https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHrMLNIIYrc
At first glance, you might assume this 1961 Triumph TR6 has seen better days, but that's just the seasoning. This custom classic is built for speed on the drag strip and has been lovingly modified by Cody Adams from Portland, Oregon.
Nicknamed "The Cockfighter," this awesome machine is too cool to miss.
The bike has had quite a journey from the $2,000 investment Adams made a few years ago. It's on its second motor and third transmission, but Adams reports that it still has the original matching number and frame. Almost everything on the Triumph was built in-house by Adams and Kenneth B. Wright of Portland's Moto Galore, including the 19-inch, four-inch wide drag slick Hurst racing tires. And the rest? A very determined Cody Adams sourced everything he couldn't make or restore from around the planet.
Despite most of the bike being brand new or refurbished, Adams decided to go for a fresh-from-a-cross-country-roadtrip look to pay homage to the original Triumph bikes. The aesthetic, he notes, is "mid-1960s, Southern California."
The bike's nickname -- "The Cockfighter" -- pays homage to Triumph's rich heritage, as well. The name refers to the large blue rooster that appeared on the original owner's manual for the 1927 Triumph. The image was boldly reproduced on the side of the 1960s Harley Sportster gas tank by Joe's Signs of Portland, Oregon. Sadly, Adams wasn't permitted to put "COCK" on the license plate, so he had to settle for the more sedate "ROOSTR."
You might think this bike is too cool to take to the track, but Adams reports that "The Cockfighter" is a regular racer in the eighth mile. Adams is consistently running the eighth around 85 miles per hour, proving this sweet looking bike is the complete package. He and his bike have left some stern competitors in the dust, including racers on more modern Triumph Bonneville bikes.
Once again, a restomod proves that you can have good looks and performance to back it up...as long as you're willing to go to the ends of the Earth and make your own tires to make it happen!
