Tamarit Motorcycles NEPTUNO TRIUMPH
By James McCombe - 07 Jun 15
Nope you're not drunk, by all means have another. Your double vision isn't a result of that murky, brown bottled craft ale you're supping, rather the case of a builder producing a prized pair again. Whereas on Friday we flashed a couple of shiny deBolex at you, today is the turn of an altogether hairier bunch of Europeans showing their goods.
Tamarit Motorcycles, to be precise, a Spanish garage with a long history of building fettled Bonnies, we featured their previous Pegaso build last year, but they've be around a fair bit longer than that!
Found Med-side in sunny Spain, a slick video on their homepage gives you a feel for the style and ideals their builds emit. Like all the best adventures, Tamarit began at a table in a bar, fuelled by one or two Cervezas. Sharing stories of work and play the discussion typically turned to balancing the two and how a more enjoyable lifestyle could be achieved. The obvious, yet risky answer was to combine the life passions with a proper business; and with hard work it's paying off.
8 years later and the guys are thankful that more and more people are supporting what they do. It's the passion and the pride of their job that shines through in the machines they build.
To the bikes. Unlike Devito and Swarzenegger these two actually share a family resemblance, they just part their hair on different sides. Diverging from their common base one has headed in a scramblery direction and the other, putting out more of a dirt tracker vibe.
Named Neptune 1 and Neptune 2, the plan was to demonstrate how varying a number of parts can give the same bike two different feelings. Both were originally 2006 carbureted Bonneville Blacks and both were treated to the same initial strip down and build up of frame trimming, servicing and upgrades.
Utilizing a mix of performance and purely aesthetic parts, the two bikes share a spattering of Hagon shocks at the rear, replacing the under-damped, over chromed originals. Up front forks have been rebuilt and resprung. The most obvious visual connection between the two, and signalling the dirty intentions, are those block-heavy Continental TKC80 tyres. Decent enough on and off road, they are a great compromise for the Triumph, whose off road pretensions are limited.
Other items shared between bikes include the chainguard, cam cover, and those perforated side covers. On either bike the rider grasps a set of braced Renthal bars and a mini speedo keeps track of progress.
Where the bikes diverge is mainly found with the seat and exhaust setup. Here, the tracker sports a traditional solo seat, the fibreglass unit extending beyond the rear axle and negating the need for a mudguard. It also forgoes one up front, just the number board and projector light set up to deflect debris. Fork protectors also keep the stanchions shiny and free of chips.
Sensibly, the front brake remains, flat-track influence looks great but it's tricky to go far on the road without all the bike's faculties in place.
The Scrambler has a rather timeless appearance. Mixing a chunky, fluted duel seat with a traditional high level twin pipe setup. Whereas the Tracker has a 2-1 megaphone, I'd wager either will sound rather fruity, though only a sound thrape along the Mediterranean coast would decide a winner (Call me!).
A sizeable front mudguard on the Scrambler adds a dash more practicality over it's stripped down sibling, but with both bikes featuring a full set of mini indicators, mirrors and aluminum bash plates, either should be happy frolicking in the dirt on or off road.
A perfectly executed petrol blue and white paint job brings class to both bikes, the dash of red from the cam cover a cheeky nod amongst the sea of black powder and polished metal.
Although they were brought up together, the twins are up for grabs indivually from the Tamarit website so if they tickle your fancy, get in touch with the guys.
Utilizing a mix of performance and purely aesthetic parts, the two bikes share a spattering of Hagon shocks at the rear, replacing the under-damped, over chromed originals. Up front forks have been rebuilt and resprung. The most obvious visual connection between the two, and signalling the dirty intentions, are those block-heavy Continental TKC80 tyres. Decent enough on and off road, they are a great compromise for the Triumph, whose off road pretensions are limited.
Other items shared between bikes include the chainguard, cam cover, and those perforated side covers. On either bike the rider grasps a set of braced Renthal bars and a mini speedo keeps track of progress.
Where the bikes diverge is mainly found with the seat and exhaust setup. Here, the tracker sports a traditional solo seat, the fibreglass unit extending beyond the rear axle and negating the need for a mudguard. It also forgoes one up front, just the number board and projector light set up to deflect debris. Fork protectors also keep the stanchions shiny and free of chips.
Sensibly, the front brake remains, flat-track influence looks great but it's tricky to go far on the road without all the bike's faculties in place.
The Scrambler has a rather timeless appearance. Mixing a chunky, fluted duel seat with a traditional high level twin pipe setup. Whereas the Tracker has a 2-1 megaphone, I'd wager either will sound rather fruity, though only a sound thrape along the Mediterranean coast would decide a winner (Call me!).
A sizeable front mudguard on the Scrambler adds a dash more practicality over it's stripped down sibling, but with both bikes featuring a full set of mini indicators, mirrors and aluminum bash plates, either should be happy frolicking in the dirt on or off road.
A perfectly executed petrol blue and white paint job brings class to both bikes, the dash of red from the cam cover a cheeky nod amongst the sea of black powder and polished metal.
Although they were brought up together, the twins are up for grabs indivually from the Tamarit website so if they tickle your fancy, get in touch with the guys.