. This meant that he had to completely rebuild the top end using the proper parts, which finally allowed the bike to run like it should have all along. At this point, he also installed a Pazon ignition system to help it run and start more smoothly and reliably. And while the tightly-running and well-tuned 650cc engine was satisfying for a while, it wasn’t too long before he eventually put a 750cc kit on the bike, giving it a lot more bite and power, and just generally making it a faster, more responsive and capable motorcycle.

Moving towards the bottom end of the engine, LaMar went ahead and went with an open primary (with a finned accent cover) to show off the custom Bob Newby belt drive he installed. And in staying near the engine, Lamar also put on some present-era Amal Premier carbs and some new air cleaners, which, along with the top-end rebuild, really helped to make sure the bike was running to its full potential; further to this point, he also went ahead and installed an oil-cooler on the front of the engine, not only to prevent damage at high-operating temperatures, but also to help squeeze even just a little bit more performance still out of the bike. He also went ahead and put on a custom aftermarket exhaust that he further modified, shortening and wrapping the pipes himself, and also installing some custom brass exhaust tips from Lowbrow Customs. However, despite all of this work on the engine, there’s still some minor work that LaMar intends to do, most notably working on the breather.

Moving out from the engine and towards the very front of the bike, he’s running an Avon Speedmaster tire on a 21” spool front wheel, attached to a modern Evo Sportster front end that he modified, first by shaving down the fork legs, and then installing his own brand of custom Darkwolf Cycles triple trees. Putting on the Sportster front end, although the length of the forks remained stock, is 2” over on the Triumph frame, making the bike sit noticeably taller than it had before, giving it that taller, more aggressive chopper stance. He also put on a small 4” headlight with gold trim, which, from the front, establishes both the brass and minimalist themes LaMar wanted to be central to the bike’s aesthetic. And going with those themes, he also installed the non-obtrusive H-bars, their slim-profile a callback to LaMar’s past life in the fixed-gear bike messenger scene. Furthermore, to go along with the minimalism of the bike, LaMar also did a full control delete on the bars, which necessitated the installation of a suicide-shifter, tipped with a brass skull (which he built a custom linkage system for, running the left-side shifter arm through the frame to the right side of the bike). And the grips, like all the other accents on the bike, hold just a little bit of shine, and are Seven Sins’ glittering Galaxy Grips.

Moving back just a little bit, the frame itself was just a standard bolt-on hardtail kit, which LaMar welded together for increased stability and security. And atop the frame’s backbone sits his custom tank, which began life as a high-tunnel coffin tank, which he then modified himself, turning it into a low-tunnel tank instead to get that Frisco style. And the tank, which was painted by Mike Lewis, like the Galaxy Grips, glitters with subtle golden specks, and prominently bears a work by Salvidore Dali entitled “In Voluptas Mors,” which translates to “Voluptuous Death.” The work itself depicts a group of nude women arranged into a skull formation, playing on the common chopper motif of nude or semi-nude women being depicted on the tank of the bike. According to LaMar, this would be a more meaningful and artful rendition of the motif, and also plays off of the theme of death, skulls, and coffins that runs through the bike as well. LaMar, also, plain and simple, really likes Dali and photography as well, so the tank was just a combination of so much that is close to him in one presentation. Coming out of the gas tank, he installed a sleek Galco brass petcock to clean up and minimize the look further. And behind that, he also installed a slender Biltwell solo seat, which runs flush against the lines of the frame. Below that, he also installed a customized aftermarket hexagon oil tank, which he had chromed by Best Metal Polishing. Adjacent, on the right-hand side of the bike, he put a custom coffin kicker. And near the bottom of the bike, we can see LaMar’s completely custom built and mounted foot controls setup; he really liked and wanted to keep the mid-controls on the bike, as well as have a foot-clutch. Given that none of these were on the market, he had to make his own mid-controls setup and rear brake pedal as well as the lines coming off of it, as they are hard-lined coming off of the master cylinder, going through the frame, and then coming out as soft-lines to the actual rear brake assembly. And given that the brakes were originally drum brakes, he also had to custom make brackets for both the master cylinder and the clutch perch. And naturally, both the aftermarket footpegs and rear brake pedal are accented brass.

Moving towards the rear end of the bike, he put on a brass fender made by Seven Metal West and clear-coated by Mike Lewis. And on the back-end of the fender right underneath the seat, Lamar also custom-mounted the ignition coils, connected to the anti-gravity battery running the minimal electrics on the bike. And atop the brass fender sits Lamar’s custom spiked trident sissy bar, which is, at this point, is on its second iteration; the first was also custom fabricated by him, and then chromed by the late Sportster Gary. The current iteration is more squared off, differs slightly in the shape of the trident, and adds a bit more sharpness to the points, as well as remaining un-chromed. It also has an integrated license plate mount, and neatly wrapped around the bottom of it is the wire for the tail light, which is a custom brass tail light by Titmouse. Under the fender, the rear wheel is an old custom retrofitted flat track wheel, running a 16” Safety Mileage tire. The rear brake rotor is also retrofitted from a flat-tracker; safe to say, retrofitting both the rear wheel and brake rotors took their own fair shares of thought, work, and time. Attached to this rotor is a standard Mid-USA 2-piston caliper. And lastly, running from the rear wheel to the engine are the custom-sized drive sprockets, with the rear being a 43-tooth, custom made by Rebel Gears, and the front being a 23-tooth, with Lamar noting he went the highest tooth-count he could on the front sprocket, allowing him to cruise at lower RPMs and get more top-end out of the bike when doing highway riding, and getting some more off-the-line punch when riding in the city.

Article by Hannah.

LAMAR'S BRASS BONNIE