Photo: Alex Martino
It’s no secret that Ryan Reynolds is all about that two-wheeled life, and his extensive motorcycle collection would make any aficionado green with envy. Among the specimens owned by the Canadian actor are a BMW S 1000 RR and a limited-edition Ducati Paul Smart, as well as several one-offs built by the finest customization shops out there.
What you’re seeing here is the work of Dustin Kott, who operates as Kott Motorcycles in Santa Clarita, California. The project started with a Triumph Thruxton from the model year 2014, which was virtually brand-new when the transformation took place. Kott’s swanky cafe racer attained its current form and was handed back to Reynolds in 2015, but getting to this stage was no walk in the park.
First things first, Dustin went out for a test ride to get an idea of what could be improved from a mechanical and ergonomic standpoint. He then took the Thruxton apart, deleting every piece of factory bodywork in the process. The following step saw him replacing the stock subframe with a custom unit built from scratch, which gives the motorcycle a level, cafe racer-style bone line.
Down south, the bike is now equipped with a handmade tail section that hides part of its electronic hardware. The rest of the electrics – like the fuel injection system, fuse box, and ECU – are seamlessly stored beneath the seat pan, in between the new subframe tubes. Kott installed a subtle LED taillight right below the tail; barely noticeable when turned off, yet sufficiently bright once it’s on.
There’s also a handsome brown leather saddle fabricated in-house, and it’s fronted by the repurposed gas tank of a Yamaha XS1100. It took some clever tweaking to link this fuel chamber to the Triumph’s stock fuel pump, but Dustin made it work. He refrained from adding a front fender, while fitting a discreet rear module low down on the swingarm.
Premium Hagon shocks take care of suspension duties out back, but the Thruxton’s forks are still original. Additionally, its wheels were cloaked in grippy Avon rubber to keep them glued to the asphalt. As far as the ergonomics are concerned, Sir Reynolds’ bespoke marvel comes equipped with aftermarket clip-ons and a fresh pair of rear-mounted foot pegs.
Dustin kept the powertrain-related work relatively simple, fitting custom velocity stacks and a two-into-one exhaust system from Arrow. Of course, the creature’s ECU was appropriately remapped to play nice with the stainless-steel pipes and revised intake setup. Finally, the last thing to take care of before handing the caffeinated Triumph back to Ryan was the paint job. Kott went with a deep red hue for the base, topping it off with pale gold pinstripes and tank badges depicting his workshop’s logo.
First things first, Dustin went out for a test ride to get an idea of what could be improved from a mechanical and ergonomic standpoint. He then took the Thruxton apart, deleting every piece of factory bodywork in the process. The following step saw him replacing the stock subframe with a custom unit built from scratch, which gives the motorcycle a level, cafe racer-style bone line.
Down south, the bike is now equipped with a handmade tail section that hides part of its electronic hardware. The rest of the electrics – like the fuel injection system, fuse box, and ECU – are seamlessly stored beneath the seat pan, in between the new subframe tubes. Kott installed a subtle LED taillight right below the tail; barely noticeable when turned off, yet sufficiently bright once it’s on.
There’s also a handsome brown leather saddle fabricated in-house, and it’s fronted by the repurposed gas tank of a Yamaha XS1100. It took some clever tweaking to link this fuel chamber to the Triumph’s stock fuel pump, but Dustin made it work. He refrained from adding a front fender, while fitting a discreet rear module low down on the swingarm.
Premium Hagon shocks take care of suspension duties out back, but the Thruxton’s forks are still original. Additionally, its wheels were cloaked in grippy Avon rubber to keep them glued to the asphalt. As far as the ergonomics are concerned, Sir Reynolds’ bespoke marvel comes equipped with aftermarket clip-ons and a fresh pair of rear-mounted foot pegs.
Dustin kept the powertrain-related work relatively simple, fitting custom velocity stacks and a two-into-one exhaust system from Arrow. Of course, the creature’s ECU was appropriately remapped to play nice with the stainless-steel pipes and revised intake setup. Finally, the last thing to take care of before handing the caffeinated Triumph back to Ryan was the paint job. Kott went with a deep red hue for the base, topping it off with pale gold pinstripes and tank badges depicting his workshop’s logo.
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