The Italian Motorcycle Tailor

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Contents
NOVEMBER 2010
36
ON THE COVER
Volume 20 • Number 8 • Our 169th Issue
SPOTLIGHT
Chaos Cycles
George Stinsman’s Long Island, NY
shop was named for his state of
mind when he started the enterprise
in 2006—turbulent, disarrayed, chaotic, even. But the bikes he
builds are anything but that, tended to and fussed over until
they’re sparkling jewels detailed to perfection. Come along as we
walk around four of them with Flatiron Mike Camillo.
FEATURE BIKES
Clark’s Insane XL1200
DEPARTMENTS
10 IronWorks’ Heroes
By Insane Custom Cycles
Family heirloom Panhead
28 Buyer’s Guide
Tradition forged in the Steel City
Perewitz-Painted FXR
44
Bert Baker
32 Sam Kanish
16
How to be a moto-journ
77 Margie Siegal
H-D Footwear Hawkins Boots
78
Flattracking an Indian Sport Scout
IW GARAGE
20
51
Maintenance matters
Metal
14
Abnormal is good
An East Coast travelogue
Insurance 101
6
Is bigger always better?
FEATURE STORIES
IW Product Review
REGULARS
48 Steve B
Deceptive simplicity at its best
Summer Road Tripping
72
What to pack to go the distance
Classic styling persists
Wrenchworks’ Carolina Custom
8
Celebrating our 20th year
52
Setting up shop
Electric
54
Regulating the charging system
Engine
56
Corrected CR: getting it right
Big Bore Engine Upgrades
58
Feuling components installed
Gasket Materials
62
What works best and why
Meet Mystery Machine & Die
64
Part One: design and development
Project FLHX: Facelife
66
Part One: wheels and shocks
Paint & Finishes
The way to spray
70
SPOTLIGHT
Le Motociclette Italia
The work and spirit of builder Roberto Rossi embodies twowheeled romance in grand fashion, located as it is in the rolling
hills of the Italian countryside. Step inside for a look at this unusual
shop—more of an artist’s loft than gearhead’s garage but infused
with strong elements of both. If it impresses you as it did us, you’ll
be online booking a fight across the pond in a heartbeat.
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SPOTLIGHT: Roberto Rossi
PHOTOS COMPLIMENTS ROBERTO ROSSI, STORY BY ROBERTO ROSSI, ELISA SEEGER & STEPHEN BERNER
Roberto Rossi:
The Italian Motorcycle Tailor
A motorcycle atelier hidden deep in the countryside.
We know that there is a big world of HD enthusiasts beyond our shores. As
Americans we don’t come in contact with
the European side of the H-D culture very
often, unless we actively seek it out. It’s
there, it’s hot, and strangely it seems a bit
off of our radar. Well, working with friends
in the industry who know people abroad,
I’ve asked to get connected, to get clued
in, and to make friends.
Well, let me tell you, watch what you
ask for because before I knew it, my friend
Elisa Seeger of Genuine Motorworks and
Indian Larry Motorcycles had generously
introduced me to one of her friends,
Roberto Rossi, of Mantova, Italy, a Renaissance man of V-Twin-dom in Italy.
It has taken Elisa and I seven long months
to pull this Spotlight together, between getting the images, getting our mission understood, and getting the information out of
Roberto (who operates on European time)
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and then translating it so it flowed, made
sense to Americans, and still has Roberto’s
unmistakable European voice. We hope you
enjoy Roberto’s work; we’ve had fun pulling it
together. – Stephen Berner
Italy’s Roberto Rossi is a romantic, he’s
pragmatic, and he’s more than a little colorblind. He’s a dreamer who re-styles modern
age Harleys with the eye and malice of an
old enthusiast. He’s a traditionalist, but
make no mistake: he’s not nostalgic.
A beautiful looking and fine handling motorcycle satisfies his interests more than a
go-fast machine. He prefers riding a customized bike rather than an anonymous
looking stock mount. Roberto avoids motorcycle rallies, and he roots for sidevalves in
competitions. He rides lost and forgotten
roads on old scooters and Harleys. In
America we’d call him an “old soul.”
Roberto’s passion for motorcycles dates
back to childhood when, as a small boy, he
spent his time in the family garage with his
father, a collector of engines, bikes, and
cars. He inherited a strong passion for motorcycles; he was just 13 when he was arrested for riding a 1938 Moto Guzzi slow,
loud, and without a license.
By the time he was 16-years-old,
Roberto spent most of his waking hours
consuming motorcycle magazines. When
he discovered Harley-Davidson, he became obsessed with the machines. After
a trip to the U.S., Roberto’s father gave
him a 1000cc Ironhead Sporty, and since
that moment Roberto‘s dream has been
to customize and sell H-D motorcycles.
Then, in 1993, Roberto had a serious accident in which he nearly lost his left leg.
