For a shop that’s only been going for 15 months, Venier Customs are punching well above their weight with two well-publicised builds, a further eight under their belt and three in the pipeline. Started in 2012 by Italian Stefano Venier with investment from his grandma Livia’s pension “without her Venier Customs wouldn’t exist”, the shop employs six split equally between Treviso, just north of Venice, and Brooklyn, New York.
Stefano, 34, has been riding bikes since he was 10 and modifying bikes since he was a kid “I just figured out what the purpose of all those days spent disassembling things that I thought weren’t perfect”. He stopped riding in his 20s until a few years ago he bought an ’08 Bonneville and was re-bitten by the bug “an avalanche hit me and now I’m sick more than ever!”
Corsaiola (‘racy’ in Italian) is based on a stock 1989 Moto Guzzi V75 which the Venier team stripped of the ugly 80s fuel tank and plastic panels and replaced with handmade items “we use no plastic, everything is made out of steel or aluminum”. The rear frame was shortened and reshaped to supporting a narrower handmade leather seat.
The 4-valve small block 750cc engine, which ironically produces 10hp more than its modern 2-valve counterpart, was restored and fitted with vintage Mistral pipes. The v-twin’s 58hp is driven through the original 16″F/18″R cast wheels, recoated in black, and with modern Avon Roadrider tyres to improving handling.
The bespoke aluminium tank took Stefano’s team a while to get just right “designing a tank you have so many choices but keeping it simple is the hardest part” and features Venier’s signature backward stripe, which also appears on their ‘Tractor V75′ scrambler. Referencing mid-seventies Guzzi 750 Sports livery, the stripe is purposely mis-aligned because Stefano believes that “something off gives more reality and charm to the build”
The headlight has been replaced by a slim 6″ number that sits as close as possible to the reconditioned Marzocchi forks which have been lowered by 60mm nicely framing the mini speedo from Dime City Cycles, as are the clear indicators and LED rear light. Tarozzi bars and pedals finish the cafe look.
Corsaiola is one of a limited edition of seven bikes, a number chosen as “reasonable to still have unique motorcycles”, although in reality it’s an edition of six since “all builds are bikes I would have in my collection and to tell you the truth the number one never leaves my garage!”
via the bike shed
