Year: 1983 | Motor: R100
Having worked for several years as a designer for Aprilia and Moto Guzzi, Massimo decided to use his experience to follow his passion for customisation. Massimo, the man behind La Motocicletta, used to design carbon fibre components for the newest concept bikes coming out of big-time garages but now focuses his efforts on his own projects and one look at this BMW R80ST seems to suggest he made the right choice.
“My greatest passion is to give new life to commercial motorcycles, upsetting their essence to make them unique, playing between proportions and harmony of shapes, so I often find myself exploring new ideas that merge the boundaries between art and mechanics,” says Massimo. It’s this strive for uniqueness that leads to La Motocicletta’s tailor-made BMW R80ST.
The fuel tank was built on the frame to ensure that it was as uniform as possible while all the non-original components were designed and built inside the La Motocicletta workshop, from footrests to steering plates, pins to brackets.
The benefit of an almost entirely tailor-made bike is that Massimo was able to calculate exactly where each component should sit. The motorbike is built to fit ‘the golden ratio’, resulting in a perfectly harmonious final product.
Our highlight has to be the custom fuel tank. More than a dozen transparent coats – and a serious polish between each – has led to an extremely smooth surface without any steps in between colours. The perfectly straight, parallel stripes are so symmetrical that it’s difficult to imagine the work being done by anything other than a digital letterpress. This precision comes as a definitive sign of Massimo’s passion.
For more information, visit La Motocicletta.
What's better than one perfect custom bike? Twin customs. Take a closer look at Upcycle's BMW R100 cafe racers.
