We saw this nifty swingarm Triumph at the SoCal Chop Meet a couple years ago. Since then it's been around several times, but Bill's never been able to pin down its owner to do a proper ChopCult feature. With the formula for hardtail Triumphs well sorted by now, seeing a great-looking custom with the rear suspension intact seems quite rare.
At BF3 Bill finally met face to face with Jon, the owner of this tidy Trumpet. Here's what Jon could tell us about his bike:
Owner: Jon Rispante
Home: Las Vegas, NV
Bike name: Grasshopper
Engine year, make and model; modifications: 1962 Triumph T-120 Bonneville, stock rebuild
Frame: Stock Duplex
Fork: Stock 1965 Triumph, chromed with MCM covers
Chassis mods: Rear frame loop pinched and kicked up
Tire/wheel size and style: Front: 19" rim with small 1965 T-100 brake and 3.25-19 Avon Speedmaster; Rear: stock 18" with 4.00-18" Goodyear Grasshopper
Favorite thing about this bike: Everything
Next modification will be: No mods, just needed repairs from hard use
Other mods, accessories, cool parts, etc: Lots of chrome, MCM TT pipes, Flanders high bars, Bates TT seat, spiked desert sled pegs, modified Sparto taillight to fit chromed/ribbed rear fender, Wassell peanut tank
Interesting back story: I had fun resurrecting this one. It was originally customized around 1965, then parked in the '70s. It's been in continuous use for about the last ten years with no real issues. Grasshopper has been quite good to me. We have seen many miles together, with many more to come. Out of all the different bikes I've owned over the years, this one is by far my favorite
Thanks: My friend David Zivot for telling me about the bike, Ed Glinski for selling it to me, my father Jim for helping me get it going, and my friend Chris Clark of www.chrisclarkcustoms.com for the recent Grasshopper paint job on the tank
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