Author Topic: Sport 1100i - The Accidental Restomod  (Read 2406 times)

Offline RossB

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Sport 1100i - The Accidental Restomod
« on: March 05, 2022, 01:23:13 PM »
If you’ll bear with me for the first few posts, I have a story to tell that I hope you’ll find initially entertaining and, at some point, informative.

I’m a motorcycle guy. I eat, sleep, and breathe motorcycles…always have…I hope I always will. If we’re sitting somewhere, and I’m staring off pensively in quiet contemplation, it’s a solid bet that I’m thinking about motorcycles. I’m a product of the Evel Knievel generation and I’ve been fixated since I was 4 years old. I got my first minibike at 8 years old (still have it) and I’ve been riding as much as possible for the 40ish years since. For all of those years, I’ve been slowly trying to assemble the perfect collection of bikes to cover just about every possible riding scenario as well as for maximum viewing pleasure when I’m sitting in my garage during the long New England winters.

For 25 years, however, one bike has eluded me. I read about it in the AUG2006 issue of Sport Rider when I was 25ish years old and it was the ONE for me.  A 1997 Moto Guzzi Sport 1100i.  In my romanticized imagination, this exquisite piece of two-wheeled art was hand-built by venerable old world craftsmen with names like Giacomo or Ernesto – guys with a cigarette butt permanently affixed to their bottom lip while they spin wrenches in a black and white pre-war world…wholly incongruous with the neon Technicolor world of the 1990s outside their doors.  All of this transpiring in Mandello del Lario, Italy on the shores of the fabled Lake Como. It was a company with a storied past, a cult following, and all the exclusivity of an Italian marquee.  It was exotic and beautiful and seemingly fast and I desperately wanted to own this machine.








Offline RossB

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Re: Sport 1100i - The Accidental Restomod
« Reply #1 on: March 05, 2022, 01:25:57 PM »
In a strange twist of fate, I actually had the money to buy the bike, but nobody would sell me one. I drove to the Moto Guzzi dealership in my hometown - a little shop specializing in small European marquees and very little inventory - and told the owner that I had $15,000 in the bank and that I wanted to buy THAT bike. He laughed and assured me that, regardless of how much money I might have, I would NOT be getting one of those bikes. With all the derision he could muster, he informed me that only 200 were likely to make it to North America and, if he ever saw one, which he highly doubted, he wouldn’t be selling it to ME – a 25 year old squid with road racing fantasies. It would, instead, go to one of the loyal Guzzista who could truly appreciate this piece of mechanical art - presumably someone who wouldn’t thrash it. I’ve never forgotten that guy’s name and I’ve been waiting for my opportunity for retribution ever since. 🤣

Crestfallen, I drove to another dealer, 2 hours away, and was essentially told the same thing…more politely. There was no internet at the time, so my quest simply ended. I went to the local Honda dealer and bought a blindingly yellow CBR900RR instead; an exceptionally good sport bike, but utterly devoid of Italian charm and charisma. :sad:




Offline RossB

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Re: Sport 1100i - The Accidental Restomod
« Reply #2 on: March 05, 2022, 01:28:24 PM »
However, I never stopped wanting the Guzzi. In fact, I’ve been looking for one ever since. For the past 20 years, I’ve closely monitored eBay, Craigslist, and most recently, Facebook Marketplace, but the closest I’ve come to buying one was a yellow one in Oklahoma a few years back. Sadly it was gone before I could work out the logistics of driving half way across the country to pick it up. Oddly enough, in all the riding that I’ve done in the ensuing 25 years - cross country road trips, rallies, races, Sunday morning ride ins - I have NEVER seen a Sport 1100 in person. Not once.

So imagine my surprise in April when I received an alert from Facebook saying that there was a one-owner original, unmolested, Sport 1100i for sale in northern Vermont. Within minutes of the alert, I contacted the owner and told him that I would be there, 4 hours away, the next day with cash, a trailer, and zero haggling. He was shocked. Apparently he wasn’t emotionally prepared for the idea of selling the bike. He had posted it - maybe hoping that there would be no buyers and he could continue to enjoy looking at it for another 20 years as a static display in his garage. I feel like I had to convince him that I was a worthy caretaker (which was clearly a lie) before he agreed to sell it to me. In the end, he acquiesced, so I emptied my “motorcycle fund”, grabbed a buddy, and we hit the road!

