Cruise Control: An elegant Moto Guzzi California by Officine Rossopuro

Cruise Control: An elegant Moto Guzzi California by Officine Rossopuro

If there’s one trend we’d love to see more of this year, it’s engineered simplicity. We’re suckers for ultra-clean custom bikes that match timeless aesthetics to modern performance. It’s an art form that Filippo Barbacane is well versed in—as evidenced by this tastefully modded Moto Guzzi California.

Filippo runs Officine Rossopuro on Italy’s Adriatic coast. Although the workshop doesn’t only work on Moto Guzzi restomods, the Italian V-twins do form the bulk of their output. So Filippo knows Moto Guzzi’s back catalog well—and, like any good Guzzista, the man has his favorites.

“The idea came from the desire to create a sports cruiser based on a Moto Guzzi,” he says of this project. “The California was born as a cruiser, but it has always amazed me because of its rideability compared to other cruisers. Its frame was derived from a racing bike, after all.”

“I wanted to push this concept further, but still maintain something of a cruiser look and not a café racer, or anything else. The California’s chassis and rideability are legendary, so the idea of enhancing this bike, both in terms of its engine and its chassis, had been on my mind for a while.”

Officine Rossopuro started with a 2005-model Moto Guzzi California 1100, which was promptly stripped down to its nuts and bolts. Filippo cleaned up the frame—but didn’t hack or modify it in any significant way. “Because the California frame is derived from a Tonti design, it’s already very minimal,” he explains.

The California’s engine wasn’t as lucky. Filippo yanked it out, replacing it with the 95-horsepower powerplant from a Breva 1100. It breathes easy via a custom-made airbox, and sports twin-spark heads, an upgraded ECU, and drag exhausts from MASS.

With more power on tap, Filippo turned to improving the California’s suspension and brakes. The upside-down forks are Marzocchi units, upgraded with Öhlins and Andreani parts. They’re held in place by a set of custom-made yokes, with the whole front end designed to improve the bike’s ride height while maintaining the original wheelbase.

Twin Brembo radial calipers add extra stopping power to the front, with a dual-piston Brembo caliper fitted out back. Filippo also specced the California with new tubeless spoked wheels, measuring 18” at the front and 17” at the back, and practical Bridgestone Battlax tires. The adjustable piggyback shocks are from Bitubo.

All of the Moto Guzzi’s bodywork is new, from the headlight nacelle and front fender, to the tapered fuel tank, belly spoiler, side covers, and load-bearing rear fender. “This is the most creative and most fun part for me—the creation of the aluminum bodywork, all made by hand according to traditional metal shaping techniques, without molds or anything else,” he says. “The beauty of working alone in the workshop is that it allows you to create without constraints or limits, without anyone intervening on the project.”

“I always and only make unique pieces, so I study each individual project to measure, never repeating anything—even on request. After all, the very concept of customizing, of personalizing the bike, would lose its meaning. Every customer must have a unique piece in the world, otherwise, they could just buy a cheaper production bike.”

Filippo’s passion is clear in the myriad details scattered throughout the California. There’s a clear organic line flowing over the tank and seat, while the bone line below is perfectly level. The front of the seat tucks neatly into a recess in the fuel tank, and the rear fender features an integrated housing for the taillight.

Like the bodywork, the California’s finishing kit is all bespoke. The foot controls, dashboard support, engine protectors, and handlebar risers were all CNC machined specifically for this project.

With an eye on reliability and serviceability, Filippo worked his way through the electrical system too, trimming it down to the bare essentials. He also fitted a full set of LED lights, and an Acewell speedo that includes the regular dummy lights plus a fuel level sensor. Narrow and tall LSL handlebars add a hint of cruiser styling to this tidy retro standard.

Resplendent in a sophisticated red, silver, and black livery, Filippo’s inch-perfect Moto Guzzi California epitomizes the idea of form and function existing in perfect harmony. More of this, please.

