Vol. 1 No. 1
NOVEMBER 29, 2020
FOR SALE
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This is a very special bike, it has had only 2 owners, both certified in the MAGNI registry, carrying only 26,000 KM. The significance of MAGNI, his work, and the continued work of Giovanni MAGNI are the essence of Italian excellence and craftsmanship. Read more>
Rare, expensive, European, quirky, handsome and high performance!
You want a “Flash bike” well, this is a Flash bike! Legendary designer & entrepreneur Alejandro de Tomaso who at one time owned Maserati, Carrozzeria Ghia, Carrozzeria Vignale, Moto Guzzi, Benelli, and Innocenti Builds the first production six-cylinder motorcycle designed by Ghia, this type of bike was referred to as a “Flash bike” and for good reason, its commands attention. Read more
FROM THE ARCHIVES
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CHILIPEPPER’S SUPERWEDGE
This 850 T was purchased in ‘75 new from Harper’s Moto Guzzi by Randy Richardson (my father), who thought he was getting a LeMans 850! (He later talked his friend into getting the LeMans — but that’s another story.) Anyway, he had come from a Norton and was immediately impressed with the Guzzi's good manners and tireless trot on the long rides he liked to take. A period Windjammer fairing and Samsonite luggage system (made briefly for motorcycles) found its way onto the bike in 1976 and matched the stock brown/gold paint scheme. My dad put somewhere around 16K miles on it before he and the T were victim of a textbook “oncoming car turning left at an intersection” crash, where the windjammer and forks were toasted. Having become a dealer in 1976, Randy treated the bike to a front end upgrade that included the addition of a second front brake disk and a wacky (very ‘70s James Bond) Jacwal Superwedge fairing. in 1979, the whole package was finished in anthracite with a maroon speed stripe highlighting the fairing and fuel tank lines.
Jacwal fairings were manufactured in England for a few years in the mid-seventies and were fitted to an array of bikes. It is an uncompromising design, extending forward over the axle, with the upper portion pivoting with the handlebars! It takes some getting used to, and folks either love it or hate it. Both Dad and I thought it blocks wind as well or better than the Windjammer, a standard of the time. It also fit the lines of the Guzzi well and matched the Samsonite luggage system, creating an “executive” tourer similar to the BMW R90/100 and Laverda RGS (for much less $$$). I think the combination works well and takes the lackluster, but very capable 850 T model to a sum greater than its parts. This bike brought a lot of positive attention even at a time when the variety of motorcycles was staggering. It has appeared on the cover of MGNOC News, and in articles covering Bike Week in the ‘70s.
Dad got out of cycling for a while in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and the bike suffered some setbacks, such as a nickname "the inspector" from the pink panther cartoons, a mild engine disposition, living in a multi-bike speed obsessed family, at one time completely submerged in a New Orleans flood, underfunded restorations, etc, etc. When I met Peter at Moto Borgotaro, I knew I found the right shop to trust with it’s full proper restoration, with a nod to ‘70s originality and "kooky" cool. It was always a sheep in wolf’s clothing, though. When finished, I will present the bike to my 70 year old dad, at one of the major new rallies, as he now has a Norge and thinks the Superwedge is long gone!
— Chris "Chilipepper" Richardson
AMA, MGNOC, AHRMA
ON THE BENCH
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BOB’S V7 SPORT
My all black 1973 Moto Guzzi V7 sport was the bike I lusted for after having done the café racer scene in England, including riding side hack on the wrong side of the road. So I traded in my 1971 Triumph Daytona with 10,000 miles on it towards the 73 Moto Guzzi V7 sport. The black stallion was my transportation in college in upstate New York senior year and beyond and it proved to be a no-fail way for young ladies to feel liberated riding pillion.
The Sunday morning ride was a ritual with my buddies and I riding an assortment of British, German, and American iron. My Italian bike out-handeled all of them riding route 5 between Syracuse and Utica. I rode it to North Carolina on the Skyline and blue Ridge Parkways. Fantastic ride.
Some of the bike parts were drilled in the expectation that it would be a great endurance racer a la Dr John’s Moto Guzzis of that era but life got in the way, and it was in storage for 30 years or so. But for new pistons and cylinder liners, new rubber parts, and the electronic ignition, she is all original, has plenty of patina, and the odometer shows 24,000 Kilometres.
