This David Mann Replica Triumph Is Being Raffled For Charity

Motorcycle artist David Mann is best known for his paintings of choppers and Harley-Davidsons. He painted precisely two Triumphs ever across hundreds of paintings. Vintage British motorcycle builder Weems Motor Co. has brought one of these bikes to life, and now he's raffling it off for charity.

It all started when after 16 years of service in the Army, Weem was diagnosed with a brain tumor, a ticking time bomb inside his head. After a medical discharge, he decided he wanted to build custom British motorcycles, so that's what he did. He was invited to build a bike for the Triumph class of Born Free, one of the premier motorcycle shows in California. That's when he got the idea to replicate the Triumph that David Mann painted for Iron Horse magazine.

The result is a bike that looks like it leaped out of the painting into the real world. With only the single image to go on, Weem took a 1952 Triumph Speed Twin and turned it into his vision of the bike. The paint is immaculate, and the extensive amounts of chrome gleam like new. You can take a closer look at it in one of Shadetree Surgeon's earlier videos.

Weem's plan was to raid his savings account, build the bike, show it, then sell it to recoup the cost. He had a change of heart after working with Forgotten Angels, a Florida charity that helps kids who have aged out of foster care but still aren't quite ready to enter the real world on their own. He regularly brings the kids around the shop to help out and shares his love of custom Triumphs with them. As a result, he decided to raffle the David Mann replica, and that all proceeds would be donated to Forgotten Angels to help open a second home for girls in memory of a graduate who was recently murdered.

Many bikers like to think of ourselves as tough guys, but like a Boston creme donut (my favorite), most of us have a soft center. This video may hit you right there.

The raffle is already live on the Weems Motor Co. website. Tickets are $25 each, or five for $100. It will run for six months, so if you're short on spare cash right now, you can enter later. Think of it, not as a raffle, but a donation to a good cause. There's also a chance you could win a badass custom motorcycle out of it.

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