As you can
imagine, working for bike magazines, I get to see loads of top
quality custom bikes, and there's not many that if I owned, or
had built, that I wouldn't change something on. This bike, however,
is the exception that proves the rule. This is perfection personified.
Not only do I love it, I lust after it with every waking moment.
The blend of the old (the engine) and the new (the styling and
running gear) are combined with such skill and taste it makes
your mouth water just to behold such a vision.
Being a proud member of London Chopper Club for the last 12 years,
Marvo had a single motivating desire behind building this bike.
He wanted to win a trophy, any trophy, at a Chopper Club show,
which the club holds on each of their Bank Holiday runs. To achieve
this end, he knew he had at least
two things to do. The first would be to build the bike to a very
high, and
exacting standard, and the second would be to make it different.
The engine has an interesting story behind it. It used to belong
to Brick, a mate of Marvo's, who died of cancer about 12 years
ago, so the bike is a very fitting memorial to Brick. I reckon
he will be looking down and smiling now.
At the time he embarked on the project, British engined bikes
were not that common, so he figured that would steal him a march
on the different front.
The first chop Marvo ever built was a Bonneville, and he's owned
Harley's ever since, so this bike is like returning to his roots.
And now the circle is complete. To help out in the quality and
high standard stakes, Marvo enlisted the help of some of the best
craftsmen in the country. Starting with Briz at CCD, who built
the one off cradle frame, with a box section top tube, for
the oil in frame.
Marvo is
from the school of thought that it is very important that anybody
you get to carry out work on your bike, must be "into"
it. That is, they must contribute something more than just doing
the job in hand. He also feels it is very important to talk the
job through thoroughly with them,
then not only will they know what is expected of them, but they
may come up with a different slant on things.
He obviously heeded his own counsel, because the list of names
involved with the project reads like a who's who in the world
of custom building.
Like Paul Scott, of T2 fame (AWoL Vol5 no.11) Scotty, to give
him his
Sunday name, did one or two more mods to the frame, and then indulged
in one off his specialities of knocking up some one off castings
for the rear engine plates. As for the bodywork, Marvo knew what
he wanted, but the end result is very much a joint effort between
him and Scotty. In terms of design input anyway, with Scotty doing
all of the actual work. The back mudguard for instance. That started
off life as a hugger which Scotty took a mould from, and made
up the complete unit as you now see it in fibreglass. The bellypan
is likewise a one off by Scotty. Unlike the petrol
tank, a Harley FXR item originally, but heavily modified by Scotty
to mate up perfectly with the seat unit. Scotty also fitted the
aircraft filler
cap, and one of the neater touches on the bike, the moulded underside
panel, to keep the lines of the tank flowing, with the added bonus
of
concealing the coils.
Believe it or not, but this bike could have been a Harley FXR,
because
that's what Marvo had in mind to chop but he figured that to build
a really stunning bike from the FXR would have cost enough money
to settle the debt of most third world countries. And so the idea
of the Triumph was born. The concept was always going to be the
old T140V engine with modern running gear, which was helped when
Marvo scored an unfinished project GSXR750WP that was to provide
the necessary modern running gear. The donor bike did have a 180
back wheel, but to fit that would have involved moving the
engine over in the frame by an unacceptable amount, so he swapped
wheels with Porky, he of the toothpaste coloured Harley and Norton
specialist, for the 160 item the Triumph now wears at the rear.
To make that fit, the
engine had to move over three-quarters of an inch, but Marvo was
happy with that. And rightly so, as I said right at the start
of this article, everything about this bike is just, well, right.
The lines are smooth and
everything just flows.
In keeping with his policy of getting the best people for the
job, Marvo
enlisted the skills of Ty Lawer, of Pageant Paintwork, to work
his magic
with the airbrush. The Triumph logo on the tank is a stylised
version of
the garden gate tank badge, and even though you know it's painted
on, you still think you could feel it, such is the 3D effect Ty
has achieved. Not a bad result for an idea which Marvo had in
the pub. Marvo always wanted a two tone blue paintjob, and had
some ideas already. Lengthy discussions with Ty resulted with
the design the trumpet now sports, and Marvo agrees Ty's ideas
work much better.
The polishing
and chroming was superbly carried out by Marvo's fellow
London club member, PT, of PT's polishing shop, surprisingly enough.
PT
also vapour blasted the engine, to clean it up. Not bad for an
Egyptian eh?
Just like all the best stories, this one too has a happy ending.
When Marvo took the Triumph along to the Chopper Club's Bank Holiday
run on their own land in York, the bike stopped all the club in
their tracks, and caused
many a sharp intake of breath. As you can imagine, that's not
something which is easily done, given the number of top bikes
the club has turned out in it's 25 year history. From that you
can probably guess that Marvo
fulfilled his dreams and took not one, but two trophies, Best
Lowrider and Best in Show. He's since won a good few more, including
Best Lowrider and second Best in Show at Kent (by one vote!) but
the ones that mean the most to him, and which he is proudest of,
are the ones he got from his own club.
And justifiably so.
On his spec sheet Marvo has thanked Lisa, his lovely wife, and
I would like to thank both of them for putting me up not once,
but twice, in our
endeavours to take photographs in the lousy weather that has passed
for our summer this year. I told you if you fed me you'd never
get rid of me!
I was going to try and finish the article with as many words beginning
with M as I could find, but I don't think there's any need for
such triviality.
Just look at the pics and gaze awe-struck on this vision of perfection.
Marvo has now obviously got a bit of a penchant for building bikes
that
are just that bit different. He told me about his plans for his
new
project, and to the best of our knowledge, it's never been done
before.
Watch this space.
 |
SPEC
DETAILS Thanks to Dave and Lisa |
John Bolt