When we arrived at the owner’s house, the Guzzi was parked for maximum viewing pleasure; undoubtedly because he had spent the morning agonizing over his decision to sell. It was just as described and had racked up only 500 miles per year since new – no doubt due to the torturous racing ergonomics, the concrete slab of a seat, and bone jarring suspension best suited for only the smoothest of roads. I couldn’t care less about such things! After 25 years, I finally had the machine that I had lusted after as a much younger man and was told that I’d never have. Sweet victory.




Offline RossB

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Re: Sport 1100i - The Accidental Restomod
« Reply #3 on: March 05, 2022, 01:30:12 PM »
We made the transaction before he could rethink his grave error and loaded it onto the trailer. I could see regret in the man’s eyes as we tied it down and secured it for the trip home. I knew that someday, hopefully decades from now, that I’d share that same feeling of regret as I watch Signora Rossa leave my garage. We are but caretakers…




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Re: Sport 1100i - The Accidental Restomod
« Reply #3 on: March 05, 2022, 01:30:12 PM »

Offline RossB

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Re: Sport 1100i - The Accidental Restomod
« Reply #4 on: March 05, 2022, 01:34:10 PM »
Once safely at home, I immediately put the old girl up on the table, tore her apart, and set to sorting out the maintenance needs. I pulled the entire 7 piece stainless exhaust system for polishing, changed engine, tranny, and rear differential oils, and ordered a custom fuel map PROM chip from a fellow enthusiast in California who had likely spent countless hours dyno testing and creating his own fuel delivery profile that was known, amongst internet enthusiasts, to be the best. He laughed when I emailed him because he had done this quite some time ago. I suspect that he had to do some digging to find me a chip for a 25 year old bike. I also special ordered a set of aftermarket pipes that are guaranteed to let this lady sing like Cecilia Bartoli!




Offline RossB

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Re: Sport 1100i - The Accidental Restomod
« Reply #5 on: March 05, 2022, 01:40:50 PM »
While I was waiting for parts to arrive, I attempted to title and register the bike, but encountered an issue with the title. The gentleman in Vermont, no doubt rattled by his impending loss, had incorrectly check a box regarding odometer disclosure and it didn’t align with the Bill of Sale. The woman at the RMV turned me away and it took nearly a month to get a notarized affidavit from the seller.

In the end, however, the bike was registered and insured.  I couldn’t bear to wait for the exhaust system to be delivered, so I put it all back together and hit the streets in search of an inspection sticker and the local indy bike shop.  Half a dozen guys hanging around the shop that morning, and none of them had ever seen one of these bikes.  Even the most hardcore Harley enthusiasts were enamored by the big v-twin sport bike.






Offline RossB

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Re: Sport 1100i - The Accidental Restomod
« Reply #6 on: March 05, 2022, 01:46:02 PM »
After all the bureaucracy had been sorted and the paperwork put in order, I was finally able to ride this machine that I’ve fantasized about for half of a lifetime. On that Friday afternoon, in early June, I set out for a hundred miles of twisty two-lane blacktop through the wilds of Western Massachusetts and southern Vermont.








Offline RossB

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Re: Sport 1100i - The Accidental Restomod
« Reply #7 on: March 05, 2022, 01:49:34 PM »
Now, you’re all Guzzi fans so I’m not telling you anything that you don’t already know…

but if you’ve never been on a v-twin that’s capable of revving to 8,000 RPMs, you haven’t lived. Crisp steering, loads of cornering clearance, and a sound right out of Norse mythology, this thing revs like a tractor, but it pulls from just above idle all the way to the moon. Twin pipes booming, I spent the afternoon channeling my inner Valentino Rossi (I know he never rode Guzzis, but he’s Italian and fast). It was even better than I had always imagined. This might have been the pinnacle of my motorcycling life.




