It’s home to super yachts and supercars, over-tanned and tattooed tourists, and some of the most eccentric expats you’ll ever come across, most seemingly with a wealth of cash. So, to stand out in the Spanish resort city of Marbella on the Costa del Sol, you’ll need to roll into town on a truly spectacular set of two wheels. It doesn’t take long to work out that there is a very obvious choice of builder to turn to for this effect, especially when your product preference is a Triumph. Enter Tamarit Motorcycles’ latest creation, build number 155: a Scrambler 1200XE with plenty of high-end bling and hit-’em-up style.
The team at Tamarit Motorcycles is no stranger to these parts; we’ve featured a host of their one-off creations, and their clients rave about them. In fact, by the time you see this article, the owner of 155 will already be ripping up the back roads of Marbella. Martin, a German expat, has already taken delivery, with the custom bike fully complied and road registered before it was delivered to his door in the resort city. That’s the kind of service that Tamarit offers. It’s not just that they can create any manner of mental machine; it’s the hassle-free, start-to-finish experience that you get too.
The team hashed out a host of ideas on how to create the perfect Marbella mauler, and the Scrambler was seen as the ideal base. But to achieve the premier look they were aiming for, there was a significant job that needed to be completed first. “One of the main tasks carried out on this motorcycle was the removal of the engine. A completely new engine was brought from the factory to be painted with the highest quality paint, changing from black to grey to enhance its aesthetics. Removing an engine from a motorcycle is a process that requires dozens of hours of work, all aimed at enhancing and perfecting the original aesthetics of the Triumph manufacturer.”
That is a significant commitment to achieving an aesthetic, but it was really only the start. Before being bolted back into the frame, the fresh engine was stripped of its covers and treated to a pair of Tamarit’s chrome side covers, a highly polished brass-plated valve cover, and a customised name badge. Even the engine’s throttle body covers were stripped and chromed, as was the new sprocket cover. To provide some protection, the Tamarit Patagonia skid plate was also dipped. But if you’ve ever dealt with cheap chrome, you’d know that all this effort would, if not done right, soon go to waste.
So rather than the typical strip and dip, the team gave this bike the sort of treatment usually applied to high-end jewellery. “In this project, a complex chroming process has been carried out. It is a chemical process that leaves the parts of our motorcycles shining like a mirror. Chroming, nickel-plating, or brass-plating a part takes hundreds of hours of manual and artisanal work. It’s a jewellery-grade manual process, not suitable for all uses.” The full custom high rise 2-into-1 exhaust, however, needed a slightly different treatment. “A plate was exclusively designed with the gold leaf technique, which adapts to the exhaust position to also serve as a shield against the heat emitted by the exhaust.”
Such a high-end chariot needs a premium saddle, and again, the Tamarit team put their thinking caps on to come up with something special. “A piece made especially for this motorcycle, featuring two completely separate parts: rider and passenger. In this case, together with the client, we designed this seat with a greater emphasis on aesthetics rather than comfort and functionality, due to the intended use of the motorcycle.” Having made the pans and styled the foam, a rich caramel leather was chosen for the colour, which is beautifully upholstered over the top.
To bring the bodywork up to the same level, the stock front fender and side covers were ditched, as they were deemed too drab. Diving into their extensive parts catalogue, the team picked out a high-mount Sahara fender for the front end and swapped out the factory fork covers for their own more radical design. These work brilliantly with the grilled-out headlight and the rear fork covers, all giving the bike a battle-ready appearance. The side covers are a mix of a one-off creation as per the client’s request, and the number board style for the exhaust side for a little extra protection. The tank was then stripped of its stock badges and paint, and it was time for a colour explosion.
The main hue is stone blue, which is contrasted with a mix of polished alloy on the tank, with Tamarit badging, and white on the side covers. Then it’s the big-ticket item: the turned gold leaf pinstriping, which is simply picture-perfect and the motorcycle’s pièce de résistance. More chroming has been carried out on the swingarm and the long-length shock absorbers, and the custom chain guard gets the treatment too. It is one hell of a statement on two wheels, you can easily imagine a Gladiator riding into the Colosseum on this chariot from the gods! And no doubt Martin is already making a big impact in the money town of Marbella on his Tamarit Triumph.
