When Peter Williams designed, cast and raced his own magnesium alloy wheels back in 1974, while every other bike on the grid was still sporting wire-spoked rims, he did so for one reason: chasing tenths. Lighter, stronger and needing less maintenance than the newly pre-historic items surrounding him, the uptake was quick.
But outside the world of racing, and in particularly our little sub-section of biking, where performance is not the be all, the choice of wheel type has more to do with aesthetic preference. All too often we see the children of the ’70s like the RD400 have their solid spoke wheels cast aside for a set of laced up rims.
But are tastes shifting? Like Triumph and Moto Guzzi, Ducati also released their retro Scrambler with both cast and wire spoked wheel options. The uptake of each style will be interesting to see. There will always be room for wire-spoked wheels, they’re just too darn pretty and perfectly period for these modern-retro bikes, but it’s great to see an uptake of aesthetic influences from the ’70s and ’80s being thrown into the mix.
When a customer rolled into the Macco Motors workshop in Cadiz with a mag-wheel sporting 2011 Bonneville SE, he made it clear that the 7 spoke alloy wheels would be staying. Macco are deeply familiar with the modern classic Triumphs but the majority of their builds have been black and raw in appearance. This time, the customer wanted something a bit brighter and livelier: Macco’s first ‘white’ build, Spike.
As the clothes maketh the man, a paintjob does a bike. Like always, Macco have produced a refined and classy scheme, perfectly mixing the modern with the old. A metalflake blue stripe and narrower plain grey stripe wrap across the pure white tank, the whole lot brought into the modern age with the latest Triumph logo along the lower edge. The side panels receieved a coat of the bright white base with the Macco motor louvres cut away.
Hurtling through the city streets the owner will be thankful for the attention paid to the suspension. Progressive Bitubo rear shocks replace the underdamped original chrome items while matching Hagon springs have been added to the rebuilt front forks.
The hefty rear end of the standard Bonnie always benefits from a trim and the simple kicked loop job done to Spike is all that’s required to update the looks of the machine. Fluted brown leather works perfectly with the paintjob, rising to meet the tank and make the seat transition fluent.
Ancillary items were bought in to replace the. It’s often the detail items that make a ride feel truly special and when you’re on the bike, looking down to see a jewell like MotoGadget Tiny can’t help to make you smile. Teamed with a smaller, scrambler influenced headlight and a relocated ignition, it reminds the rider that they’re riding something individual even when onboard.
A smattering of Rizoma parts; handlebars, brake fluid reservoir and shorty levers work with some alloy footrests to make an altogether nice place for the rider to settle down in.
Not chasing power, means the guys didn’t haver to delve into the depths of the engine. The EFI power unit, perfectly fit for function. A sleek 2-1 Arrow exhaust and a remap had the bike running and sounding as it should from from the factory were it not for the bores in Brussels. Finished in black, the Macco guys couldn’t go too far with the colour and brightness!
And so back to those wheels. A deep coating of black powder, the 7 spoke alloys are more than in keeping with the bike’s look. No pinging of spokes or slipping tubes, the rims are wrapped with a set of Avon Distanzias for useful city grip. 110/80/17 up front and 140/80/17 out back provide plenty of rubber for traffic light grand prix. Macco Motors made up a pair of fibre-glass mudguards to protect the rider, finishing off a practical, stylish steed.
Delivered right on spec, the customer is out riding his rejuvinated wheels, Macco having bent to deliver a fresh take on their previous build. The quality photos, as always, were captured from the lens of Sergio Ibarra from Semimate Agency.
via The Bike Shed
