Custom Moto Guzzi's Rant Please show 'em if you got 'em

[Mayor_of_BBQ]

Here's one on eBay that fits your criteria
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=161798847062&globalID=EBAY-US

[AJ Huff]

My favorite picture of all time that has been posted of customized bikes. I LOVE these bikes.

[Travman]

I'm digging the gold rims with the polished tank.  Gold Brembo brakes calipers and rotors would add a little more gold.  I'm picturing beefy USD black forks on your bike.  Did you make the mono-shock rear swingarm?

I've always admired this café racer Guzzi.  I like the fact that it has a rear fender and a seat hump.  So many café'ed bikes don't have a rear fender which looks wrong to me.

[Travman]

A few more of my favorite Guzzi customs/café racers for possible inspiration...

[AJ Huff]

Best modded Guzzis I've ever seen are Greg Fields Super Eldo, George Dockery's Tonti build, and Mark Etheridge's modern Eldorado.

-AJ

[BRIO]

[Testarossa]

It would be impossible to keep a running 850T stock, if only because of the chrome barrels. I don't consider mine a custom, but the upgrades are numerous, and "purity" has been sacrificed to practicality at every service. Aside from the Gilardoni kit, I've updated the entire electric system, clutch spline, front brake system (all of it), dampers, bars, saddle, fairing etc etc. Doesn't look radical but it's a better bike than it started out.

[SeanF]

I think there's a lot of resistance to heavily modifying a Guzzi "to make it my own" because many believe that the Guzzi is already an expression of an artist. After all, they are hand-built in an ancient, storied lake-side factory, with roaming violinists, spontaneous passionate hand-waving debates, and 4-hour lunch "hours".

And all (or at least most  ) of that is true. IMO, even the plain-yet-handsome T & T-3 have their own subdued presence and flair.

There is also the fact that familiarity breeds contempt, and over the past decade(s) we've been subject to "customs", "bobbers", "choppers" ad nauseum so that they've become a caricature of their original intent. Cruise ebay or especially Craigslist for 5 seconds and you'll be exposed to a sad assortment of motorcycles that have been modified (or even produced from the factory!) so that they barely lean and can't be ridden by a sober person for more than a few miles. So a knee-jerk negative reaction to customization is somewhat understandable.

In the end, though, these motorcycles, love 'em as we do, came from dust, and will eventually return to dust. Just like us. They shape us and we shape them, a little or a lot, then both get recycled back into the universe to take other forms. So if you see a particularly horrendous custom motorcycle, just sigh and remember "this too shall pass." If it's a properly customized Guzzi, "this too shall pass...me."

PS: I like what I'm seeing in this thread so far!

[oldbike54]

 Well damn SeanF , that was a GREAT bit of philosophy , and well written 

  Dusty

[charlie b]

I've never left a bike stock.



New trunk.

[NCAmother]

Mom , in the first pic it looks like you need a bro hug , so here you go


                                                    A BIG BRO HUG FROM OKLAHOMA

 Don't let the nattering nabobs of negativity bother you 

  Dusty

LOL, I could always use a hug.  I was in the middle of trying to figure out the shifting and brake bracket (perplexed as usual) when my 8yr old niece took the picture and asked to get some candy (I give my nephews/niece candy points for every good thing they do) but I couldn't take her that moment, my hands were full of guzzi parts and I didn't want to forget where they go!

[NCAmother]

I also want to say thanks to all the posters with pics of their bikes, it's really cool seeing Guzzi's as dressers/cafe/custom sport adventure, etc.  I'll probably end up stealing a bunch of ideas from this thread.  PS, that Trike is awesome.  One of my favorite moments was a custom bike show at MoonEyes L.A.  I got to meet Ed Roth (he was wearing his Rat Fink top hat and let me put it on!!!) when 12-15 custom trikes showed up in formation!  It was awesome!

[NCAmother]

Here's one on eBay that fits your criteria
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=161798847062&globalID=EBAY-US

Cool!  Not a fan of the front fender, but that's his choice.  It's interesting to see a "cafe" build that makes it look bulkier than the original bike (Cal Vintage?)

[NCAmother]

I bought my 2003 Aluminium with a purpose in mind.  To make it my own.  I did not hesitated to cut a tab of here or weld something on there.  It is my bike and could care less about its condition when it is sold.  Which I  have no intention of selling.  It will be the last of the 5 bike in my man cave to go.  It is my hobby and my toy.  It is not the perfect bike and it is not a do everything perfect bike.  It is not completely to the point that I want either.

I do have three old bikes that are mostly all original, a 1979 Kawasaki KZ1000 LTD and a 1993 Kawasaki ZR1100 and a Yamaha FJ1200.

I love this bike, the color, tank, and slick seat makes it look pretty aggressive.  I'm planning on running tracker bars like you have on your bike, they totally "work" in my eyes

[NCAmother]

"Customize" an old Guzzi to make one fit your needs? NEVER!!

nice, what is that fairing off of.  Really cool adventure bike

[NCAmother]

This T-3s life with me started as a stripped (of police stuff) police model. Engine is no longer stock, nor the suspension and obviously not the paint job. But I like it.