Offline RossB

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Re: Sport 1100i - The Accidental Restomod
« Reply #8 on: March 05, 2022, 01:53:29 PM »
Saturday morning shined brightly and I was still riding high. I went out breakfast with the boys and regaled them with stories of high speed sweepers, WFO straights, and the SOUND.  I was so happy with myself that I thought I might go home and take a couple photos…you know…for posterity. I’d line up all my bikes and celebrate my tremendous fortune. A snapshot in time that I could look back on in 20 or 30 years as my glory days…

I realize that it’s a little gratuitous to line them all up like that, but my neighbors were all still sleeping and I figured nobody would see what I was up to and, at the time, I had no intention of sharing such a braggadocious photo. It was just for me.




Online Sye

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Re: Sport 1100i - The Accidental Restomod
« Reply #9 on: March 05, 2022, 02:00:54 PM »
What a fantastic end to half a lifetimes desire and so eloquently written. Top job, I'm genuinely pleased for you. 👍
« Last Edit: March 05, 2022, 02:01:25 PM by Sye »

Online Huzo

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Re: Sport 1100i - The Accidental Restomod
« Reply #10 on: March 05, 2022, 02:25:18 PM »
Yep, sensational story.
Now, do you want to come to Mandello on it with me ?
I’ll meet you in Calais on September 2 at noon and we’ll ride into Paris to dine with François....then off to Lake Como the following day.
A very nice epilogue to your wonderful tale. By the way, I mean it.

That thing of yours was the first Guzzi I ever rode, and I resolved to get one immediately. I settled on a Norge though and I get it out occasionally.

Offline RossB

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Re: Sport 1100i - The Accidental Restomod
« Reply #11 on: March 05, 2022, 02:33:33 PM »
What a fantastic end to half a lifetimes desire and so eloquently written. Top job, I'm genuinely pleased for you. 👍

Just wait…

Offline RossB

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Re: Sport 1100i - The Accidental Restomod
« Reply #12 on: March 05, 2022, 02:35:17 PM »
I tried numerous angles, but I couldn’t get the shot that I wanted.  I decided to rearrange the bikes…


Offline RossB

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Re: Sport 1100i - The Accidental Restomod
« Reply #13 on: March 05, 2022, 02:39:50 PM »
As I took the BMW down from the center stand, the rear tire landed in the expansion joint between the concrete slabs that it had been straddling. It hit the edge of one slab of concrete and it lurched away from me. I pulled with everything I had, but it just kept falling, in excruciating slow motion, towards the bike next to it. I held on from the side and rode it all the way to the ground, hoping with every fiber of my being that it wouldn’t touch the KTM next to it. However, it did, and while the second bike teetered for a millisecond and seemed like it might not fall, it hesitated for only an instant  before also capsizing with sounds of crunching, scraping, and snapping. The world slowed to nearly a stop as I watched each bike tease me with false hope as it swayed ever so slightly and then succumbed to hateful gravity. One by one, I watched 20 years of my motorcycling life fall away from me in a grotesque cacophony of discordant mechanical anguish, as if each marquee was battling one another to see whose parts were stronger. The dominoes finally stopped when they encountered the immovable force that is Milwaukee iron. Only the Harley stood firm against the onslaught and thumbed its nose at gravity.



« Last Edit: March 05, 2022, 02:40:28 PM by RossB »

Online Huzo

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Re: Sport 1100i - The Accidental Restomod
« Reply #14 on: March 05, 2022, 02:55:07 PM »
SON OF A FREAKING MONGOOSE....!

Online Huzo

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Re: Sport 1100i - The Accidental Restomod
« Reply #15 on: March 05, 2022, 03:00:03 PM »
“...a grotesque cachophany of discordant mechanical anguish....”
You and Pete Roper should write a book.

Online Sye

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Re: Sport 1100i - The Accidental Restomod
« Reply #16 on: March 05, 2022, 03:23:07 PM »
😲😲😲 Tragic, I'm crestfallen! How did you cope and what did you do? Is there another instalment?😲😲😲

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Re: Sport 1100i - The Accidental Restomod
« Reply #17 on: March 05, 2022, 03:29:26 PM »
The only good side of this, is that I get the chance to “upskirt” a Sport 1100... :drool:

Offline RossB

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Re: Sport 1100i - The Accidental Restomod
« Reply #18 on: March 05, 2022, 04:43:04 PM »
Still clinging to the BMW that was laying on it’s side, I was dumbstruck for a good 20 seconds.  I finally stood up and proclaimed in my best Alec Baldwin impersonation, “So, that happened.” (Obscure movie reference from State and Main in 2000 - Google it!)