After a long recuperation—and thanks to
the compensation he received from the accident—Roberto opened his Harley-Davidson
dealership in 1995. He chose to remain attached to his homeland; he wanted to fulfill
his dream in his little country town surrounded by fields of daisies, where quietness and
age-old Italian traditions make a difference.
This country farmhouse from which he
works keeps him connected to the traditions
of his homeland. He finds his inspiration
here and gets the peace, quiet and serenity
to realize his projects. In 1997 Roberto
opened his shop, creating his own brand
with a logo showcasing the daisy, a symbol
of his childhood and his land. The daisy is a
simple flower, minimalist and modest, a
metaphor for Roberto’s life and motorcycles. There is not a lot of flash here.
This timeless place has become home
to a “motorcycle atelier,” an environment
where the customer is treated specially
and feels comfortable. There is no rush;
time is taken to discuss ideas to create a
unique motorcycle from a shared passion,
vision, and understanding.
Visiting Roberto‘s shop is taking a trip
back in time: once you walk in you can see
the workshop referencing the past,
counter-balanced by the sensibility of a
modern mind at work. Roberto creates
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unique pieces with a tailor’s sensibility and
precision. His attention to every detail creates uncompromised bikes each and every
time. Each customer feels the special attention expended to create something
unique and it is said that working with
Roberto is a trip back into the deep tradition and history of mechanical culture.
This happens because Roberto’s work is
based on research and documentation. The
desire to search into the past for a detail
that reminds the owner of that special historical motorcycle, a particular car, or other
design cue that will give the their motorcycle
a distinctive quality, is an aspect of what
makes these bikes special to their owners.
There’s a Rossi family feeling projected
from this style of motorcycle. It’s a feeling
where the details make the difference; hidden details, usually imperceptible to
human view, but always present and in effect, fitting and never discounted.
Like a piece of haute couture, these
bikes are elegant, clean, and never flashy.
As such, they will never go out of fashion.
A private introduction to Roberto’s personal museum, workshop, and dealership is
amazing. In a converted stable you find
the mechanical glories that are the main
source for Roberto’s inspiration. Old motorcycles, an authentic Mille Miglia Alfa
Romeo 1750 GS Zagato (once owned by
Tazio Nuvolari), old bicycles, tractors, Vespas, and a large collection of hard-to-find
items are just a few of the treasures.
That’s how Roberto reinvents his motorcycles, by referencing the past. It’s a
rare experience to commission a bike
from Roberto, as his motorcycles are machines born from emotions.
L’atelier di Roberto Rossi is a dream
factory in the Italian countryside, where
Roberto, as a teacher of older times, not
only tells tales of heroes, racecar drivers,
and inventors, but turns these glories into
reality through interpreting the wishes of
his customers.
That is Roberto’s way: All the way!
Alcatraz
This bike is inspired by an XR 750 H-D
campaigned during the Mert Lawwill era.
(Mert is Roberto’s favorite rider.) The colors are a reference to the Porsche 917
Gulf in the film Le Mans featuring Steve
McQueen.
The rear rim is an 18’’, the body work:
XR 750 H-D gas tank center mount, tapered diameter handlebars, Brembo front
brake calipers, front rim was machined/
massaged to accommodate the hubs.
In 1994 Roberto bought a 1983
XR1000 for his collection. His good friend
Luca Vezzani saw the bike in stock form
and asked Roberto to sell it to him and
turn it into a custom. After several
months of persuasion, Luca got his wish
and Roberto took ten months to build him
the bike you see here.
*RESOURCES
Roberto Rossi
Harley-Davidson Mantova
Villagaribaldi di Roncoferraro,
Mantova, Italy
Phone: 0376 663385 Fax: 0376 664463
www.harley-davidson-mantova.it
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XT Interceptor
It was time to do something new, something that he hadn’t seen
before. The wishbone chassis and late-Shovel engine were perfect
starting points to create and shape the structure and proportions
Roberto had in his head. These ideas erupted spontaneously—he was
clear in his objective and attention to detail. His focus on proportion is
like a tailor who has been tasked with creating a custom suit.
Front end is a magnesium GP Ceriani unit, the front brake is a magnesium 280 Fontana, front and rear wheels are from Borrani, handlebars are Guzzi V7 Special, fenders are handmade from aluminum.
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The finishing touch breaks the rules: the beautiful aluminum tank is
from a 1981 Yamaha XT 500.
Roberto had built three bikes for this particular customer before he
took on this project. This customer gave Roberto a blank check, allowing him total and free rein to decide everything. The result of this circumstance is the XT, a unique, wonderful machine, which took two
years to build.
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Arturo
The job was to build a motorcycle with
an aggressive appearance showcasing a
few unique, hand wrought details.