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Meet the 2025 Harley-Davidson King Of The Baggers Race Team

Meet the 2025 Harley-Davidson King Of The Baggers Race Team

The roar of American V-Twin performance is set to shake the asphalt as the Harley-Davidson x Dynojet Factory Race Team […]

The post Meet the 2025 Harley-Davidson King Of The Baggers Race Team appeared first on Hot Bike Magazine.

Westbound Part 2: 10,000 miles Across the U.S. on Ural Motorcycles

Westbound Part 2: 10,000 miles Across the U.S. on Ural Motorcycles

Westward: The Journey Begins We decided we would ride into the sun on fully decked out sidecars from the Eastern seaboard of the continent. To test the Urals and ourselves, the trip would be over 2,000 miles west, from the hilly forests of the Northeast, through the endless, flat farmland of the Midwest, and on to our furthest destination from home: Butte, Montana.

We’d bang a left and head south into Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado, stopping at some of the West’s most iconic locations: Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Rocky Mountains, and the Great Salt Lake. Then, we would put together an entire issue from the experience.

Departure morning was exciting and tense, mostly because of the nagging questions inside ourselves and from well-meaning friends and family. As we packed up the bikes, we all wore it on our faces. “What the hell are we getting into?” It was more than one motorcyclist that scratched their head when we told them our ambitions: 10,000 miles in just over a month on Russian sidecars. New territory for us and for most of our readers – sidecar owners are a small bunch. No stress the throttle and open road can’t alleviate, we thought. Our asses settled into their new homes and we began our journey, riding a perfect New England summer day through our backyard and into Vermont.

Our route took us through beautiful roads in the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania, through cornfields of Amish country, and into the heartland of America. Even with the throttle wide open, a slight headwind in the prairie land meant a top speed of 65 mph with the Urals.

We mostly refer to these personality traits as charming. To speak in “Zen” terms (since we were en route to Montana, the home of Robert Pirsig), the choice to ride Urals across the country when none of us had embarked on a journey of that scale on any kind of motorcycle was, admittedly, a romantic one. The Ural is aesthetically beautiful and carries everything you’d need for a proper adventure. But we’ll admit we weren’t truly prepared for the level of “classic” thought that was going to be required to parade these battleships around the country.

The first half of the trip – getting there – presented its challenges. Unexpectedly, we found the Ural’s leaving their mark on every gas station we pulled into. Apparently the use of synthetic oil inspires the Russian beasts to cause shrinkage to its seals. Oils gotta go somewhere. We made the decision to keep them topped off and happy until we made it west. Maybe then she’d purge herself of the man-made stuff and we’d be back in shape.

The adventure had begun.

Badlands National Park | South Dakota Our first real scenic destination, the name alone conjures feelings of wildness and intrigue. They are an otherworldly labyrinth of vibrant spires, massive buttes, and deep gorges all carved into the terra firma of the desolate prairie. They’re home to one of the world’s greatest beds of fossils. Ancient saber-toothed cats and giant rhinoceros-like creatures once roamed this godforsaken ground.

Black Hills | South Dakota Entering South Dakota’s Black Hills and Spearfish Canyon delivered 19 miles of towering pink and grey limestone sprinkled in evergreens and race tracks – the kind that make you drop below the posted 35 mph limits and breath in the entrance to the Great American West.

Devil’s Tower | Wyoming We rose an hour before dawn to make the 36-degree ride to the base of the tower to catch the morning light dance across the massive geologic formation’s anomalous eastern face. It may sound cliché or even hackneyed to say that this place has a peculiar and magnetic energy, but it’s the truth, and as the sun rose, the awe set in. It was a lone monolith rising defiantly from an otherwise vast and open plain. You can sense its lore. It’s not just a place that tells stories of humanity’s ancient inhabitants, but a place that tells stories about the birth of the universe itself.

Devil’s Tower is a 1,267-foot tall igneous rock formation that resides in the The Bear Lodge Mountains in the northeastern corner of Wyoming. President Theodore Roosevelt established it as the first National Monument in 1906.

