WENLEY'S CUSTOM TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE - PROJECT - JUST BIKES

Wenley's custom Triumph Bonneville - PROJECT

Wenley inherited the custom bike gene from his father, Lindsay, who introduced chopper and café racer stylings to the tiny Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. With those genes, it's hardly surprising Wenley followed the same path. Starting as a 5-year-old on his dad's CB 750, Wenley then took the spanners to his own Yamaha SR 500 when barely a teenager.

A family relocation to Australia in the 1990s saw the work of both father and son continue, but Wenley was now establishing his own style and tapping into the automotive customising trends of the time. This saw him pick up a number of awards for his automotive engine modifications, turbo installations and custom fibreglass work, including a "Mr Innovation" trophy at Auto Salon in 2001. The focus on motorcycles followed soon after, and led to the establishment of Mean Machines in Mays Hill, NSW, a few years ago.

Custom builds, modifications and upgrades are the focus of Mean Machines, but each year Wenley likes to devote any spare time he has to a personal project; one that will challenge his skills and creativity, while also serving as an advertisement for the business.

The past year's personal project started off as a 2008 Triumph Bonneville (Trumpys are Wenley's specialty) with only 600kms on the clock. If the bike looks beefier than stock, that's because it is. Both front and rear ends have been given the "monster truck" treatment, with a 130 section tyre up front and a 200 at the rear. Compare that with the factory Bonneville's front and rear tyre package, which is only 100 and 130 front/rear.

Achieving the 'Bigfoot' stance required some radical surgery at both ends. Up front, the factory fork was replaced with a bigger unit from a GSX-R, which was reinforced with custom triple trees, including a bespoke CNC-machined top bridge. Mad Max also wears twin front brake discs with Tokico calipers. At the back, the swingarm has been extended three inches, raised, widened and strengthened to take the 200 section tyre, as well as the custom rear suspension, but more on that later.

Engine wise, Wenley kept the Bonneville's 865cc twin virtually stock, but did treat it to a carb re-jet and dynotune. To suit Mad Max's streetfighter/café racer/street tracker look, the factory airbox was replaced with a pair of pod filters.

On the engine's near side, an example of Wenley's innovation is the large Lexan 'window' in place of the clutch cover. This was fitted to a precisely CNC-machined ring to ensure a leak-free fit, with the end result providing a unique view of both the engine operation and the bike's oil level.

Hooked up to that is a custom exhaust system. Built from scratch, this fully chromed 2-1-2 set-up wraps around the engine's near side, then travels up under the custom seat, before ending high on the bike's off side in a pair of shotgun-style tips.

The bike's gear ratio has been altered in accordance with the fatter rear end to ensure optimal drive, while new Vortex sprockets have been fitted front and rear, complemented by a DID gold chain.

At the control centre, a Renthal Fat Bar has been fitted, with the GSX-R that donated its front end also providing the switchgear. A compact Koso speedo flanks the bar above, with custom-made idiot lights below. The brake master cylinder was altered to suit, while the compact headlight is a 5.5-inch Bates unit, fitted with a retro-style mesh grille.

While most of Mad Max is pretty wild, the bespoke rear suspension is really the most radical change from stock. Deleting the factory twin shocks for a monoshock meant more than just trimming the old shocks' mounting tabs; the whole frame had to be strengthened to handle the relocated stresses.
Choosing the 'right' unit to handle the rear suspension proved to be tricky and time consuming. "I tried many different shocks, and [eventually found] a Hayabusa shock with a custom chrome spring did the job nicely," Wenley explained. "No sag and a smooth ride."

Above that, the seat was bobbed three inches, trimmed in perforated leather, and kicked up at the rear to blend with the line of the tank that was also raised at the back.

The rear guard was replaced with a custom hugger, while the front guard was radically bobbed. Finishing touch for both these, along with the tank, was candy paint in a rich red hue, detailed with white GT stripes.

All up, Wenley estimates around 300 hours of time went into creating Mad Max. We reckon the results were worth the effort, and aren't the only ones to think so; when the bike was offered for sale late last year, it was snapped up quickly. That was a great result for Mean Machines, but the engineering and out-of-the-box thinking that went into Mad Max means that Wenley has raised the bar pretty damn high for his next in-house project!