The Shining Twin started out as a 1967 Triumph T100C basket case project. I had been envisioning this bike for a few years prior to building it and what you see is the culmination of my personal taste, style, and craftsmanship and a passion for all things vintage. The front frame loop is a stock Triumph T100 with an unknown (maybe Paughco?) 2″-stretch/2″-drop bolt-a on hardtail that I modified with custom brake lever, oil tank, fender, and seat mounts and then welded on and molded into the frame. The front end is a late ‘60s Triumph that has been lowered 2″ with MCM fork covers and shaved top yoke.  The wheels are an almond color powdercoat with stainless spokes from Buchanan’s and Firestone Deluxe tires 3.25×19 in the front and 3.5×18 in the rear.

 The fuel tank started life as a swap meet vintage tank that I sectioned two-inches, fabricated a custom center rib, offset fuel filler, and front and rear frame mounts. The oil tank started life as a late ‘40s/early ‘50s GMC truck oil filter canister that I extended by three-inches to increase the capacity to nearly two quarts. The rear fender is a Wassel that I re-radiused to fit the curvature of the tire and clearanced for the chain. The paint is House of Kolor Orion Silver with White Chocolate side panels on the tank. 

The tail light is a swap meet (possibly Emgo?) find that has been re-chromed.  The rear fender struts are custom one-off Crush Cycleworks pieces, as is the seat. The seat spring is from a John Deere lawnmower seat. 

The polished engine is rebuilt with .060-over Hepolite pistons, Hastings rings, and Black Diamond valves. Engine machine work was done by F and G Engine in Burbank, California. The single carburetor is a polished Amal 930 with a velocity stack from the Factory Metal Works. The exhaust was built using mandrel bent 1.5″ steel tubing pieces, as well as two cocktail shaker mufflers sourced from the swap meet. The entire assembly was welded together into a single continuous piece per side following the lines of the frame as closely as possible and then chrome plated. The electrical system consists of a Pazon digital ignition, Emgo coil, Sparx battery-less regulator/rectifier and braided plug wires sourced from LowBrow Customs. 

The Crush Cycleworks slogan is “Dream the Build, Build the Dream.”  I have a life long passion for the aesthetics of vintage motorcycles and cars and wanted to create a motorcycle that flowed together from tip to tail to the best of my abilities. As cycle enthusiasts we spend a significant amount of time daydreaming about machines that do not yet exist, and it takes a great deal of time and effort to create the machines that we see in our minds eye. I am proud of the final product that I created and was humbled at the 2013 Rat’s Hole Custom Bike and Chopper Show with a First Place Award in the 251-1000cc Class!

  I would like to thank my girlfriend LeAnne Belle for her support and encouragement, James Peeraer of Flashback Customs in Torrance, California, for his mentoring and guidance with the paint work, and the Chop Cult message board membership for their wealth of information.

Editor’s note: Jon wrote such a great story when he was only asked for some info that it was only fitting that we run it as is and he gets all the credit for it. He is currently building a 1965 BSA Lightning, a 1992 Harley Big Twin, and a 1968 Triumph T120. After seeing his first professional build, I can’t wait to see them finished and hope we can showcase more of his work on Barnett’s Magazine Online. As far as getting in touch with him about these builds or if you’ve got a project in mind, contact me and I’ll pass it along ASAP.