This is the new Thruxton Custom Racer from the Hong Kong-based French team at Angry Lane. This bike is based on a 2007 Triumph Thruxton that now includes a slew of major upgrades to make it handle, stop, and go far better than the original.
The first modern Triumph Thruxton debuted in 2004 and remained in production for 12 years. It featured a classic design underpinned with modern engineering, with power provided by an 865cc parallel twin.
Fast Facts – The Angry Lane Thruxton Custom Racer
- In 1965 the first Triumph motorcycle to carry the Thruxton name would debut, it was named the Thruxton Bonneville and it was essentially a limited-production homologation model which would allow Triumph to compete in the Thruxton 500 mile endurance race.
- In 1969 Triumph would make good on the new model, winning the Thruxton event and taking all of the top three spots on the podium with a 1-2-3 place sweep. It would arguably be the British motorcycle marque’s most significant race result from the period.
- In 2004 Triumph debuted the modern Triumph Thruxton. It shared a name with its earlier predecessor as an homage, though of course the two bikes shared no parts in common. The modern Thruxton was based on the then-current Triumph Bonneville, it was given a slew of upgrades to bring it up to cafe racer specification.
- The Triumph Thruxton would remain in production for 12 years until 2016, it was later replaced by an all new Thruxton model also based on the all new Bonneville.
- The Thruxton you see in this article has been comprehensively modified by Angry Lane in Hong Kong. It now benefits from Ohlins front and rear suspension, Beringer rotors and brake calipers, a free-flowing K&N air filter, a high-performance exhaust, carburetor tuning, and a range of other performance-based upgrades.
The Return Of The Thruxton
When the Triumph Thruxton debuted in 2004 it was close to the perfect motorcycle at the perfect time for the then-resurgent custom motorcycle scene that was taking off in Britain, Australia, and the United States.
The new Ohlins suspension and Beringer brakes mean that this Thruxton handles and stops notably better than the original.
2004 was still the early days of the nouveau-custom motorcycle scene. Venerable custom motorcycle websites like Bike EXIF and Pipeburn were still a few years away from being founded, and Dare Jennings wouldn’t start Deus Ex Machina until two years later in 2006.
The new Thruxton got its name from the 1965 Thruxton Bonneville, a limited-production homologation special to allow the bike to race in the hotly contested Thruxton 500 mile endurance race. In 1969 the model would make good, taking all top three places on the podium with a resounding 1-2-3 finish that was one of Triumph’s most important race victories of the time.
The new Thruxton in 2004 was never intended for racing, though it was certainly given a hefty dose from the cafe racer parts cabinet. Based on the Bonneville, the Thruxton was fitted with a range of upgrades including rearset footrests, a small aero screen, classic analogue instruments, reverse-cone exhaust mufflers, and a rear seat cowl.
The engine was also modified for performance, with new higher-performance cams, pistons were increased to 90 mm which increased displacement to 865cc and power up to 70 bhp over the 62 bhp of the Bonneville.
The cafe racer styling of the Thruxton and its additional performance resulted in it quickly becoming a best-seller in its class, and it helped to inspire a slew of other modern classic motorcycles from other marques – a trend that continues to the current day.
The styling of this bike remains subtle, with 21st century cafe racer detailing throughout and a focus on function over purely cosmetic upgrades.
The Angry Lane Triumph Thruxton Custom Racer
The motorcycle you see here is essentially what the Thruxton might have looked like if Triumph had developed it as a no-expense-spared Skunk Works project. It started life as a standard 2007 Thruxton that was delivered new to Hong Kong, where it was doubtless enjoyed by owners on the asian city’s mountain roads.
A few years later a pair of French brothers, G and Ben Barras, started what would become Hong Kong’s only globally famous custom motorcycle company – Angry Lane. The company was named after Hanger Lane in London, only how it sounds with a French accent.
In the years since its founding Angry Lane has built dozens of motorcycles, it’s been featured in magazines and on sites across the web, and they expanded their scope to include motorcycle parts, accessories, and apparel.
In 2023 a man came into the Angry Lane headquarters with his Thruxton, the bike you see here, asking the Barras brothers if they could further improve on it. At that point they had never worked on a Thruxton, so it presented a unique new challenge and they took the project on.
The bike was given a strip down and an inspection. The plan from the outset was to improve the bike functionally, not just give it a superficial cosmetic makeover. The first order of business was the engine, which was given a new K&N free-flowing air filter and a new high-performance exhaust to open it up and improve performance, the carburetors were then jetted to match.
New rims from Canyon wheels were fitted, along with Ohlins forks up front and dual Ohlins shock absorbers in the rear – both fully adjustable of course. This change alone vastly improve the handling of the bike. To ensure the brakes could keep up with the new engine mods and handling a set of Beringer calipers and rotors were fitted front and back.
The bike was then given a custom seat, LSL rear sets and clip-ons, a rear fender delete and a trimmed front fender, and it was fully rewired with Motogadget blue unit. It’s now considerably quicker than the stock Thruxton it started out as, it stops and handles better too.
The bike as given a modified subframe with a hand-shaped aluminum rear cowl that features an integrated LED taillight.
If you’d like to see more from Angry Lane you can visit their website here. If you happen to live in Hong Kong or the general vicinity, they’re currently taking on new commissions for 2024.
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Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
