There?s a whole category of touring bikes that are short on sex appeal but long on character. One such machine is the Triumph Trophy 1200, which is like a two-wheeled version of the Mercedes W123 ?Beirut Taxi?: it?s simple, reliable and well engineered, and can clock up an improbable mileage if looked after.
This heavily modified Trophy comes from TooHard Motor Co., a Spanish garage based just outside Madrid. For the past five years, shop owners Jose and Bea have been restoring and customizing older bikes, with the occasional foray into newer machinery?like this R nineT that we featured last year.

This Trophy 1200 is one of TooHard?s most radical transformations, and aligns more closely with Triumph?s current Bobber than the old sports tourer. It?s a 1998 model, which puts it in the middle of the long 1991-2004 production run. And at more than two decades old, this particular example was ready for a refresh.

The plasticky, jelly mold bodywork is all gone. Jose and Bea have adapted a modern Bonneville Bobber tank and solo seat to fit the frame, removing the rear subframe to allow the seat to ?float? behind the restored and repainted main frame.
The Trophy engine is silky smooth and with around 108 lazy horses on tap, allows the bike to cruise at 125 mph (200 kph) all day. So TooHard have simply freed up the breathing a little with K&N Filters and a stubby one-off exhaust system from the Spanish company GR.

The heavy lifting is in the suspension. The front end ...