News – Triumph launches the Thruxton at the Ace Cafe – Used TRIUMPH

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Triumph launches the Thruxton at the Ace Cafe

News - Triumph launches the Thruxton at the Ace Cafe - Used TRIUMPH

To launch its new Thruxton, the archetype of the cafe racer, Triumph logically chose the Ace Cafe in London, the Mecca of British motorcycles in the 1960s, which reopened in 2001. Presentations.

Mythical place for motorcycles, the Ace Cafe in London has just been the scene of the press presentation of the new Triumph Thruxton, a Bonneville-based cafe racer that is particularly successful on the aesthetic level (read).

While the term "cafe racer" evokes for many a bygone era – when in the 1950s, young workers in London, too broke to afford a car, dragged themselves between two bistros on reduced-size bikes. more simply -, the concept is making a comeback today, skillfully maintained by a handful of enthusiasts under the watchful eye of the manufacturers’ marketing departments..

In this neo-classic niche, the Triumph Thruxton, soon to be tested in Moto-Net, seems to have every chance thanks to its very flattering look and its battery of accessories, unfortunately optional: non-approved racing silencer (not imported in France), fork crown in coordinated colors, flexible saddlebag kit, tank bag, "comfort" saddle, mono saddle, passenger handle kit, chrome cylinder head cover, chrome chain guard, chrome side covers, chrome clutch cover, crutch central, tank logos and knee pads.

Admittedly, the British is not as breathtaking as the Voxan Black Magic designed by Sacha Lakic (read). But offered at € 8,990 against 15,000 for the French, it at least has the merit of playing in the yard of "motorbikes which roll" without being confined to that of "salon motorcycles" !

L’Ace Cafe, house founded in 1938

In the aftermath of the First World War, in an attempt to solve – already – the traffic problems in the British capital, the first urban expressways flourished around London. Built in 1938 near the new North Circular, the Ace Cafe sees users of this new expressway tumble down and eat there 24 hours a day. But the Second War broke out and in 1940, during the bombing of the adjacent marshalling yard, the Ace Cafe was completely razed and had to move to temporary premises until 1949, when it was rebuilt..

The post-war years and the 1950s marked the golden age of the Ace Cafe, which became an essential meeting place for hanging out and having a drink while listening to rock. Surrounded by freeways at unregulated speed, the Ace very quickly becomes the ideal place for a "pit stop" during wild runs. Here we play in particular the famous "record races", a local specialty of the time, which consists of putting a coin in the jukebox, swarming like crazy to a given place and returning before the record is finished. !

One Saturday evening in May 1962, one of the managers of Club 59, a nearby religious school, arrived at the Ace Cafe on his Triumph Speed ​​Twin: Reverend Shergold alias Father Bill, who also took care of road safety at the London-North branch of the Triumph Owners’ Club, wishes to evangelize bikers while raising awareness of road safety. Against all expectations, it was a success and the press of the time extensively reported the presence in church of all these leather bikers. Simple coincidence or dilution of the biker spirit in Father Bill’s religious tricks? Still, in 1969, passion waned: the Ace Cafe closed its doors and made way for a tire warehouse….

Radio silence for 25 years until, on a beautiful Sunday, September 4, 1994, 12,000 motorcyclists led by a certain Mark Wilsmore came to pay homage to the memory of this now legendary place. The operation, which allows old and new generations of bikers to share their passion, is a hit. Wilsmore clings to his dream and, little by little, manages to rebuild the place. The Ace Cafe reopens its doors on Saturday September 8, 2001, and each year hosts one of the largest gatherings in Europe, a true Mecca for aluminum tanks and "street legal" studded leather….

Eric MICHEL

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