Medusa Fabrication is a small 3 man workshop run by two
fabricators/blacksmiths (Chad & Theo) and a mechanic (Tyler). Out of
their workshop in Kansas they produce Cafe Racers and custom
motorcycles that feature unique, hand fabricated components and smartly
recycled and reclaimed parts. The Medusa Triumph Thruxton Cafe Racer is
Theo's own ride which has become a showcase of the workshops skills and a
testing platform for their ideas. Here's Theos story of how it all came
together...
"I purchased a brand new Triumph Thruxton in June of 2008, rode it for a
few hundred miles and that November stripped it down and cut it in
half. The subframe was made the old school way, no machines, just heat
it up, bend it over a jig and voila! Just like that (No, not really just
like that). Next up, the rear cowl, I formed some sheet metal until I
started to like how the shapes were coming together, just kinda winged
it; same goes for the monoshock. Using a Suzuki ’94 RF900 shock Chad and
I had some small trial and error runs getting it right but now it works
and handles ten fold. The gas tank which is off a Honda CB200 was just
kinda lying around the shop. I gave it to my wife for her bike but took
it back again because it just seemed to work better on the Triumph, like
the headlight which came off of another project bike in the garage.
The Thruxton just kept coming together in this wabi sabi (侘寂:
aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection)
kind of way, from the foot controls to the tacho, the fuel sight gauge,
and all the little details in between. And then there’s always the
dreaded wiring nightmare! I ended up hitting my point and called Tyler,
together we ended up ditching the old harness and making a new one, it's
so basic now, and it all fits nicely inside the rear cowl."
"It's kinda funny that it all worked out the way it did especially with a
deadline that got thrown in the mix toward the end of phase one of this
build. The super long days and some all nighters paid off. It still
wasn’t painted or anything but at least it was back on the road. Good
old wd-40 and scotchbright was the finish for almost a year. The stage
that its at right now being a “finished” bike is a whole other story."
"During this build we decided to really make a go at it and start our
own business. We moved out of my garage and over to Tylers. We started
getting some more bikes and people were getting interested in what we
were doing. When talk of a big event in Atlanta started we knew we had
to go with the Thruxton complete but the deadline was fast approaching.
We tore the bike down again and got to work. Doing all the finishing
touches and remaining details on a tight budget can become really
frustrating, especially when you have an image in your head of how it
was originally suppose to look, with the right friends and business
partners though, the Medusa Cafe Racer was complete."
- Custom rear subframe
- Swing arm conversion to monoshock using a ’94 RF900 shock
- Hand-formed rear cowl containing all electronics
- M.O.T.Y. battery
- Acetylene gauge brake light
- Copper seat pan with tooled leather
- CB200 tank with fuel sight gauge
- Custom tach made from coffee thermos lid
- Copper plated bobber headlight
- Driven clip-ons
- Custom RCA headphone jack key
- Modified levers
- Custom engraved brass rear sets
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