GliderJohn

I LOVE that seat.  You have a good eye for color combinations, normally if someone said black, red, and white, I'd think it would be tacky.   But you somehow made it classy, especially with the red highlights on the little parts

[NCAmother]

00 Jackal, Dawson City Yukon courtesy of Rodekyll

BTW-The Goldwing across the street had a knobby front tire and a car tire on the rear.

I feel like I've seen that Jackal before.  Was it ever published?  Love the olive drab color, and the big bags

[NCAmother]

Changing handlebars isn't exactly what I call customizing, but here is a shot of my first Guzzi, on the road as of yesterday

sometimes it's the little things.  how many people have had to do a double take on the bike, I bet non cyclists think it's a harley (which is also very cool)

[NCAmother]

My favorite picture of all time that has been posted of customized bikes. I LOVE these bikes.

It would be cool to meet this pack!

[NCAmother]

I'm digging the gold rims with the polished tank.  Gold Brembo brakes calipers and rotors would add a little more gold.  I'm picturing beefy USD black forks on your bike.  Did you make the mono-shock rear swingarm?

I've always admired this caf� racer Guzzi.  I like the fact that it has a rear fender and a seat hump.  So many caf�'ed bikes don't have a rear fender which looks wrong to me.

That cafe is BADASS!!!!!  Unfortunately I only have the gold rear rim, I would need to deface and send the front rim for anodizing, but I'd like to get it going first.  I don't even think I'll paint it until its broken in.  And you must be a mind reader, I converted the single 850T disk to dual disks with Gold Brembo calipers and Ed Millich caliper adapters.  I've always loved the legend of Mike Hailwood, and remember seeing him on a black and gold racer, it was beautiful

[NCAmother]

A few more of my favorite Guzzi customs/caf� racers for possible inspiration...

I think I've seen two or three of the bikes on Pipeburn or bike.exif   That is the styling I'm going for.  Ive never seen that matte black guzzi before, that's my favorite.  Mean and simple

[NCAmother]

Beautiful, it feels like a guzzi/japanese combo.  Never seen a tank like that before, but I LIKE IT!

[kidsmoke]

I feel like I've seen that Jackal before.  Was it ever published?  Love the olive drab color, and the big bags

I love this bike, and check out this thread often for that reason.

Check page 3

http://wildguzzi.com/forum/index.php?topic=31457.60

[NCAmother]

It would be impossible to keep a running 850T stock, if only because of the chrome barrels. I don't consider mine a custom, but the upgrades are numerous, and "purity" has been sacrificed to practicality at every service. Aside from the Gilardoni kit, I've updated the entire electric system, clutch spline, front brake system (all of it), dampers, bars, saddle, fairing etc etc. Doesn't look radical but it's a better bike than it started out.

This is one of my favorite posts Testarossa.  What you've said is undeniable, and the most important thing about owning a bike, is riding it with confidence

[NCAmother]

I think there's a lot of resistance to heavily modifying a Guzzi "to make it my own" because many believe that the Guzzi is already an expression of an artist. After all, they are hand-built in an ancient, storied lake-side factory, with roaming violinists, spontaneous passionate hand-waving debates, and 4-hour lunch "hours".

And all (or at least most  ) of that is true. IMO, even the plain-yet-handsome T & T-3 have their own subdued presence and flair.

There is also the fact that familiarity breeds contempt, and over the past decade(s) we've been subject to "customs", "bobbers", "choppers" ad nauseum so that they've become a caricature of their original intent. Cruise ebay or especially Craigslist for 5 seconds and you'll be exposed to a sad assortment of motorcycles that have been modified (or even produced from the factory!) so that they barely lean and can't be ridden by a sober person for more than a few miles. So a knee-jerk negative reaction to customization is somewhat understandable.

In the end, though, these motorcycles, love 'em as we do, came from dust, and will eventually return to dust. Just like us. They shape us and we shape them, a little or a lot, then both get recycled back into the universe to take other forms. So if you see a particularly horrendous custom motorcycle, just sigh and remember "this too shall pass." If it's a properly customized Guzzi, "this too shall pass...me."

PS: I like what I'm seeing in this thread so far!

  I totally agree with OldBike, the last paragraph.  Zen and the art of motorcycling!

[NCAmother]

I bought this jacket in '91.  I went to my seat upholster and we went over prices, including vinyl/leather.  I offered up my jacket, too fat to fit in it, but I've never been knocked out, fallen or whatever and hope it will give my bike that 'special mojo' I'll post pics of the seat as soon as I get it back!   

[Toecutter]

I;ll chime in with my $0.02 (which is worth exactly what you paid me for it)...

