The fate of most magazine project bikes is to be built, used for a time and written about prolifically but then disposed of to make available time, garage space—and money—for the next project. This one is different because I intend to keep this bike. With that in mind, I chose the very best to which I had access. Here are the suppliers I used, in no particular order. Oh, and I know that some of these people are not much use to anyone overseas, since you don’t send your painting jobs halfway around the world, but they deserve the mention.

Triumph Australia (www.psimporters.com.au) not only supplied the bike but also some of the accessories. The heated grips and tire pressure sensors were obvious choices because their functionality was already installed; they show up on the instruments. The switch for the grips is also a thing of beauty. The headlight guard and knee pads are Triumph-specific and look good.

Also Triumph-specific but from MotoGadget (www.motogadget.com/en/) were the blinkers and their fittings. The latter are designed to fit straight into the space left by the originals but they, and the blinkers, are much smaller and quite elegant.

It pays to just look through offerings on the internet without a specific target. That’s how I found the Motone (www.motone.co.uk/) tank rack. This looks just like the racks that Triumphs of the past used to carry and will help the bike to manage large and oddly-shaped loads, secured perhaps with a net or a couple of straps. I did not have to drill holes in the tank; the rack is attached by almost invisible suction cups.

澳大利亚,我想适合BarkbustersRideworx (barkbusters.net/). Most of the project bikes I have built have had Barkbusters fitted. They not only protect the clutch and front brake levers, they also keep your fingers safe. And they are intelligently designed and beautifully made. These particular Aero items are intended for road and race bikes and can be used with or without the small translucent shields.

SW-Motech (www.motorradgarage.com.au/47_sw-motech) supplied quite a few accessories. Their solid-looking engine protection bars an obvious choice. They bolt securely onto solid parts of the frame and are coated in a tough finish. They will not protect every bit of the bike, but they do look after some very expensive ones. It was easy to use the SW-Motech bar clamps for the (Rizoma, from another project) spotlights since I was using their crash bars. Their “Legend” luggage has a pleasant old-time look about it which suited the style and is available in a variety of sizes and styles. The bags are clipped into MOLLE loops on a sleeve that fits over the pillion seat. I can leave that on most of the time or I can remove it by just sliding it off the back of the seat. They also provided a bottle holder which can be mounted on the MOLLE loops on the back of the pannier and holds the bottle securely. It can hold fuel, if necessary, which is useful because the bike’s tank is quite small.

Australian accessory distributor Kenma (www.kenma.com.au/) supplied a DNA air filter which allows the engine to breathe more freely and liberates some extra horses. This is probably the easiest and most effective way of helping the engine along. Kenma also distributes the Ventura rack system, which consists of two L brackets specifically designed for just about every model of motorcycle. These bolt onto the sides of the bike without requiring any alterations to the frame. They are finished off by fitting one or another standard rack from the range. I chose the EVO rack because it is flat and unobtrusive. It can hold a variety of bag sizes.

One of the other staffers on Australian Motorcyclist, Ralph, is an even more omnivorous internet user than I am. He found TEC Bike Parts (www.tecbikeparts.com/) in England who offer a wide selection of very stylish parts for Triumphs. I ordered the rider and pillion footpegs, as well as brake and clutch levers which are strong, a high standard technically, and adjustable. I love the mirrors which are sort-of bar ends, although the Barkbusters sit outside them on the handlebar, and both their shape and short stems are just right. I also ordered the centre stand from TEC; it was lot cheaper than the Triumph item.

Another Australian supplier, and an absolutely vital one, was Ikon (www.ikonsuspension.com/). I replaced the original suspension with Proven Products fork springs and Ikon shock absorbers. This is almost a reflex rather than a decision: Triumph, like almost all other manufacturers, has price points to meet so suspension is not all it could be. This is not a criticism; Hinckley understands just as well as we do that customers will rarely push cheaper suspension beyond its limited ability and will be happy with the lower price that allows. Ikon’s relatively inexpensive upgrade gives you better all-round suspension with damping adjustment on the rear which means superior handling, improved turn-in and the ability to cope with our potholed and rippled roads without requiring a weightlifting course.

It might seem odd, but I turned to Yamaha Motor Australia (www.yamaha-motor.com.au/) for the taillight. I do not like the original randomly kidney-shaped Triumph taillights. I find Yamaha’s circular Bolt taillight, on the other hand, stylish and particularly suitable. Yamaha Motor Australia to the rescue.

Rocky Creek Designs (rockycreekdesigns.com.au/) is another Australian accessory supplier, and I use a lot of their stuff like chargers, power sockets and tire pumps. They were the obvious people from whom to source a telephone charging cradle. I don’t need a GPS unit on this bike because my phone covers all the navigating help I need in urban areas, and this fitting holds it securely and well within my field of sight. It is also well designed and charges the phone unobtrusively as I ride.

The spotlights from Rizoma (www.rizoma.com/) were not original with this project. I sourced them from Rizoma for our recent Honda GB400 build and liked them enough to re-use them with this one.

The bike’s very authentic-looking tank badges came from China and are plastic. The ‘chrome’ finish, however, appears to be long-lasting and they cost bugger all, like twenty bucks. We had to fit LED indicator resistors to slow down the flash rate of the blinkers, and I assume they came from China too. There was little choice.

A word about Collideascope (www.collideascope.com.au), who did the wonderful Candy Red and black paint as well as the ceramic coating on the exhaust system. The place is not just a paint shop. They will do just about any kind of work on bikes, so it is ideal for crashed or somewhat decaying motorcycles as well as just standard engineering stuff. Mechanical work is done to a very high standard, and Collideascope will arrange transport for your bike if required.

That’s it, for now. If you’re in Australia, keep your eyes open for the bike and feel free to talk to me about it, or to just pass the time of day. I’ll see you on the road.