Like some sort of comic book superhero, Dalton’s got a cover-up day job working with his dad at Walker Welding in Hanford, California, making the bucks to live on I assume. But come the after hours, he runs his business, Split Image Customs, turning out a spate of stunning customs from Harleys to his latest knockout, a 1971 Triumph Daytona 500 that should make Triumph purists want to just get in their own grave and start turning over out of protest. This little classic of a 500cc machine was built to directly campaign against the Harley KR750s and despite the 250cc displacement disadvantage, kicked some V-twin ass. They were a cool little bike then and are highly revered and collected today.

 

  None of this history meant a hell of a lot to Dalton as he just wanted to build something very, very different to enter in the Artistry in Iron Show in Las Vegas. After building some absolutely stunning Harley-based customs, this was a daring and totally different avenue to head down for a guy who’s trying to make a name for his company. But I will give him every bit of credit due as he just didn’t take an easy way out and use a different powerplant, stuff it into an aftermarket frame with the same old tricks and call it a day. Nope, not Dalton. Grabbing a bunch of tubing, he built a frame, built his own springer and then he got really busy. Maybe you might notice that little change he did reversing the head so the twin carbs lead the way while the dual exhaust snakes its way rearward. Not the easiest thing to do as you don’t just reverse the head, bolt it back on, and pat yourself on the back for what an imaginative person you are. There’s a sh*tload of work involved inside and out to actually make this work as more than just an interesting English paperweight. I do like the fact he kept both carbs as it could have been so much easier to try and set up a single carb instead, but easy is something he either doesn’t understand or maybe it just comes that way to him. Moreno’s Metal Polishing in Fresno, California, must have put in some long hours bringing the rather rough stock Triumph engine castings to their polished perfection. It’s so shiny in the engine bay it’s almost hard to see what went on, but I’m sure that’s exactly the look Dalton was going for.  

 

  One thing Dalton seemed to be obsessed with, and rightly so, was incorporating a bit of history and time when he wasn’t even, well whatever it is when you don’t quite exist, but bikes like this might. “The frame is tapered at the joints to make it seem smaller and this bike is super narrow. The pictures don’t show the real size. I wanted to add some weird ‘70s vibe so I did colored plexiglas accents which I’d never worked with before,” he said.  The vibrant blue plexi on the frame, sissy bar, and windshield really contrasts with the quiet color that I’m not sure what to call that Dalton sprayed the bike before having Cycle Art do the “last minute gold leaf and pin striping.” The slimmest and smallest white leather king-and-queen style seat possibly-ever by Central Valley Upholstery almost disappears into the paint.

 

   Trying to get this done in time for the show is nothing new as so many builders struggle until the last minute as it’s rolling onto a trailer, and Dalton had the same finishing problems only very different and excruciatingly painful to boot. “I’m 31 and suffered from kidney stones the last week and a half of the build which was during paint and assembly. I was in the hospital the morning I sprayed it,” he said adding with a big laugh, “Other than that it was a lot of fun as always.” Dalton did want to make sure I got in a big thank you to everyone who helped him including Jeff Montgomery, Derek Boling, Vincent Rivero, and especially his mom and dad.

 

  All in all it was a very successful adventure for Dalton from beginning to end. “I’ve had some very positive feedback from this ‘lil guy. I figured only a handful of people would understand what I was trying to achieve,” he said. Luckily he was absolutely positively dead wrong on that assumption. Possibly the perfect example of how wrong he was about that was that this bike got sold quickly and not just to a guy who liked Triumphs or thought he got a good deal or whatever. Nope, someone with a very discerning eye bought it and he’s a designer himself. No, not motorcycles, but clothing designer Robin Chretien of Robin’s Jeans. “It is going on display in one of his high-end clothing stores, that is when he isn’t out having fun with it,” said Dalton.  Now that’s about as good a showcase as any actual motorcycle show, and probably even better in the long run for a young custom motorcycle designer. Like I said earlier, remember the name Split Image Kustoms.