Boyhood Bobber

BOYHOOD BOBBER

Child of the Sixties

CALL THIS A PERIOD perfect Triumph Bonneville bobber— never mind that the period we’re talking about occurred 30 years before the bike’s owner was even born!

Dustin Boyko grew up around his dad’s musclecars and motorbikes. At age 14—all of three years ago—he decided he wanted to build a Triumph 650 bob-job. Luckily, the perfect mentor was already in his father’s employ: Denny Berg, chief (only) fabricator for Cobra USA’s Special Projects Division, builder of showstopping customs, many of which have appeared on these pages. Berg’s “Brando” remains one of the cleanest Triumph choppers ever built.

A basketcase 1966 TR6C provided the frame and fork for Dustin’s project. Next came a bolt-on hardtail-actually welded on, but with faux nut and bolt at the tank-seat juncture to keep up the ruse. While Berg rebuilt the engine, a mixture of ’64 and ’65 components, Dustin hit the keyboard and started sourcing age-appropriate accessories on eBay. The engine fairly bristles with finned alloy pieces from defunct aftermarket giant Webco.

“Anything that could be polished was,” he says.

Fork shrouds are from MCN, another long-gone company, straightened and rechromed. Wheels are honest-to-olé Akronts, 21-inch front, 18 in the rear. No front brake, “’Cause it just looks better that way,” he says. Repop cocktail-shaker mufflers were-duh!-an easy find. Biggest score was a rare Magnuson finned primary cover. So excited was young Dustin by being the leading bidder midway through the auction that he unwisely informed the Editor-in-Chief of a certain well-known motorcycle magazine about his prize, then stopped short.

“Do not even think of making a bid,” he pleaded.

Parts collected, the actual build took about seven months, with Dustin making the weekly 80-mile commute to Berg’s Palm Springs shop for advice, education and illumination.

“I still can’t weld for crap, but I can lace wheels-well, sort of,” he says.

Paint was laid on by Buck Wild Designs, a lightly flaked candy-rootbeer over a gold basecoat with pearlwhite stripes of Dustin’s design.

Happy with the outcome, except for a balky Amal carb (“I’ve rebuilt that thing seven times!”), Dustin now has other projects in mind. Next on his to-do list is a Honda CB750 café-racer and maybe a custom ’65 Buick Riviera in partnership with his dad, though he is a little busy these days. Freshly enrolled in college, Dustin is studying business and graphic design.

“My goal is to be in the motorcycle or car industry at some point,” he says. “Maybe as a designer.”

If so, he’s already got a pretty good start to his portfolio. David Edwards