Filippo Barbacane of Officine Rossopuro is renowned for his ultra-slick Moto Guzzi builds, have a look at his previously featured work here. This time he takes a break from the shaft-drive twins, hewn on the shores of Lake Como and plumps for an offering from the banks of the Ashby de la Zouch canal. As you are fully aware Triumph’s Bonneville is a platform much modded and customised, with varying briefs and degrees of subsequent appreciation. As with all Officine Rossopuro builds, the machine shop was set to work, flexing their engineering muscle and producing beautiful components.
Improved performance and handling is a natural by-product of shedding weight, and something Filippo takes very seriously. Starting up front, forks are adjustable Marzocchi 45s with billet yokes that retain the standard bar mounts although Tomaselli clip ons, adjustable of course, hunker the rider down and keep the cockpit neat. A single Motogadget digital tacho and speedo unit keeps distraction to a minimum. Billet bar end indicators blend nicely into the vintage style grips. The headlight has been pushed back between the fork legs on a bespoke bracket to shorten the overall look.
The wheels have been replaced by tubeless Italian made Alpinas, and the rear extended to take a 160 tyre. Great for a more varied tyre choice and reduced rotating mass, essential for making the most of the coast road from the ORP HQ in Pescara, Italy. Bi-Turbo rear shocks deal with the increased rider enthusiasm and reduced road maintenance budgets in the region. Floating brake discs are Alth, again Italian made and top notch, mounting to a bespoke hub and allow for fitment of Brembo’s Gold Series callipers. You may have noticed a theme here, Filippo likes to support his fellow countrymen and buy Italian. And why not, they produce some of the best motorcycle components money can buy.
An industry/scene standard now is to remove manufacturers lazy weld splatter and unnecessary tabs from the frame, this Bonnie is no different. One thing that isn’t obvious is the tank dimension, it has been split down the middle and reduced by 100mm and welded back together. Aesthestics conquer practicality though as the fuel pump still has a home inside the tank. A few coats of metallic black paint and a hand-pinstripe will have you looking twice to see if your eyes are deceiving you, perhaps distracted by the oil temp gauge grafted into the top.
Easy candidates for a diet are mudguards, standard mild steel is out, svelte aluminium is in. Rear sets, sprocket and chain guard are machined from billet aluminium and drilled, which always makes things go much, much faster. A lithium ion battery hides along with reduced wiring under the humped, leather clad seat. Cone filters and a Mass exhaust add a couple of ponies and make the most of the reduced heft.
Anyone who’s raced just about anything, or been involved at least, will know the importance of reducing weight. It’s such an important and often overlooked route to improved overall performance and I’m glad more builders are going to greater lengths to showcase their engineering capability. We look forward to what Filippo brings to the ‘Shed next time.
For those of you without a CNC mill in the corner, get some decent drill bits and start making speed holes, you’ll look faster, go faster, reduce fuel consumption and save the planet. The benefits are endless, provided you leave some metal behind.
To see what else Filippo has built check out his site Officine Rossopuro and Facebook page
via The Bike Shed
