One of my many motorcycle dreams is to make my motorcycle uniquely mine by customising it.
While most manufacturers provide a range of accessories and parts to enhance one’s bike, Triumph South Africa has taken it a step further with Tailor Made Triumph, an in-house motorcycle customisation facility that takes Triumph motorcycles and modifies them cosmetically and mechanically. This was born out of client requests that went off catalogue.
Aftersales manager Paul Jacobs says: “The motivation came from the need of clients wanting something different from the standard bikes that we sell on our floor. To cater to them, we onboarded brands that do bespoke aftermarket accessories for Triumph, like Motone Customs, British Customs, Evotech and so on. We also got brands that manufacture accessories for us that are universal and not Triumph-specific, such as Motogadget and Trip Machine.”
The key was doing the research to make it easier to recommend certain brands or styles that suit the client’s specific needs, while ensuring that the original warranty stays intact, rather than leaving the client to figure out what accessories will work.
“The build process always starts with an idea or something the client has seen. From that idea, I sit with the client to pinpoint what they really like about that build and start working on a build plan, including what changes to make to the client’s own unique build. We want each build rolling out our door to be something individual while adhering to the idea the client had. It shouldn’t be a copy and paste,” Jacobs explains.
For Jacobs, the first step should always be the paintwork because this sets the tone for the rest of the build, especially what they do with different colours and textures to complement the paint colour and finish.
Getting Jacobs to choose his favourite customisations was like extracting teeth. He says: “It is so difficult to choose, as we have built so many cool motorcycles that have been either commissioned by ourselves or our clients, but our favourite builds always come back to the Bonneville range, as there are so many options with them.
“The Bobber and T120 are always the perfect blank canvas to start with, and our suppliers always bring out new bits and pieces, so even if you customise your bike now, in maybe a year or two’s time you will have even more options if you want to change something up.”
What better way to experience Tailor Made Triumph than on a 2023 Scrambler 1200 XE with one of Jacob’s favourite themed paint jobs — retro lines in orange, red and yellow on a black tank?
They went with a minimalist aesthetic, changing the look and feel of the motorcycle with a Unit Garage low-slung exhaust to replace the standard high pipes, and replaced the big indicator and tail lights with small Motogadget indicators and tail lights. They also put on a Motone billet fuel cap and aggressive-looking Pirelli Rally STR tyres.
The Scrambler XE isn’t just a pretty motorcycle. I took it out onto farm roads in the Magaliesberg area, and it handled those with ease, though my heart did jump a little when the back tyre squirmed a bit the first time I rode through a muddy patch. Once I got used to it, I could enjoy the ride, switching from dirt to tar and back without losing anything in ride experience.
It has a 1200 cc liquid-cooled parallel twin engine that puts out 66.2kW power and maximum torque of 110Nm. There are six riding modes, namely Road, Rain, Sport, Off-Road, Off-Road Pro and Rider. Switching on the road can be done on the fly, but I did have to stop to switch in and out of Off-Road.
The 2026 Scrambler XE is an evolution of the 2023 model, as opposed to a total redesign. There are some changes/refinements in suspension hardware, braking system, electronics and styling. Overall, it is a versatile motorcycle that can navigate city, dirt and open road with aplomb.
The 2026 Scrambler XE builds on the 2023 model with refinements to suspension, braking, electronics and styling. Picture: SUPPLIED
The team at Triumph Tailor Made are not resting on their laurels. They are currently working on a 2004 Thruxton 900 project in which they are “touching almost every single piece of the motorcycle, from the wheel spokes being re-coated to a full Motogadget electronic ecosystem that will allow the client to use his cellphone as a key for switching the Thruxton on”.
It will be their most comprehensive build to date.
