Last week I featured the Tridays 12 Triumph Bonneville by Free Spirits Racing Components. What I neglected to mention in the article, just as they neglected to mention prior to the show, was that the Italian workshop had in fact not built one but two custom Bonnevilles for unveiling at the world’s greatest Triumph event, Tridays. Feast your eyes on the Tridays 12.2 showcased beautifully in these online exclusive shots from our good friend Simone Benedetti of Flashblesst.
Although Marcello at Free Spirits built the Tridays 12 & 12.2 simultaneously he didn’t just build two identical machines. The two bikes both feature the same belt drive conversion, rear shocks, billet foot rests, front facing intakes and crash pads but beyond these common elements the two are by all rights unique custom Bonnevilles.
The front end of the Tridays 12.2 has been transplanted from an ’07 Triumph Speed Triple with Bitubo springs, oil and pistons for improved rebound. This modification required a custom triple tree which was designed to have the same 55mm rake as the Bonneville to retain similar steering characteristics to the standard bike. The front brake caliper was also replaced with a Monobloc Brembo system with braided lines and aBrembo master-cylinder. All these changes allowed Marcello to fit a 17 inch, spoked wheel to the front of the bike to match the rear and to significantly increase the Bonnies overall stopping power.
As with the Tridays 12 the 12.2 has received a serious exhaust upgrade. A custom made set of conical mufflers with internals that resemble jet engines, were fabricated to “slip-on” to the Bonnies standard header pipes. Again to keep the modification both practical and performance enhancing the mufflers use the Free Spirits unique baffle design that maintains legal noise levels with absolutely no loss of power.
A one-off tail section, belly pan and front number plate with integrated headlight was also designed and built in house at Free Spirits, but they may become a regular catalog item after the feedback the bike received at the show. Other aesthetic changes include the clip on bars, super low profile indicators and an LED taillight.
A huge thanks to Marcello of Free Spirits Racing Components for sharing the story of the two Tridays story with me and to Simone for the cool photographs.
