Stefano Briscolini is 35 and was born in Urbino in Italy, growing up in Rome before he moved to Milan where he works in Computing by day and as a Personal Trainer in the evenings, but despite the busy schedule his passion for engines means he makes plenty of time to spend in his garage. He even sleeps there on occasion, and he calls it his second home, so when it came to giving his workshop a name, it was to be Brisko Garage, Officina d’arte Meccanica (“Workshop of mechanical art” )
The garage came into being in Feb 2012 and was soon crowded with bikes from the 70s and 80s,; a 1982 XJ 900, a 1983 CB 750… And this custom 1983 XV 750 Virago. Stefano tells us more… “Virago, says Wikipedia, is the word often used to describe a woman whose aspect and especially the way of thinking and acting, has significant traits of a man. I’ve done nothing else but matching the nature of my bike to my name, with a massive injection of testosterone. Hence the name of the bike: TST.”
“One year work in my garage and almost everything handmade personally, with the only exception of cutting the forks, welding the most delicate parts and painting the bodywork.”
The modified frame and wheels have been powdercoated while the tank was sandblasted and painted in clearcoat for protection. The forks have been shortened by 10cm and use heavier oil. A Suzuki Bandit mono-shock takes care of soaking up the bumps at the rear, but it is cleverly coupled with a lateral Kawasaki shock, mounted without it’s spring, to handle the return. We have no idea how well this might work, but it sounds very clever and looks different.
The clips-ons are custom items. A Yamaha R6 donated the brake master cylinder and clutch lever while Ducati offered up the steering damper. A Lithium Ion battery is hidden under the tank and the electrics have been moved under the seat. The stand-out subframe has been handmade, as was the leather seat, with the rear light housed in the aluminum custom tail. More aluminium has been hand-bashed into a numberplate holder with integrated bullet-style indicators.
Conical air filters suck in the air while burnt gases exit through a custom made exhaust with custom open mufflers. Credit for the welding goes to Olisald, made by Master Olivari (Melegnano). The painting is by GMG (Caselle, Lurani – Lodi).
It’s certainly no clone of any other XV we’ve seen out there. Most pay more than a nod of tribute to Docs’ Chops or Classified etc, but this is a one-off, with it’s Meccano style rear end and steam-punk rear shock setup, complemented perfectly by the raw metal tank and drop bars with brown grips. Thanks for Stefano his story and the photos. …See more on his facebook HERE.
