This Custom-Made Triumph Trophy 1200 Bobber Is Something of a Parts Bin Special

Operating right outside the capital city of Madrid, this lesser-known garage is the brainchild of two dudes by the names of Jose and Bea. They’ve been building stylish one-offs together professionally since 2015, never afraid to try out new things or experiment with different design approaches. TooHard has delivered a slow but steady stream of tasteful projects over time, and the one you see above was put together back in 2020.

It started out as a Triumph Trophy 1200 from the model-year 1998, but there’s close to no resemblance of the stock machine left here. What had once been a bulky tourer with outdated looks is now a breathtaking, stripped-down bobber we can’t get enough of. As you can imagine, getting this thing to look the way it does today was no easy feat, requiring all the creativity and expertise that Jose and his teammate could muster.

They made it come together in the end, though, because no custom build is too hard to pull off for this Spanish duo – pun absolutely intended. With the old Trophy 1200 brought into their garage, placed on the workbench, and stripped of most factory components, the guys were ready to dig in. Aside from the 1,180cc inline-four engine and main frame, there is virtually no piece of stock hardware still in play.

Having ditched the donor’s massive subframe, Bea and Jose proceeded to make some additional rear-end adjustments before fitting a new setup. They created sturdy mounting points for a svelte bobber-style saddle, which was skillfully transplanted from a modern Bonneville Bobber. Right ahead of this fresh seating arrangement, you’ll come across a classy fuel tank of the same origin.

The tank and seat went a long way in revising the bike’s aesthetic, but TooHard’s specialists were just getting warmed up. Moving on to the engine, no major rework was deemed necessary in this department, because the Trophy’s four-cylinder powerplant had more than enough cavalry at its disposal. To be exact, the mill can produce a respectable 108 ponies at 9,000 rpm, as well as up to 77 pound-feet (104 Nm) of low-end torque.

As it was also in great shape internally, TooHard was content to simply give it some K&N air filters and a stainless-steel aftermarket exhaust from GR. Going back to the structural side of things, we find the repurposed hardware of a Triumph Thruxton 1200 R at the front end. It comprises fully-adjustable Showa forks, a laced 17-inch wheel, and the entire braking system.

Brembo is the name of the game as far as the latter is concerned, with radial four-piston calipers pinching drilled 310 mm (12.2-inch) discs. Furthermore, Jose and Bea placed an off-the-shelf Rizoma fender in between the inverted Showa forks. Along with all the equipment up north, the Thruxton R also donated its rear hoop to their cause, and it’s been mated to a Daytona 675’s swingarm.

Rear-end suspension duties are assigned to a premium Ohlins TTX 36 monoshock – perhaps an even bigger improvement than the Showa forks. For ample stopping power at the back, this Trophy 1200 bobber makes use of a 220 mm (8.7-inch) Brembo rotor and a twin-piston Nissin caliper. Of course, some radical changes took place in the cockpit area, as well.

A Motogadget Chronoclassic speedometer is placed right ahead of the top clamp and flanked by clip-on handlebars from LSL. These are in turn equipped with top-grade Brembo RCS master cylinders, compact switches, and aftermarket grips, as well as a pair of bar-end counterweights supplied by Rizoma. The vintage-looking headlamp installed further ahead had once belonged to a Bonneville T120, and there are tiny LED blinkers from Motogadget attached to it on the sides.

The same brand provided a high-end control module for the electronics, but the compact battery was sourced from Antigravity. For the final touches, the bike received a keyless ignition setup, new brake lines, and a set of billet aluminum rearsets. Its colorway is a blacked-out affair for the most part, yet the Bobber tank was cloaked in a glossy brown finish with accompanying Triumph graphics done in black.

All things considered, TooHard Motor’s bobbed Trophy is far from your run-of-the-mill custom job, and we dig it for what isn’t there as much as for what is. Most builders would’ve based this sort of project on a Bonneville Bobber to make life easier for themselves, but Jose and Bea aren’t most builders. Now, you can probably see why we said their shop deserves more attention, can’t you?