I stood there for what seemed like an eternity. Gas was leaking from several bikes. There were broken bits everywhere. I was dumbfounded. I flashed back to the exact moment, just a few minutes before, when I was lining up the 3rd bike and had thought to myself “this is a really expensive row of dominoes”…and then, being the unrepentant idiot that I am, I had proceeded to add 3 more to the impending disaster. Nobody to blame for this, but me. I couldn’t even be mad. It was so terrible that all I could do was laugh - like a psychopath. :shocked:

Once the shock started to wear off, I opened the door into the house and yelled to my wife excitedly “Hey, you’ve got to come see something in the driveway!” I was still laughing so she was expecting to see something funny…

She came out and, initially, it didn’t register. Her brain couldn’t comprehend the murder scene in the driveway; bodies strewn all about and bleeding on the concrete.  She just stood there; gobsmacked, with her hand over her mouth; utterly astonished by the spectacle. Then my daughter, hearing the commotion, came out to investigate. She was also at a loss for words. Then they both started crying. :cry:

So now, in an even stranger turn of events, I had to console THEM!  Hugging them close and making assurances that I would not kill everyone on our street in some sort of murderous rage.  I just had to laugh at the absurdity of it all.

Handing my phone to my wife, I said “Here! Take my picture! Nobody is going to believe this!”

She countered “Are you serious, right now?”

“Hell yeah! I just lost $10,000 in 10 seconds. I, at least, want a picture of it!”








Offline RossB

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Re: Sport 1100i - The Accidental Restomod
« Reply #19 on: March 05, 2022, 04:56:12 PM »
After snapping a few pics of my disaster ( I wish I had taken more), I picked up all the bikes and surveyed the carnage. It only makes sense that the most exotic and rare of them took the most damage. My prized single owner, low mileage, perfectly unmolested, unicorn Sport 1100i was no longer “unmolested”.  I wondered if the original owner, Stefan, who had been such a careful and attentive caretaker for 25 years, felt a disturbance in the Force that morning.

Crestfallen and somewhat distraught, I rolled them all back into the garage, closed the overhead door, sighed heavily, and went off to clear my head by doing non-motorcycle things for a few hours before further evaluation of the damage.





Offline RossB

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Re: Sport 1100i - The Accidental Restomod
« Reply #20 on: March 05, 2022, 05:19:09 PM »
Later that evening, after making a shopping list of damaged parts, I began scouring the internet.  After hitting numerous dead ends, I arrived at a new and undesirable revelation.  It seems that the only thing harder than finding a clean ‘97 Sport 1100i, is finding NOS parts for the old girl. The only NOS tank that I could locate, after exhaustive Googling, was a black one in a shop in the Netherlands. I was in such a panic by that point that I was prepared to hand over $1500+shipping for it and then get it painted, but it was already sold. I guess it serves me right for chasing a 25 year old Italian motorcycle from a vendor that makes Ferrari look like Toyota in measures of sales volume and support.

Less than 24 hours later, after mining the internet for parts or even leads and becoming more and more despondent over my chances of finding anything that I needed, I came across a nearly complete ‘97 in the Detroit area. It was mostly disassembled, but it had a fairing, a gas tank, and the mirrors that I needed. Not wanting to miss an opportunity to get my hands on some actual parts, I contacted the seller, who was actually camping with his family, and bought the bike via PayPal on a Sunday morning.

At 2:00AM on the following Friday, I hit the road in Massachusetts for a 12 hour marathon to Detroit. It should’ve been a 9 hour haul, but Canada was still closed to Americans due to - and I had to go via Ohio.

I reached his door at 2PM and, while the bike wasn’t nearly as nice as I had hoped, I loaded it up and drove straight home again.








