Daytuna Triumph Chopper Motorcycle
With all this attention to detail and vibrant colour, it's no wonder this machine won Best of Show at Daytona.
HELLO — We are not in Australia, we are in the United States. My husband and I own this beautiful piece of artwork. It is a 1963, fish-themed, custom Triumph chopper motorcycle. It won Best of Show in Daytona for Bike Week and has been exhibited in museums in several countries including the Guggenheim.
This bike is so cool we really want to share it with the world. It is just such a gorgeous piece of artwork. We really feel it should be exhibited for everyone from all over the world and from all walks of life to see.
I am reaching out to you as we feel this particular chopper would be a perfect fit for a possible feature in Ozbike Magazine.
Sincerely, Ted Fiorino & Judy Briggs
THE STORY
THIS extraordinary 1963 Triumph custom chopper was transformed by artist and motorcycle customiser Robert ‘Leatherman’ Katrinic at his Flint, Michigan, workshop. In typical tongue-in-cheek fashion, its fish-themed bodywork and detail inspired the name Daytuna. Katrinic is a multitalented artist who could turn any material into a work of art. His favourite material is leather which he uses to shape low-relief sculptures, 3D life-size works, or cover whole motorcycles. He also works with fibreglass and paint and seems to have had a love for Triumph motorcycles in particular. His work has been featured in exhibits and magazines worldwide, including at the Guggenheim Museum Art of the Motorcycle exhibit and regularly exhibits at the Sloan Museum in Flint, Michigan.
This heavily customised 1963 Triumph motorcycle has been upgraded with a twin-carburetor cylinder head. It has been modified with a custom rigid frame, but uses a Triumph telescopic fork and a single, front, Lockheed disc-brake from their post-1973 models. A standard Triumph rear drum brake is used, and that’s where any similarity to a standard Triumph ends.
The front fender is designed to resemble a mudskipper fish, and the front brake calipers are adorned with metal scallop shells. The steering neck of the frame is braced by an angel fish, and the rear frame gussets are also angel fish. The fuel tank is an open-mouthed puffer fish, the seat is covered with reptile skin, and the rear fender is another puffer, its mouth holding the tail-light. The oil tank resembles an aquarium, with multiple small fish swimming across it. All of this extraordinary bodywork is painted in polychromatic metal-flake paint in incredible detail in many coats. The exhausts are straight-through pipes with fishtail tips, of course. The points cover is decorated with an octopus. With all this attention to detail and vibrant colour, it’s no wonder this machine won Best of Show at Daytona.
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