Golden Hour: 1951 Triumph Born Free Show Bike
Interview for Dice Magazine issue 109. You can order it here: www.DicEmagazine.com
Photography by Samson Hatae. You can view more of his photos here: www.samsonkhatae.com
Words by Seth Neefus.
It feels really good to make something with your hands and it feels even better to allow yourself the time and freedom to enjoy the creative process. Do you remember being a kid and what it was like to build a stick fort in the woods or to make a sand castle on the beach? That stuff was so much fun! Yes, it was hard work for a kid, but it was something you got to creatively construct and there’s a satisfying feeling of joy and accomplishment that you get to experience at an early age. It is a shame when deadlines, money and the pressure of life start to play a role in the creative process as you grow up. We kept that same youthful creative spirit alive during the process of this build with a very playful approach. We started with some raw metal and a pile of motorcycle parts and played with everything until it felt right. It took a lot time and work, but it happened fast once we found the flow and that just takes over and the next thing you know things begin to take shape and you’re having fun!
We really love fabricating and developing our creative ideas, but we also love hunting down old parts, especially the unique stuff. We had been saving a lot of rare parts that we found over the years, and one of the things that got the vision of this build started was a 1920’s Harley Davidson Model B Springer, there is no better excuse than using it for a Born Free bike. The engine is the heart of everything with an extremely rare Wellworthy Alfin Aluminum Cylinder and a 1959 Triumph Bonneville cylinder head. We found a set of Amal Monobloc 389 and 689 Carburetors and some engine cases and the rest of the guts from an engine we bought from a rusty old roller project. We cleaned everything up and sent it over to Aj Ritcher for machining and then had Elite Polishing shine it all up before the engine was fully rebuilt and assembled by Aj. There were some extra things that we had been dreaming of for years and after a conversation with Paul at Award Cycles the plan was in motion to make clear carburetor float covers and custom exhaust clamps. We also used his finned timing cover on the engine. We decided to run an open primary to expose the chain and clutch in motion. It gives it a very different look than what you might be used to seeing and we think this compliments the lean look.
The custom exhaust pipes were something we drew up and tried with the intention of mellowing them out, but once things were cut and tacked up we couldn’t envision the bike any other way after seeing them on there. The NOS Wassell rear fender was another part we had been saving for a special occasion and thought this was the perfect time to use it for the custom scoops and molding in the seat. We made a similar modifications to a small old gas tank to carry that look from the rear to the front of the bike. When we finished all of the bodywork we drove down to San Francisco to have Gary Royal of Beware Choppers do the paint in his insane pebble base technique with a champagne base coat and salmon color fades. The colors remind us of the magic hour at the end of a hot summer day and that is the reason we named this build Golden Hour.
We are Seth Neefus and Casey Neefus of Red Clouds Collective and we built a 1951 Triumph Pre Unit show bike. We had some big ideas and after a lot of hard work we brought our wildest dreams to life.
