Article by: Ezio Covelli – Magnum Opus Custombikes
Magnum Opus it’s latin for Greatest work, Achievement. Which is what I strive for with each bike I build, my creative process has many influences. I’m italian, born and raised, I lived there for the first 28 years of my life. In Italy the art of restoring is a very common practice.
Your first car or bike could be something that sat in your grandfathers garage for 30 years, and when it was passed down to you, you’d have in your hands a blank blueprint to work with. Italians are keepers of fine things, and we’re proud of the history that comes with our automobiles and motorcycles.
Your first car or bike could be something that sat in your grandfathers garage for 30 years, and when it was passed down to you, you’d have in your hands a blank blueprint to work with. Italians are keepers of fine things, and we’re proud of the history that comes with our automobiles and motorcycles.
This is definitely where my love for vintage bikes comes from. I moved to NYC in 2010, and became inspired in a different way. Its all about getting around in the city and having a motorcycle in a metropolitan area, it’s not only an escape from the grid lock, but it’s also a huge time saver.
I developed more of a passion for sports bikes and a love for speed. the urban influence of Manhattan and my love of vintage bikes play a huge role in how i design my bikes today. I get my inspiration from everything I see around me and of course on the internet, I love motorcycles and I like to put together ideas and solutions. I see from other builders into my own vision for that bike in particular.
Who else worked with me? I work with a team of professional welders, painters. But it’s only me in the workshop. Where did it come from? Interesting find, or customer bike? This particular bike didn’t look very good when i picked it up.
What was your vision or plan when building this bike? Whenever I go pick up a motorcycle, I literally look at thousands of images a week and i’m constantly studying, drawing and saving images on my laptop for future inspirations for seats, headlight, paint scheme ect. The bike needs to sit in my workshop for 1 or 2 nights. Then something happen, I get inspired. The main inspiration came from Macco Motors, “Spitfire ’09“. So, I start stripping it down to the bone. Next day the building process begins.
What did you do to the bike – just the basics. But tell us all the cool stuff, clever ideas or upgrades? When I got it, only 2 cylinders out of 4 were running, the carbs were a total mess, the previous owner tried to do some work on it, but he clearly didn’t have any clue about bikes.
I had to rebuild the subframe and shock mounts from scratch and even the electric part was in terrible conditions. He tried wiring everything with speakers wire and crimp connectors. Forgetting about grounding the bike properly, I was speechless. Needless to say I ditched everything and started over. At the end, the bike was somewhere 50/60 pound lighter than when I picked it up and the motor, more powerful than ever. The results surprised me when I was testing it. It put a smile on my face, I knew then, it was ready!
If you’ve upgraded parts, what make did you choose and where from? The ignition and carburetors parts are one of the things I’m very proud of. I’ve been doing an extensive number of researches and tests to get the bike running like one of the newer 750s, it pulls strong and smoothly throughout the whole rpm range.
It feels like a 1 liter bike, and considering that’s a 30+ years old I think that itself it’s quite an accomplishment. The old airbox has been replaced with POD filters and we installed honda CBR F2 Ignition coils for a better,stronger spark. Starting from the front, the caliper’s been gone through and rebuilt.
Forks tubes have been painted black to match the color scheme of the bike, the old instruments have been replaced with a minimalistic speedometer attached to the upper triple clamp through a custom made bracket. We installed 7/8 inch. black clubman handlebar with Biltwell Cafè Grips and upgraded the old master cylinder with an Hayabusa Master Cylinder and lever. All the wiring has been done the proper way, soldered and insulated with heat shrink tubing.
The ignition switch’s been relocated on the headlight brackets, almost invisible but yet easy to access to. Other characteristic of the bike: Straight pipes with no baffles, Crank case breathers, Coffee bean cafè racer seat, LED tail lights, Blinkers and stop light, installed under the seat cowl Forks Gaiters Adjustable Racing Shocks on the rear Custom steel hoop welded onto the sub-frame and painted black, The last is Custom made steel side covers.
Tell us about the finish, logos, & design? With the design lines I used, the paint job, stickers and numbers I wanted to make clear that this bike wasn’t going to be an hybrid. some sort of bridge between styles. A powerful motor, short tail section, stretched out riding position and essential instruments suggest only two words to me, CAFE’ RACER.
How does the bike ride? The bike feels very strong and stable. it’s very balanced, even at high speed which was one of my concerns when i started building it. At the end of the story! what will you do next? are there new projects? We’re currently working on a Honda CX Bobber which is 90% completed, and we’re a few days away from starting a couple of new projects with a 1975 CB750K and a Yamaha 750 virago.
If you have any questions about this bike. Please contact Ezio Covelli here.
via http://otomotif.org