This article first appeared in issue 22 of Iron & Air Magazine, and is reproduced here under license | With selections by Brett Houle, Gregory George Moore, Michael Hilton & Jason Paul Michaels
Selected photography may include works by Brett Houle, Gregory George Moore, Michael Hilton, Daniela Maria, Jenny Linquist, Becca Skinner, Kevin Bennett, David Mucci

What Happens in Vegas: Must-See Motorcycles from the 2025 AIMExpo

What Happens in Vegas: Must-See Motorcycles from the 2025 AIMExpo

The American International Motorcycle Expo might not be the first place you’d expect to find us, as the event has a whole lot more to do with what’s on dealer floors than the custom scene. That’s not the whole story though, because besides rubbing elbows with industry partners and parts manufacturers, we also had a host of factory concept bikes and customs to hunt down.

See, the big OEs are well aware that modified bikes bring big attention, and partnerships with reputable builders are one of the most effective ways to drum up excitement for their current offerings. And when you have the backing of corporate bucks, big things are possible.

The AIMExpo isn’t open to the public, just industry members and press, so we flashed our credentials and got to hiking around the Las Vegas Convention Center. Wading through the seas of stock bikes and less inspired forms of power sports equipment, these are the five custom motorcycles from the 2025 AIMExpo that commanded our attention.

Seiemmezzo SCR 650 Scrambler by Moto Morini Factory scramblers are some of the most enjoyable bikes to customize and Moto Morini wanted to prove you don’t need to break the bank to get big results. Morini’s After-Sales Manager Cody Spakes’ goal was to show Expo-goers a brutish new side of Seiemmezzo SCR 650, and the result is a real getaway machine.

Spakes started by trimming away at the SCR’s road-compliance bits, like the stock license plate bracket, passenger pegs and fenders. While it looks like a much racier piece, most of the stock tail section remains and still accommodates the original scrambler seat.

Spakes then dug into the parts bin at Moto Morini for a 17-inch rear wheel from the X-Cape ADV and wrapped both wires with beefy Kenda Big Block tires. Crash bars and a monster skid plate up the SCR’s off-road cred and Spakes laughingly reports that the rad guard and headlight grille are inexpensive bits straight off the web.

On the contrary, the polished stainless steel exhaust system was neither cheap nor easy to create. Spakes started with raw tubing and pie cuts and fabricated the 2-into-1 system by hand to match the SCR’s curves. Just the amount of racy bling, we’re sure it emits an aggressive tone from Moto Morini’s 649 cc parallel twin.

Finishing touches on the SCR include motocross-style bars and an urban camo wrap that could pass for forged carbon fiber from a distance. On the thorough usage of orange on the bike, Spakes replies, “Orange can be used by any motorcycle brand.” We hear you loud and clear.

Hooligan Series Harley-Davidson Pan America From the old-school Battle of the Twins to the modern King of the Baggers series, there’s just something we Americans cannot resist about an unlikely V-twin hero. Building off the public interest and innovation bred by the KOTB series, the Mission Super Hooligan National Championship has spawned some equally impressive V-twin racers. Take this track-prepped Pan America for instance.

The Super Hooligan series started as a collaborative effort between MotoAmerica and (arguably) the king of V-twin performance—Roland Sands. Rules stipulate that the frames are stock, street bodywork is shed and engines are limited to 125 hp to keep things at a reasonable level.

Prepping the Pan America for the track starts with a serious diet to get the 569-pound bike down to the minimum allowable weight of 420 pounds. As you’d expect, that includes a liberal application of carbon fiber, including the complete tail section, front fender and other bits. The bars remain above the top clamp per the rules, but custom rear-set pegs and controls (along with Dunlop race rubber) bring the Pan Am’s lean angle to a level HD never imagined.

The Harley’s wheelbase would need to be shortened to make it handle, and a lot of that magic happens in the swingarm. It looks a whole lot like the stock piece with the front third axed off, but the details likely include some serious arithmetic. A custom 2-into-1 stainless exhaust sheds more pounds off the Pan Am’s rear and makes the most of its 150 hp output.

While the bike wasn’t accompanied in the booth, it looks to be the mount of Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson rider Cory West—a frontrunner in the 2024 season.

