When Triumphs Go Bad! Part 2

Earl and son Brian, a fireman by profession, share similar tastes in hot Triumphs.

The Mark of Kane: Triumph TT Hotrods

The Kane built Bonneville motor features 

The homage to the ’60s bobber chopper seen here is the creation of a Brit-bike fan named Earl Kane, his enterprise called “Cycle Art by Earl” and located in San Pedro, CA.
“My first big bike build was a 1937 Indian Scout that I bobbed when I got out of the Navy,” says Earl. “I’ve done cars and boats, and now I’m back to bikes and fabricating custom alloy parts for them.”
Since Earl‘s been building bikes and custom parts since 1964, he was there when this Trumpet was new, as the gnarly hardtail is built around a 1964 Bonnie powertrain placed in a TR-6 frame with an aftermarket hardtail rear-end mated to an equally classic Ceriani front end. The rear wheel is a Harley 16-incher laced to a Triumph hub, and that rear spinner knock-off was transplanted from a 1950s Hildebrand sprint car. A 19-inch wheel upfront wears an 8-inch ’69 Triumph twin-leading shoe brake assembly.
“The front brake works great, but with the back brake it helps to drag your feet,” laughs Earl. 
His own handiwork can be seen in the deeply and dramatically finned oil tank he designed and fabricated to match the original Webco 1960s finned primary cover. Spark is advanced via an original 1970s ARD mag, so the bike runs batteryless with no unsightly switches to clutter up the bars.
He also made the velocity stacks and the chain tensioner as well as the chromed steel pan seat. It’s doubled up with a liner underneath, and those pads contain gel foam under leather. Earl says that with the combination of the springs, taken from a Stingray bicycle, it makes for a fairly comfortable ride even with the hardtail design.
You’ll notice a very trick kickstart lever, Earl’s signature piece found on all his bikes. “The first one I whittled out of metal, then I had a bunch made by water-jetting.” Earl says the bike is usually a first-kick thanks to the mag. When the bike fires up, the headlight comes on, and that headlight is a 1950s Appleton auto spotlight.
Asked how it felt to ride the bike, Earl says, “From bar to bar and to the beach it’s fine. It’s not exactly a cushy freeway bike, but I’m 64 and it doesn’t beat me up.”

Class auto wheel spinner used as gas cap, another custom-made Kane part.

Spinner theme also applies to the Kane custom wheels.

While Earl specializes in Triumphs, he also works with BSAs and the occasional Norton. His price range for building one of his gnarly bobbers runs $7500-15,000. If you bring all your own parts that could drop to as low as $5K.
You can check out his other bikes (and some cool vintage sprint car photos) on his web site http://www.earlsbikes.net/ or you can call him at 310-218-2979.