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UMC-060 STRANGER THING
1965 Triumph Tiger Cub

The Cub is the same age as me. My wife bought it for me as a birthday present. It was a runner, but a bad runner – and a tiny bike with 17in wheels. I looked like a giant riding it so I decided to rebuild it to suit me. First job was to replace the wheels with 19in rims on the original hubs, some new forks and yokes from Bob at upbuk.co.uk who is a Tiger Cub trials bike and e-bike specialist. I put new Hagon shocks on the rear.

I chopped up some Renthal handlebars, cut them into two sections, then joined them by means of a clamp fitting that incorporated the Motogadget speedo. Dom Roup of Brighton Motorcycles modelled the bracket first in 3D printing, then Fastec produced the final version. The switchgear block was 3D printed and is really durable – as well as looking really different. I improved the front brake with new linings.

It has off-road trials pegs which are rear-set compared to the stock Cub. Originally, I made up a hand-change system, hence the metal work on the right side of the petrol tank, but it didn’t work very well so I ditched it. It means I now have to take my foot off the peg to change gear so I may come up with an alternative gear shift set-up. Kickstarter is off a KTM.

The engine has been rebuilt using an oversize piston so the capacity now is 250cc. I now run an external clutch arm which works much better. It’s also got a new Mikunib carb and a hand-made the silencer with no baffles. I fitted electronic ignition. There’s no charging system though so the industrial size battery (designed to power a drone actually) is there to power the lights and lasts 24 hours. It’s easy to swap the pack over though.

I added the ‘full or fucked’ pipe fittings on the outside of the fuel tank then got the tank powder-coated with glitter flake by Steve at Aurum Finishing. The bike now fits me a lot better, looks lovely and is great to ride.