Yup, nothing says the ‘70s like a reference to the stars of Up in Smoke and nothing says ‘70s choppers like the simple, but classy Triumph you’re looking at built by The Factory Metal Works which Lucas just happens to own by the way. If you’re already a fan of Lucas’ work, this iconic take on a ‘70s-style Brit twin chop should come as no surprise as he’s bowled me over with his catalogue of modified Meriden vertical twins. Now that I think of it, this is not the first bike of his we’ve featured so some of you should be already aware of his skill of and talent. For you others, start perusing our feature bike’s photo gallery and you’ll get an idea why I love everything coming out of his Concord, North Carolina, shop. I mean, I honestly don’t think he could make a bad looking Triumph even if he tried and if you don’t believe me, check out his huge gallery and see for yourself. 

 

   Even though any Factory Metal Works’ Triumph I’ve seen truly and lovingly evokes the now sacred-in-stone styles of the ‘60s and ‘70s, the quality and craftsmanship does not. It’s way-way better than anything I ever saw back then and I’m way-way more picky now than I was then. Lucas’ bikes are just little gems that happen to fire up and ride away. Plus I got a feeling they’ll surprisingly fire up and ride away on a moment’s notice as the quality here is just not on the surface, but deep inside the mechanicals that probably work better now than after their initial break-in and check up.

 

   Lucas nailed it with this bike called Valdez built around a 1966 500cc Triumph engine that’s from the same model a Mr. Robert Zimmerman (some of you may know him by his stage name, Bob Dylan?) famously crashed back in 1966 in some upstate New York town called Woodstock or something like that. Wait a minute, could this be young Zimmerman’s engine out of what was left of the wreck? There are absolutely no claims or facts to back that up. Sorry, that was just a silly ruse since no one knows or cares or ever brought the question up of whether or not that engine came out of Zimmerman’s bike. And, there are a lot of questions about whether there was much of a wreck or not, but again, who cares? Getting back to the story at hand, Lucas nailed it with this bike with all the era’s style points combined in a package that doesn’t look like it’s trying to be from a different time and place. Oh you know those things like Invader wheels, a springer, a sissy bar, a sprung saddle, a rigid frame, and a street-scrambler-inspired exhaust that takes high pipes to a whole new level of class ─ high class. 

 

   By the way, you probably noticed I mentioned this was built around a Triumph engine and not a Triumph bike. That’s because most of what you see before you is a Factory Metal Works fabricated piece or a part. Don’t believe me? Well for one, the frame or any part of it never spent any time in England as Lucas did a slim and lightweight ground-up rigid just for this bike. If the springer looks different to you, that‘s because it’s a Factory Metal Works piece too along with other items like the oil tank, bars, seat, sissy bar, and a whole lot more. Make sure you check out that big and bold finning Lucas added to the primary timing covers. Those are not cast items and I’m just going to leave it to you to figure out how he did it. Oh, and that actual-metal molding on the fuel tank, well let’s just say that’s a Bondo-free zone.

 

   Making it all come together is Lucas’ ability to make the clean lines of his design not have to fight with the various finishes he wisely chose for this bike. There’s an abundance of chrome, but not too much. There’s a two-tone paintjob in ‘70s earth colors that looks right for today unlike trying to pull off a set of bell bottoms in the early 21^st Century. The wheels, the pinstriping, the white seat, grips, and kicker rubber just make this bike look like fun. Maybe that’s the appeal of the ‘70s, that in retrospect it was just a fun time whether it was true or not. Hey, even if you don’t give a crap about that weird period in time, you know this Factory Metal Works Triumph would be a helluva fun time to ride in any era.

 

For more information on The Factory Metal Works, crack your knuckles, twiddle your fingers and punch up www.thefactorymetalworks.com and if you’re asked, tell ‘em the ‘70s sent you.