Trick Trumpet

TRICK TRUMPET

Old-time religion and the chopped Triumph

WHAT’S THE WORLD COMING TO? THESE DAYS, YOUR dentist probably trolls Main Street on a custom Softail fergawdsakes! How to stand out in a sea of me-too Hogs?

Meet Tom Shiffilea. “I got tired of everybody having a Harley,” explains the 60-year-old. “Triumph was the bike to have in my day. I saw them done back in the ’50s and ’60s, and I wanted to give this Triumph that look.”

A former flat-track racer, Shiffilea lives in Arcadia, California, where he owns a moving and storage business. Although he gave up motorcycling after marriage, the hot-rod car collector got back to his roots with this 650cc Triumph.

“It has a rigid frame from an early ’70s chopper, which I got from a buddy’s garage,” he says. “I lengthened it, raked it and had the forks chopped.” No brake up front, just a spool hub;

“I wanted that flat-tracker look,” says Jones without apology.

Amal carbs with bellmouths, megaphones culled from one of his street-rods and a banana seat from a Schwinn Stingray provide panache. “It’s not the most comfortable ride,” Jones admits. “With the rigid frame, you have to keep your teeth together.”

Dental bills notwithstanding, Jones has approximately $8000 tied up in the colorful machine. Pretty inexpensive for a bike you can really sink your teeth into, eh?

Wendy F. Black