Aluminum Wonder: Triumph Thruxton 1200 RS Café Racer

Aluminum-Clad Thruxton RS from 2020 Motorcycles…  

The Triumph Thruxton 1200 RS is the company’s top-tier neo-retro café racer, blending classic 60s styling with modern superbike-spec components such as Öhlins suspension and Brembo brakes. The 103-hp 1200cc parallel-twin engine offers 8 more ponies than the standard model, as well as 83 pound-feet of torque available at just 4250 rpm. Performance-minded riders have been well-pleased with this decked-out retro racer.

“The Thruxton RS looks unequivocally cool, sure, but for us heavy-handed performance-minded (cafe) racers, the RS delivers the highest performing Bonneville in the brand’s 118-year history.” –Motorcycle.com

Today we’re thrilled to showcase one of the most stunning Thruxtons we’ve ever seen. It’s the work of France’s 2020 Motorcycles, founded by designer and project manager Thomas Caniedo:

“I am surrounded by my three geniuses, as I call them 😂: Jake Apiata, my metalworker; José Figueres, my design assistant; and Lionel, an electronics wizard who has enabled me to offer customisable dashboards for every motorcycle we build, whether old or new.”

We’ve featured several builds from this team in the past. You may especially remember the work of master metal-shaper Jake Apiata of Apiata Metal Shaping, a Kiwi expatriate who began his career building Le Mans replica cars (C- and D-type Jags, as well as the Ford GT40!) in his native land of New Zealand, then worked for none other than Lazareth Auto Moto upon his move to France.

As you can clearly see from this bike and the workshop’s past creations, hand-formed bodywork is their signature. Thomas says this bike was built for a foreign client, and takes inspiration from the shop’s Thruxton RS #2, which we featured here on BikeBound — a bike that won Triumph’s Custom Classic Contest.

Winner, Winner: Aluminum-Clad Triumph Thruxton 1200 RS

Below, Thomas gives us the full story on this aluminum-clad Trumpet, whose fairing alone required 350 hours of work! 

In the Builder’s Words… 

My workshop, 2020 Motorcycles, was created in 2020 when I met Jake, who would become my craftsman, and with whom we would carry out two custom projects in 2020 and 2021 as part of a national competition organised by Triumph France.

As a fan of “handmade” items, I love unique objects and have always wanted to offer motorcycles designed by human hands. Aware that there are many beautiful café racers that are simply ‘accessorised’, I wanted to stand out by creating a craftsman’s workshop where Jake, my loyal friend, would be the master craftsman, enabling us to produce unique creations with our personal touch: aluminium forming, leatherwork and custom-made dashboards. To achieve this, I surrounded myself with the best people.

Our signature, as you will have noticed when browsing our website www.2020-motorcycles.com, is the cladding and creation of aluminium parts. We choose very pure aluminium, which we can treat on the surface, polish or brush, or even varnish to protect it even further and make it easier to maintain.

We are obviously very focused on Café Racer and Brat Style. For my part, I see each project through to its final completion. I am responsible for finding the motorbike, drawing up the concepts, putting my ideas down on paper, searching for the few parts that are sometimes essential to realise my sketches, and then submitting them to Jake Apiata. Then the magic happens and the craftsman’s hands shape this work of art.

We also produce complete kits for some of our customers, particularly for the Triumph range (Speed 400, 900, and 1200), so customers can simply contact us to order a handmade aluminium kit, which we have simplified so that any good motorcycle professional can assemble it in their garage. 😉

The headquarters of 2020 Motorcycles is in Evian les Bains, but our workshop is based south of Annecy in the 74 department of France. I am surrounded by my three geniuses, as I call them 😂: Jake Apiata, my metalworker; José Figueres, my design assistant; and Lionel, an electronics wizard who has enabled me to offer customisable dashboards for every motorcycle we build, whether old or new.

Now let me tell you about my latest creation: The Triumph Thruxton 1200 RS #10 by 2020 Motorcycles.

This motorcycle is a project commissioned by a foreign customer. Starting from a blank sheet of paper, I made more than 20 sketches to find the aesthetic harmony that suited him perfectly. We took a little inspiration from our second creation, the Thruxton RS #2, which we built four years ago and which he really liked.

The base is a Triumph Thruxton 1200 RS, the latest model from 2024. Despite the semi-integral aluminium fairing, we wanted to leave the beautiful engine visible!

We went for an even more café racer look with slightly more pronounced half handlebars and a plunging front fairing covering the bike down to the engine guard.

Our exhaust manifolds are also handmade from stainless steel in our workshops, with some of the pipes deliberately left exposed, an aesthetic signature of our workshop 😉

The shape of the original fuel tank has been preserved but is now encased in a thin polished aluminium shell. The rear shell incorporating the LED lights is a completely bespoke creation, as is the leather upholstery, which was made to measure for this bike.

The construction of such a front fairing alone requires more than 350 hours of work, as we strive to achieve perfect symmetry and integrate elements specific to our base motorcycle (optics, half-handlebars, selector and pedal, stand, radiator, etc.).

We first create a template out of welded steel wire, onto which we shape our aluminium sheets for the first time. These adjustments require days of work, as we shape the metal by hand using a hammer, gas torch and angle grinder. It is true craftsmanship.

A project like this takes around 5 to 6 months of work, and we ensure that the motorbike is in perfect working order and approved for use on our roads without restriction, which is the case here.

More Photos

Follow the Builder

Web: www.2020-motorcycles.com
Instagram: @2020motorcycles
Facebook: 2020 Motorcycles

More Apiata Metal Shaping…

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