Offline RossB

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Re: Sport 1100i - The Accidental Restomod
« Reply #21 on: March 05, 2022, 05:22:06 PM »
Back at home.  Now I find myself with 2 dilapidated Sport 1100s…




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Re: Sport 1100i - The Accidental Restomod
« Reply #22 on: March 05, 2022, 05:40:58 PM »
You are an inspiration to many I’m sure..
Your stoicism in the face of disaster is admirable. I hope you stay around here for a long time.. :bow: :bow: :bow: :thumb:

Offline RossB

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Re: Sport 1100i - The Accidental Restomod
« Reply #23 on: March 05, 2022, 05:56:33 PM »
You are an inspiration to many I’m sure..
Your stoicism in the face of disaster is admirable. I hope you stay around here for a long time.. :bow: :bow: :bow: :thumb:

Very kind of you for saying.  Some things are just so shockingly terrible that all you can do is laugh. They are just toys after all…they’re not my wife or my children or my dog…and, as I hope we’ll see over the rest of this story, all things made by man can be repaired by man.  That being said, it WAS like something right out of a movie. It was CRAZY!

I like to think that a life of action comes with potential for great risk and great reward. This story seems like a tragedy, but I get to tell this story for next 40 years (God willing) and, if I amortize it accordingly, that's a relative bargain for a few thousand dollars. This is the same twisted logic that I employ to justify a garage full of tools and toys.  :bike-037:
« Last Edit: March 05, 2022, 06:34:08 PM by RossB »

Offline RossB

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Re: Sport 1100i - The Accidental Restomod
« Reply #24 on: March 05, 2022, 06:23:41 PM »
So, now that I’ve introduced the main character of the story and provided some background color, this seems like a good time to start working on the bike.

Up on the stand and ready to keep me occupied during the long New England winter.




Offline lucky phil

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Re: Sport 1100i - The Accidental Restomod
« Reply #25 on: March 05, 2022, 06:30:08 PM »
Very kind of you for saying.  Some things are just so shockingly terrible that all you can do is laugh. They are just toys after all…they’re not my wife or my children or my dog…and, as I hope we’ll see over the rest of this story, all things made by man can be repaired by man.  That being said, it WAS like something right out of a movie. It was CRAZY!

On a positive note, I have a great story that I can tell for the next 40 years!  :bike-037:

Oh dear, you flipped the bird to the god of "not showing off" and he slapped you down hard. We now all have a great story to tell for the next 40 years as well but without the repair bill. Looks like you're well equipped to deal with that and the mechanical side though. It's one of those I can't believe it happened to me scenarios, but did.
You gotta respect the God of NSO  :laugh:

Ciao 
« Last Edit: March 05, 2022, 06:32:07 PM by lucky phil »
If you're not living on the edge you're taking up to much room.

Offline RossB

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Re: Sport 1100i - The Accidental Restomod
« Reply #26 on: March 05, 2022, 06:37:48 PM »
Oh dear, you flipped the bird to the god of "not showing off" and he slapped you down hard. We now all have a great story to tell for the next 40 years as well but without the repair bill. Looks like you're well equipped to deal with that and the mechanical side though. It's one of those I can't believe it happened to me scenarios, but did.
You gotta respect the God of NSO  :laugh:

Ciao

The God of NSO certainly has a good sense of humor.  That being said, all of my very best stories involve one central ingredient.  Without exception, they all start with me thinking “wait until they see this!” :grin:

Offline RossB

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Re: Sport 1100i - The Accidental Restomod
« Reply #27 on: March 05, 2022, 06:57:39 PM »
Step 1:  Drain the gas and strip the body work.  The tail section comes off relatively easy, but the fuel tank has a pesky vent hose on the bottom side.  The front fairing is a little tricky as it really wants you to turn the front forks to full lock in one direction for clearance, but this becomes problematic if the front wheel is locked into the wheel clamp.  I muddled through.





« Last Edit: March 05, 2022, 06:59:01 PM by RossB »

Offline lucky phil

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Re: Sport 1100i - The Accidental Restomod
« Reply #28 on: March 05, 2022, 06:59:22 PM »
The God of NSO certainly has a good sense of humor.  That being said, all of my very best stories involve one central ingredient.  Without exception, they all start with me thinking “wait until they see this!” :grin:

Or, "just hold my beer" :laugh:

Ciao
If you're not living on the edge you're taking up to much room.

Offline RossB

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Re: Sport 1100i - The Accidental Restomod
« Reply #29 on: March 05, 2022, 07:32:13 PM »
Next step was to remove the battery, the wheels, and the exhaust system.




 

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