Bryan’s Blue Bird

With custom bike building trends changing over the years, some of the current trends tend to leave this writer scratching his head and wondering what next? You’re hard pressed to see a rear fat tired chopper roaming the streets, and that was the fad not too long ago. Now trolling the streets are these baggers with ridiculous diameter front wheels that resemble “The Big Wheel,” a plastic three wheeled trike, which some of us enjoyed in the ‘70s during our preteen years. I am not sure which way the “Big” bike builders will go in the future, but I do know some of the smaller ones are doing just fine with a “Less is More “ type of approach to bike building.

Bryan Thompson is one of those builders whose bikes may be more of a mild custom. But out at the local bike hangout or a bike show, the crowd will not be hovering over the neon painted “Big Wheel Bagger,” it will be over one of Bryan’s Triumphs. The number of trophies Bryan’s builds have earned tells something as well, but we will touch on that in a few.

The bike featured here is a 1952 Triumph Thunderbird that was pursued by Bryan for over four years before the owner finally gave in.

Read the rest of this article in Issue #41 Mura Brothers’ Willys