One-Off Triumph Thruxton R Is the Stuff of Cafe Racer Dreams, Calls Itself Missile

The Thruxton is getting a last hurrah with the Final Edition, which was covered in-depth by my colleague a little while back. Over its 20-year lifespan, Triumph’s cafe racer left an indelible mark on the motorcycling community, and it will most certainly be missed by many once it’s gone. However, we’re sure to continue seeing tastefully customized Thruxtons for a long time to come.

One such specimen can be admired in the photo gallery above, hailing from Tamarit Motorcycles of Elche, Spain. Aptly nicknamed Missile, the bike is an imposing cafe racer with mean looks and an aggressive, forward-leaning posture. After taking the commission from a U.S. customer by the name of Will, Tamarit used a Triumph Thruxton 1200 R as the project’s basis. That was a solid starting point, for sure, and the workshop really made the most of it.

Although the donor come with solid running gear straight out of the box, the guys still sought to improve it however they could. The original Showa forks made room for inverted Blackline replacements from Ohlins, with an accompanying steering damper to maintain stability at high speeds. Out back, Tamarit swapped the standard swingarm with a repurposed Scrambler 1200 part, which is longer and more robust.

Prior to installation, the new swingarm got tweaked in order to accommodate a monoshock suspension arrangement. It connects to a piggyback Ohlins shock absorber with adjustable preload, and the upper end links up with a custom seat support made from scratch. Unsprung territory is now home to a pair of chrome-plated 17-inch wheels from Canyon, shod in premium Pirelli rubber for ample grip.

The stock Brembo calipers were retained, but they’ve been coupled with fresh aftermarket rotors at some point during the transformation process. Needless to say, Tamarit’s experts tackled this build in full force right away, and their work was no less intriguing when it came to the bodywork. Starting with the fuel tank of a Triumph Speed Twin, they had it revised and then merged with a slim tail section fabricated in-house.

Now forming a single, monocoque-style part, the tank and tail can be lifted at the push of a button thanks to an intricate hydraulic actuation system. This provides easy access to the Missile’s electronics – a neat little trick we’ve seen on multiple Tamarit-built machines. The whole shebang is topped with a gorgeous leather seat, and there are dual-function LEDs recessed into the tail further back.

An additional taillight can be spotted a bit lower down, attached beneath the seat support by way of a bespoke bracket. All the mods we’ve mentioned so far are muy bueno, but what really gives this Thruxton a commanding presence is the front fairing. It’s yet another tailor-made unit fashioned by the Tamarit crew, complete with two separate lighting modules to keep the way ahead nice and lit.

There’s an LED headlamp placed low down for visual effect, and it’s joined by a thin lighting strip up top. The latter acts as a daytime running light of sorts, while the front turn signals are Rizoma parts attached to each end of the Thruxton R’s clip-ons. Furthermore, the handlebars are also equipped with fresh grips and bar-end mirrors from the same brand, as well as Motogadget switchgear.

Motogadget supplied a digital Motoscope Pro dial, too, and all the electronics got hooked up to the tried-and-true mo.Unit Blue controller. The project’s authors fitted a new front fender to round things out at twelve o’clock, while a one-piece radiator and sump guard can be spotted right behind it. In terms of powertrain-related mods, Tamarit kept it relatively straightforward with some custom breathing hardware.

On the intake side of the equation, we come across a pair of forward-facing manifolds outfitted with Free Spirits air filters. Exhaust gases are expelled via high-grade aftermarket pipework supplied by Zard, which is guaranteed to sound absolutely incredible at higher revs. Other accessories adorning the Missile include new foot pegs and stylish badges found on the fuel tank and engine covers.

With all these goodies in place, it came time for Tamarit to address the finishing touches. The bike’s bodywork was wrapped in a stealthy layer of satin-black, and various other components have been chromed to give this one-off cafe racer some shine. Among others, these include items such as the swingarm, sump guard, and intake manifolds. A full year of painstaking labor was invested into this specimen, and it was totally worth the effort!