I'm all for keeping pristine old bikes pristine... but when it comes down to it, whatever it takes to get them back on the road is good by me, a bike on the road is worth 10 in a showroom.

[AJ Huff]

http://www.pipeburn.com/home/2010/03/29/moto-guzzi-cafe-racer.html

[SteveAZ]

I'm glad to see this thread...

So a little about me (in the spirit of OP's post). Been through motocross and street bikes in the 80s,  old Porsches (914s and 912s) and VWs (Ghias) in the 90'sand early 2000s, and took a break with little kid raising until 2008 when I got divorced, got good solid cusstody of my kids and got back into motorcycles. I'm 45. I've got older brothers who lived through the 70's motocross era and my dad used to race a Formula Vee with another guy and he owned a Taylorcraft, the other guy had an old Cessna 172. I flew an airplane before I drove a car. Messing with this stuff is in my blood. Im no where near as naturally awesome as my dad or a bunch of guys on this board but i try. My old man just sold the '69 steel tanker Penton that EVERYONE in my family learned to ride on. He had all the unobtanium parts stored away and got a good price for the bike. My oldest bro had turned it into an unrecognizable MX bike with all plastic, no lights etc many years ago.

Through all this, in every single one of these groups of owners, there are the busybody guys who get their panties in a twist if you "destroy the purity of a classic" ....one you own,maintain, pay the insurance on, ride and they the stare at and blow hot air about btw. The P car guys are the worst of the lot. I know a brilliant Porsche 356 mechanic who quit and moved on in the 90s to drag racers becasue his P car client base became unbearable for him to deal with and this was in the era of 100k speedsters just coming to pass. He was making very good money.

I understand being the steward of a truly rare and classic machine and a certain responsibility comes with that. An 850 LM in good shape, hell yeah, save that sucker.  There are a few other moderns Guzzis I feel fall into this category but I won't list them here because it's just opinion and no more important than the next guy.

The reason I'm posting this is after 8 years on my LM III, doing my own maintenence, returning it to stock in places and improving others, I just blew the engine up. Lost a rear main seal on the freeway and by the time I figured out what happened, the lump was a doorstop from top end to bottom end. Turned out the oil pressure sender was dead. Anyway.....

I'm putting a massaged 1000cc rebuild into the bike (with help from a local Guzzi Guru) and I'm putting all the stock plastic and fused lump into storage, moving the guages into a low profile plate and reconfiguring everything, fairing, lights, fenders etc etc.Not cutting the frame but a new front end with modern forks in in the long term plan. I've gotten a fair amount of hassles from a few vocal folks (not here btw) about how I'm ruining a classic bike and one went so far as to say I shouldn't own such a machine if I'm not willing to keep it stock. To them I say.....Suck it.

It's true, a bone stock LM III might be moderately valuable in at some time and a time capsule machine is somthing I appreciate as much as the next guy but right now, you can get one well under 10k so if you want to be the vanguard of the marque, go buy one and knock yourself out buddy. 10k isn't chump change but still, we aren't talking classic Ferraris here.

The P car guys have even gotten fed up with the BS. There is a sizable "outlaw" movement for old 911s and 356s now. Those cars get wrenched on and driven hard as they were intended to be in the first place. More power to them. Let some other guy trailer his ride to the show and let some stick up the ass judge with a white glove on assess for "correct" badging and woven cover spark plug wires.

Sorry for the rant and no offense if you're a collector of stock machinery. That is a beautiful thing and someone has to be the one to keep a few pristine examples around and I sincerely thank you becasue that's a big commitment. I just get so tired of the opinions from the busybodies and sideliners who who take it upon themselves to explain my motorcycle to me.

I love this thread. Thanks for starting it, NCAmother

[Groover]

I love the idea of using your old leather jacket as a seat cover. That's really great touch. I just recently restored a G5 and my personal challenge was to bring back to factory as close as I could. I'm glad I did because it turned out to my liking and now that it's done, I'm glad I did. Would I do it again?... probably not. Trying to do a nuts and bolts restoration on an old bike as a first major restoration is only for the insane. Factory parts are really hard to come by, etc. etc. The pro's to doing that is that I really learned a lot of details and subtle nuances between years on the same model. Is that going to do me any good?... Probably not, just like the weird equations and other non-sense classes I took in school growing up. My next restoration will have some flex. My idea of a custom bike would be something that at least looks 70-ish percent like the original bike, as in, if someone looks at it can say, yep that's a such-and-such, but it's done up nicely. I personally glance over the customs that are difficult to identify, cause at that point a Guzzi café might as well be a Honda or Kawasaki cafe' (nothing wrong with this, just saying for the example).

Again, that's just how I see it. Customizing is great, and I love a tubbed out Pinto for example - as long as it still looks mostly like a pinto - Make sense?

That said, you shouldn't worry about what people say about other people's bikes. That's not cool when people do that. If anything, let that be fuel and motivation to make yours special and really kickin'

Good luck, and looking forward in seeing the progress of your project(s)