Hayden Roberts once quipped that when he moved from England to California in the early 2000s, it was ?about 40 years too late.? His work testifies to that: as Hello Engine, he builds neat vintage Triumphs that look like they were transplanted straight from the 60s. And like many of the desert sleds from that golden age, his Triumphs are never stock under the hood.
His latest project is this 1960-something Triumph TR6. And we use that designation loosely, because, as usual, Hayden pieced it together from a plethora of rescued, salvaged and restored parts.

The client for this project was Ben Giese?the creative director and editor-in-chief of the motorcycle magazine Meta. Ben is used to having a hand on the wheel when it comes to creative projects, but here, he took a small step back to let Hayden work his magic. ?I’ve always been in love with the shape and design of vintage Triumphs,? Ben tells us. ?I love how clean and simple they are. I’ve always wanted one, and with my background in riding dirt I just had to make it a desert sled.?

?I sent Hayden a few photos of old desert sleds that Steve McQueen used to race for inspiration on the build?but those old race bikes were pretty ragged and I wanted something a bit more clean and sophisticated. I gave him some simple directions like the tank color, frame color, exhaust style and an overall ‘make it minimal,’ and let him run with the rest.?
?Ben was familiar with the bikes I put together and just le...