Wolf in sheep’s clothing…

We all have a dream, and my decision to build a big road bike in the style of an early 1970s roadster – a GS1000, CB900F, XS1100 or a Z1000 for example – but with more power, better handling and refinement, proved to be a no-brainer after I tried Ian Saxcoburg’s CRK 1200 Roadster on the roads of the Isle of Wight in 2018.

Here was just what I’d been looking for: a mean beast dressed in casual wear. That bike was based on a Triumph 1200 Trophy, which was the first model to be launched by the new Hinckley factory at the end of 1990 after the brand had been acquired by John Bloor in the early 1980s. It was a very competent sports tourer powered by a beefy 1180cc 16-valve DOHC four-cylinder engine. A conventionally-styled version never appeared, the only other application of the motor being in the more highly-tuned 147bhp Daytona 1200 sports bike.

What I lusted for was, in modern parlance, a ‘retro-naked’ or a classic but with a lot of muscle, and the 1200 offered that in spades, but with a different twist from the hefty offerings from Yamaha and Suzuki. Over the years I’ve been lucky to ride a lot of different bikes around the world, so it’s hardly surprising that I developed a preference for specific characteristics that suit my kind of (mostly road) riding.

These have been how I measure the qualities of any machine: high-speed stability, neutral steering; positive feedback from the tyres, progressive brakes, strong throttle response throughout the rev-range, a smooth