Steve Lacy's "Brown Sugar" Unit Triumph Hardtail

As if one trophy wasn't enough, this two-year project by the crew at Classic Cycles, netted owner Steve Lacy three awards at the 2010 Grand National Roadster Show; 1st. Place in Class, Outstanding Detail - Motorcycle, Best Overall Motorcycle. The entire look of the bike is surely unique, a far cry from cookie-cutter Triumph customs, but it's the amount and quality of the details that really make it special.

Owner: Steve Lacy - Long Beach, CA 

Builder: Classic Cycles Inc, Orange, CA

Bike name: "Brown Sugar"

Engine, year and make, model, modifications: 1964 Triumph TR6/650ccAndy added a 1969 Intake Cam and 1970 Exhaust cam for a bit snappier response.Clutch and primary belt drive from Bob Newby Racing installed. Drive-side cover opened precisely over the pressure plate. It got a brushed finish, topped off with polished nuts. Tony shaved, heated, bent and braised BSA A65 pipes so they would replace the stock exhaust. Then the head ends were flanged to fit the Triumph spigots. Steve requested a 21-tooth drive sprocket in the transmission. Oil feed to the rockers features exposed brass junction and fittings. Rocker box fin edges are polished.

Frame: Flyrite Loner- 4" over. Steve wanted a 19/400 tires on 19-inch wheels front and back. So something had to give at the rear. The cross member under the seat was scooped out so the fender could move forward and allow that larger radius. That cavity was also used to hide a fender attachment. The frame’s axle plates were modified to take Triumph axle and chain adjusters. 

Fork: It's a one-of-a-kind springer that started as a "Shorty" manufactured by DNA for Flyright Choppers. A lot of sweat went into the cutting, milling, scaling, and modifying needed for the transformation. Tony also fabbed an elegant stainless brake stay to connect the fork with a 7" twin leading shoe brake hub. Welding, polishing and plating made the rocker/stay combo a handsome, integrated component. Finally, Tony moved the rockers from outside to inside the fork legs to flesh out that interior space.

Chassis mods: Extensive shaping and molding as well as rear axle plate modifications for Triumph style rear axle. and the stylized gas  and oil tank mounts and custom head steady.

Tire/wheel size and style: 400/19 Firestone's front and rear on Triumph hubs.

Favorite things about this bike: The theme of the sweeping BSA exhaust pipes was carried out through many of the design features, like the hand made points cover the custom motor mounts and even the gussets on the gas and oil tank mounts and the sweeping lines of the paint design.  I like the 7" Twin leading shoe mounted on a  springer, the Bob Newby belt drive in a open primary cover, the no battery electronics with a micro switch brake light switch and the LED tail light.  the Hollywood handle bars, also the custom "1950's Smiths Revolater" speedometer and mount, the look and the feel of custom made Roberti seat with a Biltwell seat mount, I like some of the little touches like the exposed brass fittings on the oil feed, and the petcocks on a Bonneville gas tank with knee pads.This bike has lots of high quality paint work with minimum amount of chrome and then keeping the engine in a clean stock appearance with tiny custom touches like the polished edges on the head and rockerboxes.

Next modification will be: Chips and dings from the owner riding the hell out of it.

Other mods, accessories, cool parts, etc: Tony routed electrical wiring through the frame for a clean appearance. The battery got tossed by using a Boyer Power Box. It provides direct current straight from the alternator. A built-in delay circuit only sends current to the lighting only once the engine is running and the ignition is fully powered. A Smiths chronometric speedometer with a revulator face plate is fitted to a custom mount fabricated by Classic Cycles. (absent in these photos). Triumph front fender mounts were joined with hand-shaped round stock to create a fender strut that suggests the appearance of a factory original.

T Markus Customs in N. Hollywood did the killer paint job. Markus did a great job of "dialing in" Steve's ideas to deliver a really tasteful finish on the bike.  

A couple notes from Steve, about his bike: She's like the girl who's pretty, but not in a conventional way. She doesn't dress like the popular girls either. But standing in a line with them, your eye keeps coming back to her. She's got Brit DNA and American character. She's sassy. And it doesn't hurt that she's got a great build. More backstory: The hemi-shaped ignition cover came about when Tony, Ryan (Gepetto) and I agreed the existing off-the-shelf finned ignition cover wouldn't do. That spawned a build-off between Tony and Ryan that gave me two covers to choose from. I selected Tony's hemi, but would have been fortunate to have either one. In fact the fickle SOB that I am, I wanted Ryan's until seeing Tony's.

To repeat special thanks, you have to figure you lead a charmed life when you run into guys that enthusiastic about what they do. And you have to feel privileged that they focus that enthusiasm on something for you.

From Tony and the crew at Classic Cycles, a special thanks Steve and his wife Cayce for allowing us to build a bike like this. You can view the build films on youtube by searching for (TR6 build) or follow the links on our web site www.ClassicCyclesInc.com Paint by Tony Markus: www.tmarkus.com