The distinctive sound of a Triumph Tiger Daytona could easily be heard through their home village, signalling Mike's arrival long before he appeared on their driveway.

“That sound was part of my childhood, and part of the village really,” said Stuart, who would go on to help restore the bike.

“My dad took me to prom - or what was then known as the school dance - on it, to everybody’s amusement.

"It was something I really coveted and hoped that some day I would inherit.”

Mike Thornton on his beloved Triumph Tiger Daytona (Image: Forever Bikes)

Tragically, that day came sooner than expected when Mike was struck down with a short illness and died from mesothelioma.

He contracted the disease after a lifetime working with asbestos. He was 73.

At the time, Stuart and his father were in the process of restoring the ‘67 Triumph, which has been in the family since 1975.

He said: “It’s bittersweet, because you know that if you’re going to inherit the bike, it’s because your dad’s gone.

“And he went ahead of time, basically as a result of an industrial accident.

"Once he got too ill, he signed it over to me at the end of 2016 and I said I’d finish it for him – for us.”

Stuart Thornton aged two (Image: Forever Bikes)

Stuart, who now lives in North Burlingham, near Acle, completed the rebuild in 2017 with the help of the Norfolk Motorcycle Museum in North Walsham and Oliver Barnes at Tri-Supply.

He now enjoys riding the Triumph around the country lanes of his adopted Norfolk home.

“I think it’s found its spiritual home in a way in the back roads of Norfolk,” he added. “There are no demanding hills, nice little corners and the speeds are not too high. You can just potter about.”

Speaking to Bikesure's blog Forever Bikes, Stuart vowed to make sure his father’s legacy lives on.

“It’s not leaving the family," he added. “My daughter’s inheriting it, whether she likes it or not - she’s five."

The Triumph Tiger Daytona (Image: Forever Bikes)

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