—Bob Hahn
Brought to the shop with flat tires, 5 gallons of bad gas, and seized carbs — all I could do was smile.
Mr. Hahn is a neighbor of my aunt, we had met a few years ago, and strangely, motorcycles did not come up. But when Bob told me he needed to bring the V7 Sport back to life, told me has a Velocette and used to race and we talked for 2 hours about bikes, art, music and life. Of course, I said I’d be happy to bring her back to a safe riding state.
So I sort of did a little of everything — carb rebuilds, new coils, new plug wire, set valves, dropped the oil pan, lubed all the cables, and reset the drums back into smooth working order. Also to be safe and stable, I rewired the problematic fuse panel and put in a Dyna ignition. When the bike started so quickly and with just a few turns of the low speed and idle, she went right into a perfect 90deg thump thump. Every time I bring one back it makes me happy. I was very pleased to give this back to Bob — you can kind of tell if the bike will take care of the owner or not. Do the right service, stick to the service manual and have Guzziology close by and you can't go wrong.
Thinking about Bob having this bike almost all his life, and me being a small part of the story is one of the most important functions of being a mechanic — it might be the most important.
—Peter
UNDER THE RADAR
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1978 DUCATI DARMAH
AKA "MACCHINA DEI BAFFI ROSSI"
Frequently bikes are bought and sold faster than I have time to keep up with, this gem was lovingly set up by the previous owner with 4 piston calipers, floating rotors, and an updated steering damper.
Darmahs are still under the radar—and cool as hell. One needs to grow some chest hair or a mustache and rip around canyons, ride to the beach, or rip to your local Starbucks and piss a few frapalatte sipping millennials off.
The Darmah is a 900 Desmo slightly detuned with smaller carbs, intakes, valves, but(!) with a real choke circuit and a back up electric start, the Darmah has a lot going for it. This one does not have the tiger roaring on the side cover, instead just carrying the 900 sticker. When you hit 7k RPMs and she just wants to keep making power, the red striped boat-tail cant help bring a smile to the face.
This one was sold by text in 6 hours — get on my radar if you want interesting bikes.
DUCATI
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1966 Ducati 250 MK3
1968 Ducati 350 Desmo
1971 Ducati 750GT Sandcast
1972 Ducati 750GT
1972 Ducati 750 Sport Z Stipe
1973 Ducati 750 Sport
1973 Ducati 750GT
1973 Ducati 750GT
1974 Ducati 750 Sport
1974 Ducati 750GT
1974 Ducati 750GT
1975 Ducati 750GT
1975 Ducati 750 Sport
1980 Ducati 900SS
1980 Ducati Pantah
2004 Ducati ST4S
2006 Ducati Paul Smart
BMW
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1960 BMW R60
1974 BMW R90S
1974 BMW R90S
1974 BMW R90S
1975 BMW R90S
1975 BMW R90S
1975 BMW R75/6
1976 BMW R90S
1976 BMW R90S
1979 BMW R100RS
1982 BMW R65LS
1983 BMW R65 Custom
2011 BMW 1200RT
MOTO GUZZI
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1972 Moto Guzzi El Dorado
1972 Moto Guzzi V7 Sport
1973 Moto Guzzi V7 Sport
1973 Moto Guzzi California 850
1974 Moto Guzzi V7 Sport
1974 Moto Guzzi El Dorado Police
1977 Moto Guzzi Le Mans 1
1978 Moto Guzzi Le Mans 1
1978 Moto Guzzi Custom Racer
2013 Moto Guzzi Stelvio
LAVERDA
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1972 Laverda SFC
1981 Laverda Montjuic
OTHER MAKERS
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1952 Royal Enfield 350 Bullet
1953 Triumph 6T
1957 BSA Goldstar
1965 Norstar
1966 Norton Matchless G15CSR
1966 Harley Davidson Sportster
1967 Triumph Bonneville
1967 BSA Lightning
1968 BSA Lightning
1968 Norton Atlas
1969 Norton Commando Roadster
1969 Triumph Bonneville
1970 Norton Commando
1974 Norton 750 Commando
1975 Norton Commando John Player
1980 Harley Davidson Sturgis
1983 Honda VF750F
2007 Honda Goldwing Trike
Harley Davidson Aermacchi Sprint