Custom Triumph Bonneville T140 Scrambler Has Bucketloads of Classic Charm

Guillaume and his team regularly indulge in such projects, and the results never cease to impress or make an impact. They don’t always have to be fully-fledged customs, though, so the guys were happy to take more of a restomod approach on the build we’ll be looking at today. The suggestion to do things this way was made by the client, a professional racing driver who sought some antique English charm in his life.

He snatched up a Triumph Bonneville T140 from 1977 and took it straight to the Angry Lane headquarters within an hour. Guillaume had a chat with him to see exactly what he was after, and it didn't take long for a restomod treatment to be highlighted as the logical solution. Improving reliability was paramount, because Triumph bikes from that era were notoriously fussy and in need of constant maintenance.

Otherwise, it was all a matter of refurbishing various bits, replacing others, and adding some neat custom touches to give this T140 a personality of its own. Starting with the powertrain-related work, the motorcycle’s parallel-twin engine was dismantled and treated to an extensive makeover. In the process, it gained a myriad of replacement items like fresh valves, pistons, and cylinders, among others.

The pushrod tubes were known for their tendency to leak, so Angry Lane took all the necessary steps to get them sealed up once and for all. Only then did Guillaume and his crew turn their attention to the intake and exhaust, with the former receiving a youthful pair of Amal MK1 Premier carbs and mesh-covered velocity stacks. On the other hand, the exhaust system is the work of Paul Bryant over in New Zealand.

It is a neat two-into-one setup with heat-wrapped headers and a shiny reverse megaphone muffler, which lives down low on the right-hand side of the rear wheel. Speaking of the creature’s footwear, it now comprises black-anodized aluminum rims and stainless-steel spokes from Buchanan’s. The hubs were wrapped in a layer of ceramic coating, and some dual-purpose Heidenau K60 Scout rubber made its way onto the alloy hoops at both ends.

For improved stopping power front and rear, the shop ditched all the factory braking equipment in favor of EBC discs and AP Racing calipers. The new paraphernalia is hooked up to HEL hoses all-round, but Angry Lane hasn’t toned things down in the suspension department, either. Although the OEM forks are still in play, they now feature a full suite of modern internals and are held in place by bespoke CNC-machined triple clamps.

At six o’clock, the stock suspension hardware has been deleted altogether, making room for adjustable Ohlins shock absorbers to take its place. Upgrades to the Bonneville’s electrical goodies include a Pazon electronic ignition system and a lithium-ion battery from Antigravity. Everything is wired through a Motogadget controller, yet this wasn’t the only part supplied by the German brand.

The others are located in the cockpit area, with a compact speedometer sitting center-stage to act as the bike’s only instrumentation. In addition, the bar-end turn signals and mirrors are Motogadget items, too, all attached to an LSL handlebar along with a mixture of Renard Speed Shop and KustomTech controls. The T140’s front end is finished off with a vintage-looking headlamp.

Peek at the back, and you’ll notice a Bates-style taillight placed on an off-the-shelf rear fender, right above a simple license plate holder and in front of a looped subframe. The frame tubing in that area was modified with the help of Thom Lonnen, then topped with a mesmerizing brown leather bench seat upholstered by Guillaume’s brother Ben.

Small but stylish saddlebags accompany the new seat on each side, closing up the subframe triangle in the process. The same type of leather was used on the grips, kick-start pedal, and shifter for visual continuity. Angry Lane kept the Bonneville’s unmistakable fuel tank, but had it embellished with a Monza-style filler cap and a glossy coat of olive-green paint. Triumph logos are present on the sides, done in white and outlined in black for ample contrast.

The olive hue made its way onto the headlight bucket and rear fender, too, while the front mudguard was left unpainted. It is a heavily reworked carbon fiber item from a Ducati, so it would’ve been a shame to hide the CFRP beneath a layer of paint. The finishing touches on this build came in the form of stainless-steel nuts and bolts all-round, as well as a USB charging port integrated into the right saddlebag.