The Birth of a Thruxton Cup Bike

Thruxton Cup racing is the kind of thing that gets in your veins.  Imagine getting off from a long day’s work, grabbing an overstuffed backpack and hopping in a van jam packed with race bikes.  You’re excited to participate in Vintage Fest, a bit scared to race in it but dreading the 5 hour night time drive.  At about 10PM you arrive to the gates of the Barber Motorsports Park and drive the hilly access road to the racer pit area.  Pull up to your pit spot to find that a party has broken out, excited racers, amazing barbecue even umbrella girls.  The people you’re meeting now will become family to you for the rest of your life.

This was the initial experience I had back in 2013 and ever since the moment when all of the Thruxton Cup racers welcomed me there was no way I wouldn’t live this experience again.  The camaraderie, the competition, the racetracks, all of them made me excited to race in the 2014 season.  Both British Customs and BES Racing were kind enough to sponsor me for a number of races throughout the year, including Willow Springs and Barber Motorsports.  With the last race of the 2014 season at NOLA I was able to take home a few trophies that only made me want more for 2015.

This year started with purchasing my very own Thruxton in order to compete in more races, but the first of the season is fast approaching, this weekend!  Without enough time to prepare my bike for battle I’ve decided to race it bone stock, see how I do then modify based on my needs.  Here’s where I’m starting:

An unadulterated 2008 Triumph Thruxton.  It has some accessories so far and a few of them will be just what I need.

A steering damper is required in all racing so fortunately the previous owner had the intuition to put one on already.

LSL engine sliders are a perfect addition to both race and street bikes as they keep the case covers from being punctured if the bike was to go down.

A few more trinkets were added and fortunately none of them were illegal for the spec class of Thruxton Cup.  There was only one thing I needed to change to make race ready, and I certainly wasn’t going to be making any exceptions on and that’s tires. 

These new tires are still DOT street tires but a bit grippier than the Metzlers that came stock.  A Continental Road Attack II for the front and a Bridgestone BT003 rear were my first choice as they were the ones I had raced on all last year with not one hiccup.

Here’s the first dyno run of the bike.  62 hp isn’t bad but those bumps will require some tuning to remove.  Most Thruxton Cup bikes run between 65 hp and 70 hp so I’m starting with a bit more of a disadvantage but as I tune I’ll keep writing more articles that share horsepower, lap times and race results.

There are just a few small changes I have to make to pass tech and they are as follows:

• Safety wire oil fill
• Safety wire oil drain
• Safety wire oil filter
• Safety wire bake caliper bolts
• Safety wire axle bolts
• Safety wire axle pinch bolts
• Install belly pan from British Customs
• Tape up all of my lights

There are a few more things I have to do in order to pass tech for an official Thruxton Cup scheduled event, but for WERA this’ll do just fine.  After this quick work I’m ready to race!  Make sure to come out to NOLA Motorsports Park this Saturday January 31 and/or Sunday February 1 to see how I will stack up on a bone stock Triumph Thruxton against an arsenal of fully prepped, engine tuned, suspension upgraded race bikes.  Should make for an interesting show.