Up to speed

TRIUMPH LAUNCHED ITS Speedmaster cruiser in 2003 in a back-to-the-future move. British Triumphs had been part of the original Southern California modified-bike scene in the 1950s and ’60s, the era whose early bobbers, customs and choppers inspired today’s factory cruisers.

While the Speedmaster, Triumph’s ‘factory custom’, is derived from its trusty retro-twin, the Bonneville, it doesn’t share much with the Bonnie’s old-school roadster