Riding motorcycles and surfing sounds like the perfect lifestyle, for most it’s something that can only dreamed of while doing the 9-5 daily grind. I for one was not really familiar with the whole surf bike culture until recently, but then again, surfing on the UK’s south coast is… well, not exactly the same as it is in Australia and California, ‘kook‘ central perhaps. For Michael things are a little different, living in the ‘Sunshine State‘ and being a keen surfer there was just one more thing that would make his life perfect…. So in October of 2012 Michael took the plunge and purchased his first ever motorcycle and what better could be better that a new Triumph T100 in cool Phantom Black and Graphite… it’s name, Bonita!
You can’t surf everyday, or so Im told, so this T100 has taken it’s rider camping in Joshua Tree National Park, festivals in Ojai and San Fransisco, as well as carving up the roads of L.A where Michael lives and works. So far the bike has clocked up over 9000 miles in the last year of ownership and in that time the bike has not been shy of the odd modification from the British Customs and Corbin catalogues. Michael tell’s me that he intends to cover more miles and do more modifcations to the T100 over the coming year.
Some of you might of noticed the most obvious modification to the T100, the ‘Surf Rack’, something I’ve seen no shortage of thanks to Deus Ex Machina and Iron and Resin over the last few years. This particular modification was made by a chap in Redondo Beach and it’s one modification that I and others have had their doubts about, just how practical and safe are these racks! – Well, as we brits like to say, ‘the proof is in the pudding’ meaning you have to taste it to know whats in it.
As Michael explains…. ‘It works pretty well, I have gotten the bike up to 90 mph with it on and I am still here:).. it’s great for getting to the beach cheap and parking easy and just making the commute more fun. The rack creates a wind vortex between the board and bike that stabilizes the ride like a catamaran so it not as sketchy as it might look. The steel rack is covered in vinyl tube and has a hinge where it connects to the bike frame so it will bounce on a hard turn and deflect wind rather than act like a wing.’
As you can imagine a bike with a surfboard attached to it gets plenty of attention. Michael is not surprised when he returns to the bike after surfing to find the T100 surrounded by fellow surfers fascinated by the rack and full of questions. And its not only the surfers that love the setup, the local police throw the odd ‘Shaka’ (I had to look that up, meaning “hang loose” in surfing culture) in the bikes direction as it goes past.
Michael has taken the T100 with the rack all over from San Clemente up to Ventura and this year has a Baja trip planned with some buddies. It appears for Michael the surf rack has been a real game changer.
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