Atom Bomb 'Doctor Who' Triumph Thunderbird

The latest build to come out of Clay Rathburn’s workshop in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia is this lovely 1962 Triumph 6T Thunderbird. The original plan was to produce a running mockup for a customer in Connecticut, who would then tear down the bike and paint and reassemble. As the build progressed, the customer wisely decided to let Clay finish the job: “Maybe you should go ahead and paint the tins and make it an Atom Bomb bike.” The dark, understated paintwork sets off the polished motor beautifully, and a casual observer would probably wonder if this is a...