Black and gold seems to be a theme lately. Here, it’s been applied to the Triumph Speed Twin 1200 with exceptional judgment by Unikat Motorworks. But the Polish outfit has done a lot more than just wrap the Speed Twin in pretty paint?this one’s a brawler, through and through.
In stock form, the Speed Twin 1200 is delightfully brutish?a torquey parallel-twin roadster with handling to match. But it looks so good off the showroom floor, that there’s little room for customization. The best approach is to lean into the qualities that make it so good in the first place, and then amplify the whole package.

That’s exactly what Unikat did with this 2019-model Triumph Speed Twin 1200. The bike’s owner is a true petrolhead?a four- and two-wheeled enthusiast who runs a transmission refurbishing company. The brief called for an agile city bike with sharp looks and oodles of attitude; an ?elegant, shiny, and aggressive bastard.? It quickly became apparent that Unikat’s client wanted more than just a show pony, so the shop added some suspension upgrades to the already well-specced Speed Twin. Bitubo parts did the trick; new shocks for the back, and new internals for the front to add a full range of adjustability.

Next, Unikat installed a luscious set of 17? laced wheels from Kineo, specced with gold rims and hubs, and black spokes. Measuring 3.5 inches wide at the front and 5.5 inches wide at the back, they’re shod with Heidenau K73 supermot...