Royal Enfield 850 Rally by Death Spray Custom When will Royal Enfield make the jump into the large displacement ADV scene? It’s a question that’s been on our mind for years, as both Himalayan models displace less than 500 cc. So imagine the shock of seeing this f-ing awesome retro Dakar rally machine at the AIMExpo, powered by an 850 cc air-cooled twin. So what’s the scoop?

Dubbed ‘Wildfire,’ the bike results from a three-year collaboration with David Gwyther of Death Spray Custom, whose eye-popping liveries have been made famous in Ken Block’s Gymkhana series, partnerships with Bell helmets and more. Gwyther took inspiration from the 1990s Paris-Dakar Rally machines he grew up watching and envisioned a similarly capable machine based on modern running gear.

Wildfire runs an 850 cc version of Royal’s 650 used in the Bear and INT models. Big bore kits are widely available for these engines, bringing output up from 47 hp to 75 hp (if you opt for the 865 cc displacement). What we can see of the chassis looks to be derived from 650 INT, but the suspension has been upgraded in a big way with a Showa USD fork and a Harris Performance swingarm.

For all its mechanical savviness, it’s impossible to overlook the retro rally bodywork. It was a complete custom job from tip to tail, which perfectly captures the vibe of Dakar in the ’90s, but was also executed in a trail-side serviceable manner. The colorway is nearly as cool now as it would have been back in the day, and even makes use of era-correct sponsorship decals.

For now, Royal Enfield isn’t touting Wildfire as anything more than a custom concept but admits that a larger displacement ADV is their most frequently requested offering. So it’s at least on their radar, and when it does materialize, let’s hope it’s at least half this rad.

Russell Hacker’s 2010 Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail Turn 14 Distribution may not be a household name, but if you’re any bit invested in the motorcycle, automotive or 4×4 scene, odds are they back a bunch of your favorite brands. Beyond that, they back their employees as well, boasting that 90% of their staff are enthusiasts in the industries they support. That makes things easier when you need a couple of bikes to fill your booth at the AIMExpo, and Turn 14 Sales Specialist Russell Hacker stepped up to the plate with this 2010 Harley Heritage Classic.

Hacker’s Twin Cam is loaded with custom HD styling cues and made quite a statement on the show floor, but the long list of go-fast goodies reveals he has more than display in mind. The Softail was torn down to the bare chassis, which was shaved and boxed for all the wiring to be run internally. The rear was dropped 2” with parts from Progressive Suspension and the HD springer runs a Burly fork lowering kit. Performance Machine supplied the high-impact Heathen wheels, sized 21” front and 18” rear, and they’re shod in Dunlop Elite 3 Tires.

With the handmade fuel tank, headlight and oil bag handling cosmetics, the Softail relies on a suite of hop-up parts (predominantly from the companies Turn 14 represents) to make sure the bite matches its bark. New pistons were sourced from CP, along with a chain-drive camshaft kit from S&S. Performance Machine supplied the velocity stack intake and a Vance & Hines FP3 fuel tuner keeps the gasoline flowing.

As tricked out of a Softail as you’ll find, details like the custom paint, brass oil lines and solid brass grips are lost in the whole, not to mention the custom suede saddle with oil-valved seat shocks. Hacker reports that the bike is awesome to ride, and we couldn’t imagine a more fitting piece for Turn 14’s booth.

Royal Enfield 650 by Sosa Metalworks Royal Enfield probably has one of the best custom builder programs in the biz right now, as the latest models regularly get worked over by some of the best names in the industry and shown worldwide. For a modern mill, Royal’s 650 has loads of classic charm, but still, I’m sure no one could have predicted how far Christian Sosa would take it.

Sosa’s name became synonymous with high-end metal fab more than a decade ago during his time as lead fabricator on the Discovery Channel’s Counting Cars series. He opened Sosa Metalworks in 2012, specializing in vintage cars and motorcycles, but it’s imaginative classic bikes like this Enfield that define his style.

If anyone was looking for spares, the cast-offs from Sosa’s build would have been a one-stop shop, as the engine and induction system looks to be the only OE equipment remaining. Used in the INT and Bear 650 models, the air/oil-cooled parallel twin produces 47 hp stock, and Sosa has proven just how rideable the bike is on screen several times.

