SILVER PISTON MOTO GUZZI V50 MK3

Steve is a master craftsman, a skilled jewelery maker specializing in biker-centric adornment for his company Silver Piston. Based in his workshop in Atlanta, Georgia, his days are spent crafting the tiny details on his now famous Indian Head and Hobo Nickel rings. A life long rider and a lover of Italian twins, earlier this year Steve decided to apply his crafting skills to something a little bigger, employing life size tools without the need of a magnifying glass and tweezers.

Steve sourced an ’82 Moto Guzzi V50 Mk3 and traded it for a hot rodded Stella scooter. It was a straight trade for a bike that had a top-end rebuild but an electrical problem that couldn’t be tracked down. A couple of friends vouched that it once ran well and was a strong bike.

Steve took it to his buddy Drew’s house, the electrical problem was traced to a plug behind the ignition key that’d come loose. He plugged it in and it fired right up. After getting to ride it up and down the road a few times it was taken apart and the process of building a cafe bike began. Knowing that there’s a whole load of difference between crafting fine jewellery and building bikes, he recruited Drew to help him with the spanners.

Once apart, the bike was taken over to another buddy Ben Boyle’s shop, Bender Werks, for the metal work. Ben de-tabbed the frame and then chopped the rear. From there he fashioned a hoop to support the tail section and built a plate to hold the brake light as well as the license plate. He also took of the huge hook on the back of the fuel tank and mounted tabs to bolt the tank directly to the frame. The holes for the MG badges on the sides of the tank were also filled in as well as the lock hole on the tank cover. Finally, he cleaned the old handlebar hoops and filled in the holes to have only a bracket to hold the Motogadget tiny speedo.

Drew’s old roomate, Justin, is the kind of guy that occasionally likes rewiring things because it’s fun. Crazy what some people consider doing for a laugh. So as his schedule allowed the bike was rewired from headlight to brake light. A Mogogadget M-Unit was installed to handle all the electrical as well as a new regulator/rectifier. Motogadget bar end turn signals (indicators in English) were installed to meet the requirements.

After that was all finished, Brandon Turner of the Brother Moto crew took the task of painting. It’s a gorgeous aquamarine with chunky metal flake.

Steve still has a list of things he’d like to do to it, and the next step is to get the forks set up with a bit more adjustability and upgrade the rear shocks. But, after waiting a year and not being a very patient person when it comes to cool toys, he’s done for now.

Steve’s first foray into bike building has produced a pretty, clean cafe racer in a bold colour-way with simple classic lines.

the Bike Shed