Triumph Originals 2026: Two American Shops Are Competing to Build the Ultimate Time Capsule Scrambler

Triumph has been running its global custom competition long enough to know what works: give builders a tight brief, stand back, and let the work speak. For Triumph Originals 2026, the brief is Time Capsule — pick a defining era from the Scrambler’s history and reinterpret it through modern craft. Seven countries are in. Two American shops have already finished their builds. And the vote to decide which one goes to the global stage is open right now.

Moto Julia out of New Orleans and Triumph Columbia River from Portland, Oregon went head-to-head. One of them will represent the United States against entries from the UK, Spain, France, Italy, China, and Canada. The winner gets crowned Triumph Original 2026 in Fall. The loser goes home.

Triumph Originals 2026 and the Time Capsule Brief

The Time Capsule brief is a smart constraint. The Scrambler’s history runs from the stripped-down desert sleds of the 1960s — the machines that Steve McQueen threw through desert terrain and Bud Ekins raced at the Baja 1000 — through successive decades of reinterpretation up to the present. Picking one moment and committing to it is a harder job than it sounds.

Paul Stroud, Triumph’s Chief Commercial Officer, puts the model’s DNA plainly: the Scrambler was “built through personal tweaks and ingenuity.” That origin — not a factory design brief but riders modifying road bikes for terrain and competition — is what gives Triumph Originals its premise. The platform invites this kind of work. The competition just formalizes it.

Triumph brought the Scrambler back in 2006, and it now runs five variants from the 400 X to the 1200 XE, all covered in SBI’s ongoing Triumph coverage. Every one carries the original’s signature: high pipes, stripped stance, go-anywhere intent. The Triumph Originals 2026 brief asks: if you had to choose one chapter of that story to immortalize in metal and rubber, which one would it be?

The Two American Builds: Moto Julia vs. Triumph Columbia River

Moto Julia operates out of 901 Julia Street in New Orleans, carrying BMW, Ducati, Triumph, Vespa, and Royal Enfield. It’s a shop with genuine range and a customer base that knows motorcycles. Triumph Columbia River sits at 17979 NE Glisan Street in Portland, a dedicated Triumph dealership with over 400 Instagram posts and a community-focused operation. These aren’t newcomers given a kit and a deadline. Both shops know the machine they were building with.

The national vote determines which build advances. Once the US winner is selected, the bike goes up against six other national entries in front of an expert panel of design and cultural judges, plus a global public vote. Combined scores decide the champion. It’s a real competition with real stakes — and whichever American shop wins will have earned it on the merits of the build.

How to Vote and What Comes Next

The US vote is live at triumphmotorcycles.com. Global builds roll out through the summer on a staggered schedule, with behind-the-scenes interviews and build stories for all seven entries on the Triumph Originals 2026 hub.

The overall winner gets announced in Fall 2026. Between now and then, this is one of the more interesting custom competitions running anywhere — real builders, a meaningful brief, and a genuine international stage. Go vote.

About The Author

Allan Lane

Philadelphia born and bred, Allan Lane is the Publisher and Editor in Chief of digital magazines. He launched his first publication, SportBikes Inc Magazine in 2010, followed by dosage MAGAZINE in 2019. Recently, Allan launched his third online publication, Club For Man. As a journalist, Allan covers fashion, lifestyle, culture, art, and motorcycles.

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