From Issue 319 Of Cycle Source Magazine. See The Entire Digital Issue HERE Or Subscribe HERE Today And Get A Real Magazine Delivered To Your Door!
The best motorcycles don’t always come from big-name shops. Many are born in garages, built with simple tools, stubborn determination, and the kind of hands-on learning that only comes from doing the work yourself. That’s the story behind Pearl, a 1965 Triumph Bonneville bobber built by Steve Hilpisch and his dad in Avon, Indiana.
Steve works a corporate day job as a project manager, but creating things has always been part of who he is. For more than twenty years he’s run a freelance design and custom art business, and if something involves designing or building, chances are he’s had a hand in it. Motorcycles simply became another outlet for that creativity.
Ironically, Steve didn’t start riding street bikes until his forties. As a kid he rode three-wheelers and dirt bikes, but street bikes were off limits when he was younger, and later in life money was tight. Once the opportunity finally came along, he jumped in headfirst. Today he owns six motorcycles.
His first two bikes arrived at about the same time: a 2007 Yamaha V-Star and a rough 1965 Triumph Tiger bobber that became his daily rider. That Tiger—later named Penny—would eventually become Pearl’s sister bike.
The inspiration for Pearl actually dates back to 2012 when Steve met Justin Reid of Longwood Customs. Reid had built a stripped-down ’66 Bonneville bobber that immediately stuck with him. It was light, simple, and unmistakably vintage—exactly the style Steve was drawn to.
That idea stayed in his head for nearly eleven years.
Finally, in late 2021, Steve found the right donor bike in Lexington, Kentucky and brought it home with a plan to tear it down to the frame and build it back his way.
Every bit of the work happened in the garage with his dad, Steven J. Hilpisch, a retired mechanical engineer. The two have been tackling projects together for as long as Steve can remember—starting with home repairs, then rebuilding Steve’s ’67 Chevelle when he was fifteen, moving on to antique wooden ski boats, and eventually motorcycles.
“Doing projects together is just our thing,” Steve says.
Steve usually brings the ideas and vision while his dad helps sort out the mechanical side of making those ideas work. Neither had ever built a motorcycle before Pearl, so there was plenty to learn—especially when it came to old British engines.
From the start, the goal was simple: build a bike that looked like it could have rolled out of a Triumph factory in the 1960s. Clean lines, simple details, and nothing overdone.
The build took about a year working nights and weekends, with a short break to finish another Triumph named Ruby so Steve would still have a vintage daily rider after his Tiger was totaled in an accident.
When Pearl finally came to life, the moment every builder waits for arrived. But the memory that stands out most wasn’t hearing the engine fire.
It was watching his dad ride it.
“Hearing them start always gives you that grin,” Steve says. “But watching my dad take it out for the first ride and enjoy all the work we put into it—that’s something I’ll never forget.”
Pearl isn’t a garage queen either. Steve rotates through his bikes so they all get ridden, and Pearl and Penny regularly show up at cruise-ins and car shows.
“These bikes are built, not bought,” Steve says. “Every detail is customized. They’re Hilpisch Built—just two guys in a garage spending time together.”
And in the end, that’s what makes Pearl truly special.
Pearl Tech Sheet
Owner: Steve Hilpisch
City/State: Avon, IN
Builder: Steve Hilpisch & His Dad
Year: 1965
Model: Triumph Bonneville
Value: Priceless
Time: Year’s Worth Of Free Time
Engine
Year: 1965
Model: Triumph 650
Builder: Steve Hilpisch & His Dad
Ignition: Pazon Electronic
Displacement: 750 (Big Bore Kit)
Pistons: Stock For Big Bore
Heads: Stock
Carb: Amal Dual Carb
Cam: Stock
Air Cleaner: Not supplied
Exhaust: Dual Drag Pipes
Primary: Stock
Transmission
Year: 1965
Make: Triumph
Shifting: 4 Speed Rt Side Shift
Frame
Year: 1965
Model: Triumph Bonneville
Rake: Stock
Stretch: Stock
Forks
Builder: Herb Roberts
Type: 1968 Bonneville
Triple Trees: Stock
Extension: Stock
Wheels
Front Wheel: Borrani Rim
Front Size: 19”
Front Tire: Avon MKII
Front Brake: 68 Twin Leading Shoe
Rear Wheel: Borrani Rim
Rear Size: 16”
Rear Tire: Avon MKII
Rear Brake: Stock Drum
Paint
Painter: Mike Jones / Steve Hilspich
Color: Pearl White
Type: HOK
Graphics: Lil Bill
Accessories
Bars: Drag Bars
Risers: Random Internet Find
Hand Controls: Stock
Foot Controls: Alloy Forge
Gas Tank(s): 68 Bonneville Slimline
Oil Tank: Steve Hilspich
Front Fender: Not supplied
Rear Fender: Custom
Seat: Company Out of Germany
Headlight: 7” Retro Style
Taillight: LED Hidden In Rear Fender
Speedo: MotoGadget Motoscope Mini