The distinctive one-off muffler was crafted by Roberto. A Cole Foster gas tank
was selected for its clean lines, the oil
tank was handmade, and the handlebar
controls and bars are courtesy of Buell.
The primary has had some attention paid
to it and the secondary drive was converted to chain.
This is yet another dream job—the customer came in with a blank check, allowing free rein in design and construction.
This custom took six months to complete.
XLCR
Evolution
Roberto was asked by a customer to reproduce the look of
a modern Cafe’ Racer Harley-Davidson—one of Roberto’s favorite motorcycles. This is the result.
The basic model was an H-D Sportster 883 Hugger, redressed with 1977 reproduction bodywork, handmade mufflers, and 13-spoke alloy wheels measuring 16”and 19”.
The customer wanted a modern road going replica of the
classic 1977 model. This build took about three months to build,
once some parts were located and others were fabricated.
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Margherita II
(Daisy II)
Daisy was designed to be Roberto’s personal bike and it is
one of his enduring favorites. It was the first motorcycle built,
registered, and titled as a Roberto Rossi Motorcycle.
The bike is built around a 1340 cc Evolution engine mounted in a rigid wishbone frame. The air filter was changed and
Roberto fabricated the 2-into-1 exhaust with final trumpet bell.
The standard five-speed transmission is combined with an
open chain drive primary, run dry, and the final drive was also
converted to chain.
H-D triple trees, combined with XL Sportster pieces were
tweaked to make a very low profile. Modern, antique, classic,
and sports influences make this motorcycle unique. Note the
rear brake drum and front disc, and the electric starter
teamed up with a rocker clutch and hand shifter. The Hydra
Glide tank is hand-decorated with a religious emblem and dedication to Our Lady of Guadalupe, very dear to Roberto. Distinctive bits are the Coker tires, solo seat, round oil bag, and
foot controls that have been worked and perforated. Handlebars were made by Roberto.
This bike took four years to build; it was a labor of love.
Tortuga
Lighten up a Big Twin and incorporate symbols of the past
with an authentic vintage look. That describes the approach
Roberto took with this build. The main element, the tank, was
aged with a special patina treatment, and the turtle on the
tank was hand-painted. Importantly, this is the symbol of Tazio
Nuvolari, a notable and renowned Italian driver; the greatest
car driver of all time (Thousand Miles Race) if you ask Roberto!
The most important details: Sportster tank, rear fender,
T-Bars, rims, Thunderheader.
This was another customer hands-off build and it took four
month to complete.
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Fenomeno
The result of extensive research, this beautifully proportioned
machine recalls the old racers of the past.
Components include a Knucklehead engine and 1945
straight leg frame, original gas tank cut and reduced, 18”/19”
Borrani rim and Coker tires, mechanical brake, special reproduction oil tank (Daytona equipment) with refill oil left near
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clutch, megaphone muffler with homemade satin finish, modified carburetor with special intake, seat and pad from Giuliari
racing, H-D Springer front end, Hollywood handlebars, original
“Jack Tracey” racing equipment Daytona windshield, and Fairbanks magneto. The footpegs are Roberto Rossi specials with
his logo.
This two-year build was another blank check deal, commissioned by a customer who simply wanted a special Knucklehead,
relying exclusively on Roberto’s good taste to make it happen.
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Taramelli
The idea for this bike came from an old biscuit tin where the graphics were
hand painted with a brush. This elegant bike has old world charm and is comfortable as well as reliable. Classic bobbers never go out of fashion.
Notable components include: H-D Softail 1340, Springer front end, Sportster
tank and rear fender, and XR 1000 handlebar. Front Wheel: Avon Tire 4.00 X
19” – Rim 3.50x19”. Rear Wheel: Avon Tire 5.00 X 16” – Rim 4.00 X 16”.
The customer wanted a bobber in Roberto’s style. His requirements were that
it be comfortable, reliable and convenient, but at the same time unique. The bike
came together in a short six months, incorporating all the right Rossi details.
Virgola
The objective here was to make an elegant bobber that was
both simple and comfortable—with the right parts, of course. The
nostalgic look that this bike projects ensures that it does not remain unnoticed. The big comma on the tank, the element that
gives the bike its name, is the distinctive feature of the decoration.
The EVO 1340 engine has a DYNA S ignition. A White Bros. lower-
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ing kit alters the bike’s lines along with a trimmed down H-D 3-gallon
tank and 16” X 3.00 Avon MK II. Roberto added vintage pedal controls, a modified Softail mudguard, lightened the clutch control, and
used PM 6-piston brakes and a KR saddle. Lighting details include a
Sparto taillight and 5 ¾” headlamp. For the classic racing touch he
used an XR 1000 Riser and H-D hand-made plate.
The customer wanted a bobber in Roberto’s style and let him loose
with a blank slate. Six months later, this bike was delivered.
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