David Beckham DBSC | Triumph Bonneville SE

BASE MODEL: 2014 Triumph Bonneville SE

This bike was a custom build we made with Triumph for David Beckham, directly inspired by the Bonneville Richard Pollock made for him following the BBC Documentary David Beckham: Into the Unknown.

Shortly after the release of the documentary, Triumph commissioned a custom bike made for him with legendary builder Richard Pollock aka "godfather of the street tracker", creating a truly impressive scrambler style bike.

The bike came to us when Triumph brought us the build and tasked us with adding to it with updates and the idea to give it more of a cafe racer approach. It was an impressive build - a Bonneville set up as a scrambler with LSL parts and components incorporated into it.

We were hesitant to build on top of this bike, so we asked Triumph if we could instead build up a fresh Bonneville from the ground up. They had a Bonneville MAG/SE available, so they gave it to us to work on with a tight 1-month deadline to finish the build.

PROCESS:

The goal was to create a bike that would work as a stylish daily rider that was still capable and rugged enough. We let our imaginations fly with this one and the result was a perfect mix between a Triumph Scrambler and a Café Racer with a rough and lived in look.

Since we received the Bonneville with mag wheels, the first challenge we were faced with was finding the right fitment to switch them out for spoked ones for a more classic look.

Once we had the wheels sorted out, we had Matt from Anaheim Rod and Customs paint the tank for a custom paint job with an aged finish. He also modified the side covers to have stainless steel mesh windows, giving the bike even more of that rugged, custom feel.

The polished shine of our Drag Pipes didn’t seem to fit, so we dipped the exhaust in motor oil and burnished them with a torch to achieve a vintage patina. To complete the goal for a cafe racer, we fit the bike with clip-on handlebars for a more aggressive, pairing them with knobby Continental TKC80 tires for a beefy look.

PERFORMANCE UPGRADES