It’s easier to list the pieces of Sosa’s bike that aren’t hand fabricated than the ones that are, as the frame sections, fuel tank and girder front end were all TIG welded and metal finished—with the level of talent that went into each piece on full display.

The bike rides on a pair of 21 wheels with Firestone tires with a single BYBRE disc brake in the rear for practicality. Manufactured in India for Brembo, the caliper and disc look to be the stock setup off the front of the 650 INT. How convenient.

AIMExpo | Photos by Tom Gosselin

Speed Read: Deus ex Machina’s custom Vespa GTS 300 and more

Speed Read: Deus ex Machina’s custom Vespa GTS 300 and more

Deus ex Machina finesses the Vespa GTS 300, Untitled Motorcycles rescues a beat-up Zero FXS, and Brooklyn’s The Lurkshop goes buck wild on the Suzuki DR650. In motorcycle news, Ducati updates the XDiavel with their V4 Granturismo engine to turn it into a 168-horsepower super cruiser.

Vespa GTS 300 by Deus ex Machina If you haven’t sampled the Vespa GTS 300 yet, you’re missing out. It’s nippy, handles surprisingly well for a scooter with 12” wheels, and looks killer. It doesn’t exactly beg to be customized—but that didn’t stop Deus ex Machina Australia’s Jeremy Tagand from taking a crack at it.

To the uninitiated, Jeremy’s Vespa GTS 300 Super Sport could be mistaken for a factory bike. But that’s its charm. Instead of making radical changes, the French wrench nipped and tucked the Vespa in tasteful ways, creating a stylish runner that’s a cut above your garden variety Vespa.

The biggest job was ditching the scoot’s bulky taillight and turn signals, which involved filling in and smoothing out the indented housings that they lived in. Jeremy trimmed the rear fender too, then installed a pair of Kellerman LEDs that do double duty as taillights and rear signals.

The front end received the same treatment, with tiny Kellerman units sitting atop the original mirror mounts.

Jeremy also removed the Vespa’s front fender ‘fin,’ leaving the bodywork super sano from front to back. The cockpit was treated to a drop-in digital dash from SIP Scootershop, plus Motogadget grips, switches, and bar-end mirrors. A smoked LED headlight completes the set.

Nicknaming the scooter ‘Don’t Panic,’ Jeremy settled on a black-on-black livery for his creation. Colourfuel stepped up to the plate, hitting the Vespa with touches of satin and gloss black.

The seat uses a mix of plain and perforated Alcantara and leather sections, and all of the previously chromed bits have been powder-coated black. YSS Suspension, Michelin tires, and a barking Akrapovič exhaust add a smidgen of performance.

Jeremy sums Deus’ Vespa GTS 300 up as “not loud, not showy—just effortlessly confident.” We concur. [Deus Ex Machina]

Zero FXS by Untitled Motorcycles The simplicity and tightly packaged design of most electric drivetrains make electric bikes more modular than their petrol-powered prototypes. So it’s curious that we don’t see more bolt-on custom kits for them.

This modified Zero FXS from Untitled Motorcycles makes a strong case for that approach. In stock form, the FXS is a zippy supermoto with 106 Nm of maximum torque and 46 hp on hand, in a package weighing just 133 kilos [293 pounds].

Although the Zero FXS looks good enough out of this box, this particular one was in dire need of a makeover. It had been stolen—and then recovered, thanks to its built-in GPS-based anti-theft tracker. But the thieves had been less than kind to the bike, leaving the bodywork mangled.

Adam Kay at Untitled’s UK workshop yanked the damaged parts off, before handing the bike over to Jack Lennie to 3D scan the whole thing. Next, he designed three new parts—a headlight shroud, a ‘tank’ cover, and a tailpiece.

The idea was to laser cut and fold each part—but before Adam created the final metal pieces, he prototyped them out of foldable plastic. “It looked cool right away, especially in its bright blue test color,” he tells us. “The customer loved the shade, and just like that, the final color was locked in.”

