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My aim when modifying a motorcycle docc is to enhance the original concept with better components and create something that is unique but looks like it could have come out of the factory. So not trying to create a "racer" out of a tourer or GT bike and no just stripping it down and making it an uncomfortable, impractical and often illegal bike for the road. There needs to be balance, and an elegance about it and the retention of the original bikes DNA and character. This is why my V11 Sport for instance still retains the non radial callipers. Radial callipers would mean Aprilia RSV forks and a different front guard and that would have eliminated part of the V11 Sports recognisable aesthetic signature. Hanging gaudy aftermarket bit's off it is something i like to avoid as well. Phil

Thanks but I can't view it. Phi

Pete, as far as the Kaffemaschine bikes go, I invite you to check out their website and see that they are anything but "built from a catalogue". https://www.kaffee-maschine.net/philosophie_en They design and machine countless custom parts, frequently one-offs for a particular projects, including engine parts. If you know of a higher quality custom motorcycle shop (other than perhaps Walt Siegel), I'd love to know about it!

@p6x The retaliatory tariff is the big nut here. It is a different animal.

It is understood , when you personalize a bike .......you personalize YOUR bike.

I am surprised! In my mind, import tax is applied to new goods, based on the country of origin. Your motorcycle is not new, and its country of origin is Italy, not the USA. I feel strange that your Canadian buyer would need to pay import duty on used goods, made outside the USA. Also, based on my own experience, if you have owned something for more than six months, you are exempted to pay duty, as it is considered your own property that you are bringing back. When I came to the USA, I shipped a container from France of my own items, nothing new, but no motor vehicle. I did not have to pay any import duty. The import tax is applicable to new goods, and the import tax percentage is based from the country of origin. What your buyer could do, I to purchase the motorcycle from you, and wait six months before getting it across the border. He can tell the Canadian authorities that he purchased it to tour the USA. I checked the US import regulations for personal belongings bringing into the USA, and nothing has changed. As long as those goods are not prohibited items, and they weren't purchased right before being imported, no tax duty is due.

I've created a monster...

Let's face it, re-making a motorcycle successfully is not a matter for amateurs, the faint-hearted, or commercial venture. For the outcome to touch the heart and capture totality, some combination of skill, vision, experience, tools, and a certain amount of reverence must combine with resources, time, dedication and perseverance. I offer this case in point:

A most dear friend, who has passed now, arranged a bass line for me to accompany his lead guitar/vocals on that song. It means so much more to me now thinking of him, "Wish You Were Here " . . .

They all look exactly the bloody same. They’re all ‘Built from a catalog’ cookie cutter versions of the same thing. I used to like a nicely executed ‘Cafe’ Tonti but then they all became as dull and formulaic as those Harley’s that have been ‘Accessorised’ from the ‘Screaming Eagle’ catalog. Back in the early 2000’s I used to get an endless stream of these gurning numpties coming through the shop. They’d buy something like a lovely old SP1000, tear the fairing off, paint the frame, (With a brush and without taking the engine out!), throw away the airbox and put pod filters on the same tiny carbs so the engine didn’t run right and then to make it truly ‘Individual’ they’d do something like saw the flange off the bevelbox, shorten the rear mudguard and paint the sidepanels maroon or something equally gross! They all had clip ons and a stupid tail light and every single one of them was an unutterable pile of shit! When I expressed my feelings their owners would always flounce off in a huff! No skin off my nose as none of them ever had any money! It went hand in hand with the lack of talent! F*ckwits one and all.

Sorry, couldn't help myself. The title is visible. If you click on it, it's your own fault.

Well worth it right . Cheers Tom.

Went to Innsbruck with a friend in 2008. He K1200S me a new HD Cross Bones . Stretching the rods all the way, about 3200km roundtrip. Friend said 184km on his GPS. Just back on the road after a looong time, no license. Better buy a Harley right ..No rewards. Cheers Tom.

