VOL. 56 ISSUE 3 JANUARY 22, 2019 P97
welder in the other, seemingly
making it up as they go along.
How cool is that?!
"I thought, there's nobody in
the UK doing this, despite so
many being sold here. I started
chopping my C90 myself, doing
nothing very radical because
I didn't have any tools—just
a socket set, a welder and a
grinder, that was it. I put some
fatter tires on it, sourced a larger
engine, a handlebar conversion,
a bigger exhaust and suchlike.
I got it back on the road and
took it down to my mate's, and
he had a brand new KTM Duke
125—a big wheelie machine, and
a good firm bike. He said, 'Oh,
give us a go on that Honda,' and
when he came back, he went,
'This KTM's going on eBay.' He
sold it the day after, and bought
my Cub off me. Then he comes
round a week later and says
he's just bought another one,
and then other mates all wanted
one—it spread like wildfire."
"So, I jacked in my job and set
up Camp Hill Chop Shop, and
that was it. People from all over
Britain got hold of me saying,
can you build me a bike? Since
then I've been going non-stop.
I started doing Custom shows,
and showing our bikes alongside
all the Harleys, and everywhere
we go, we get mobbed. Be-
cause they're getting so popular,
all the UK Custom shows do a
special Cub category because
there's that many of us. I've got
five builds on the go, and there's
a good queue of future ones. I
get somebody asking me every
day to do a build for them, and
I have to say look, I can build
you one, but you've got to wait
your turn. Get in line! If someone
brings me a complete donor
bike, the prices for doing a build
start at $1900, but twice that is
what some people are spending
on them now."
"The thing is this is so ac-
cessible to everybody," says
Lee. "I ride motorcycles all day
every day, but I'm not the most
mechanically minded person in
terms of putting them together,
but I found it really good to build
the bikes myself, and have the
pride of knowing I did that."
Now for the big question: has
Lee Vigor taken his Custom Cub
into the Triumph factory, yet?
"Not yet, but I must do soon, be-
cause my boss wants to see it,
and he'll probably want to have
a ride on it, too. He better watch
out, though—these things are so
infectious, he'll probably end up
wanting to build one himself!"
Don't be surprised if the Cub-
stom craze hits America. Don't
say we didn't warn you! CN