Once the design was translated into metal, Adam welded each edge to give each section a seamless finish. Glenn Moger added the seat pad, while Arni at Pro Kustoms handled the stunning satin blue paint job. Adam’s go-to electrical guy, Paul, wired in a new headlight, taillight, and Motogadget turn signals.

The design is minimalistic, but it’s not devoid of details. There’s a UMC logo cut into the headlight ‘grill,’ plus slots at key points to make wiring work easy. And because the kit uses just three pieces, it can be fitted in minutes—provided you’re happy to drill and tap a few new holes to mount it to.

Adam’s just produced one kit for now but he’s keen to do more… if there’s interest. [Source]

Suzuki DR650 by The Lurkshop “Our thing is sleepers,” explains Ross Miller—founder of The Lurkshop in Brooklyn, New York. “We love a bike that works better more than just looks better.”

This Suzuki DR650 encapsulates this philosophy in stylish retro fashion. The 1991-model DR650S was brought in by a customer who was happy to let Ross run wild with it. So he and his crew cranked the late 80s / early 90s vibes up to eleven, and packed the venerable dual-sport with scores of hidden upgrades.

For starters, the DR650’s engine was bumped up to 670 cc with a high-compression piston, an upgraded cam, a ported head, reworked valves, and a programmable ignition. With a Yoshimura flatslide carb and GPR exhaust in the mix, it now makes a stonking 54 hp at the rear wheel.

The forks are off a Suzuki DR-Z400, but they’ve been rebuilt and re-valved to suit The Lurkshop’s customer, while a Hagon shock sits at the back. The wheels are 17” supermoto items from Gale Speed, wrapped in Dunlop Q5S tires. Custom details include the steering stem, some machine work to make the back wheel fit the Suzuki swingarm, a rebuilt rear linkage, and Beringer brake components.

Visually, the DR650 is a neon dream with fresh graphics, a freshly powder-coated frame, and color-matched finishes on everything from the dashboard to the brake calipers. A custom seat from Volcano Industry complements the paint job, and, according to Ross, there’s also a “music box that plays all your favorite anime themes when the ignition is turned on.”

Sure to turn heads, The Lurkshop’s Suzuki DR650 reportedly has the go to match the show. “Cause of the cam, it just keeps pulling,” Ross testifies.

“Rips the front wheel off the ground rolling off and on in third and handles like a demon. Stops hard with one finger.”

“Looks like a DR650, handles like a 125 supermoto. Everything is tight and fast.” [Source]

2025 Ducati XDiavel V4 If the Ducati XDiavel has never made much sense to you, look away now. But if you’re gaga for Ducati’s monstrous ‘sport cruiser,’ we’ve got good news—it’s now more bonkers than ever.

The Borgo Panigale firm has upgraded the XDiavel V4 with their V4 Granturismo engine, matching cruiser ergonomics to MotoGP-derived performance. The 1,158 cc motor delivers 168 hp and 125.5 Nm of torque, features a counter-rotating crankshaft, and helps bring the XDiavel’s overall dry weight to just 229 kg [505 lbs].

The redesign goes beyond just an engine swap. The XDiavel V4 sports a relaxed riding position with better seats for both the rider and passenger. It comes in ‘Black Lava’ and ‘Burning Red,’ with the same muscular aesthetic that we’ve come to expect from the Diavel series.

Design highlights include front turn signals that are integrated into the side panels, full LED lighting, and a contrasting finish on the wheels that looks particularly swanky against the single-sided swingarm. Think of it as a two-wheeled American muscle car with Italian flair.

The XDiavel V4 also gets upside-down forks, Brembo Stylema brakes, and a comprehensive electronic rider aids package. Cruise control and a quick-shifter are standard equipment, as is launch control. Aftermarket accessories include a kit to move the foot pegs further back, a tail cowl that turns the bike into a single-seater, a ‘comfort’ seat, panniers, a passenger backrest, and a whole lot more.

As if the Ducati XDiavel V4 isn’t unapologetic enough, Ducati has given it a quad-muffler exhaust system to make its intentions clear. Is it overkill? Perhaps—but we love it. [Source]