Update for curious bystanders: I've sent a message to the seller on kleinanzeigen.de, but he hasn't reacted yet. I expect he doesn't look in that often, as the ad was first placed in February this year. I take the fact that it is still there as an indication that the part is still available. As far as I know, kleinanzeigen ads get taken down after a month or six weeks or something if one does not actively renew them.

As nearly as I can cipher, Donnie Two Dolls Barbies will cost $50. Each.

It is also the tires. Both MotoGP and WSBK use a single brand spec tire. WSBK uses Pirelli and MotoGP uses Michelin. THe Pirelli's in WSBK seem to suit a wider range of bike designs. While a number of bike designs struggle with the Michelins in MotoGP. KTM has issues with the rear Michelin chattering bad. Aprilia also have issues at some tracks getting the Michelin tires to work right. Whereas Ducati seem to have the best handle on the Michelin tires. So they have an advantage. When KTM had the tires figured out a while back, Michelin changed the tires and KTM was struggling again. Other brands also tend to struggle with getting the spec tires to work. I get that part of racing would be getting the tires to work, but it seems much harder to get the Michelins to work in MotoGP then it is getting the Pirellis to work in WSBK. And then you have the goal post being moved, Michelin brining out a new tire construction and / or compound. Ditching the aero should be done, but so far they have no plans to do so, only to reduce / limit the aero. It is in the plans to get rid of the ride height adjustment, that will help. But they should be getting rid of the aero. They are also going from 1000's to 850's, that may help but odds are it will hurt more then help. When they ran 850's before it put more emphasis on cornering speed, so the racing was more processional. If you tried to pass someone you gave up your momentum and they just went back by. So instead you followed, hoping they made a mistake. And the end result was speeds were as high down the straights but higher in the corners, where they tend to crash. So the danger wasn't reduced by the smaller engines, which was supposed to be the point. Odds are at least one brand will get the smaller displacement combo right and the others will once again have to catch up, as happened last time they switched to smaller displacement. And the limits on testing slow down catching up. Currently Yamaha and Honda have help there, they get extra testing and the ability to change things like engines. But Aprilia and KTM don't have those concessions. They are struggling to catch up that last bit to Ducati. Moving to a spec ECU with limited traction control was a great step towards equalizing the racing. The one team that missed that was Yamaha, who didn't hire Weber/Marelli people to help them work out how to use the limited capability of the spec ECU. So even today Yamaha struggle with getting the power down. It makes it look like Yamaha are way down on power, and they are down on power. But they also struggle to put what power they do have down. Their only ace in the hole is Fabio is really good at making the most of the Yamaha and what it does do well. But their issue isn't just needing more power, they also need to be able to put that power to the pavement. Honda also lack power, and they also lack traction. But their traction issues seems to be more an issue with mechanical grip, not their traction control. As with most complex equations, there is usually more then one factor in why any team / bike is slow. Adding more power without the ability to use that power may actually make you slower.

Maybe he’ll have two bikes instead of thirty and they’ll cost a few dollars more….

Since the new PM is visiting the White House today, maybe a deal will still go through? You'd think they would be looking for an off ramp for this disaster, otherwise lots of people are going to be hurt on both sides of the border.

Good call! I never looked at Quadlock, I considered them phone oriented. On the picture shown, it seems the clamp section is slimmer than my Smallrig, Insta360 ones. I also used Ulanzi, DJI accessories without much more success. The Insta360 X3 offers more flexibility, as I could anchor on the luggage rack of my V11, whenever I try it. Scottymakestuff has a lot of accessories, especially for GoPro cameras... check it out! Mounting cameras on my Quota is a dream compared to the V11...

I have my Griso for sale and have a Canadian MG enthusiast very much interested in it. He is in BC and the distance is very drivable for the pick up. He planned on trailering it. I would have to put the original muffler on for Canadian vehicle inspection...no biggy. Upon doing the research for the border crossing, he got the proper amounts for import duty and sales tax. The clincher was the $2350 he would have to pay for retaliatory tariffs. Bummer for him and me. In the past I purchased two bikes at different times from BC and brought them back across to the US. The crossing went very smoothly. