Bonneville EFI Custom: Tribute Dirt Bike

Base Model: EFI Triumph Bonneville T100

The original idea for the first “Tribute” build was to create a replica of legendary Eddie Mulder’s Pikes Peak Bike on a modern fuel injected Triumph. We loved the old school painted gray frame and its carbon fiber details. But as many builds go, plans changed. Partway through working on the bike, we realized that if we wanted to stay consistent to Eddie Mulder’s carbon fiber gas tank and seat pan, being able to avoid re-doing the electronic fuel pump in the tank made more sense. So we ended up deciding to use a carbureted Bonneville as the base for the replica instead. (see the "Triumphant" Eddie Mulder build here)

Left with a fuel injected Bonneville that already looked like a decent tracker style bike, we let the build evolve in its own direction - making custom billet triple clamps, hand shaping and fabricating a retro styled aluminum tail section, specially creating a battery box that lays flat within the bike, and finishing off the build with our 19 Tracker Wheel Kit.

The “Tribute” has seen many adventures and has been put to many tests. It proved itself on the track with Thor Drake of See See Motorcycles and freestyle MX rider Drake McElroy, who both rode the bike at the Castle Rock TT Track. The bike made appearances at Wheels and Waves, drag racing against Harleys and BMWs with Jamie Robinson and at the Super Hooligan Series. Needless to say after all this applied use, the bike had more than displayed its abilities and we felt confident in its performance.

Smoking Seagulls Drake Mcelroy jumping the Tribute Bonneville Jamie Robinson vs El Solitario - Triumph vs BMW Jamie Robinson wheels and waves flat track racing the Tribute

So when State of Ethos came to us to build a “do everything” bike that could ride on the street and the dirt, it was a no-brainer for us to start with our “Tribute” as the first bike to kick off our design and test process for their build. We made some thoughtful changes to the bike for better dirt riding so SoE’s pro dirt rider Gared “Stankdog” Steinke could give us his first notes.To modify the flat tracker for dirt, we first switched out the 19 inch wheel for 17-18 inch lightweight aluminum Dubya wheels, taking off a substantial 25 lbs of weight to make the bike as light as possible.

For better positioning and leverage we traded out the Renthal Street Fighter bar for a Pro Taper EVO Dirt Track Handlebar that has a better bend for dirt application, and we positioned the bars higher up by adding 2 of our Riser Spacers to our Handlebar Clamps. For even more control in the dirt, we modified the gearing from 18t-42t to 18t-46t to enable better usage of the powerband in first and second gear. Check out the "PHOTOS" tab to see the parts installed.

PERFORMANCE UPGRADES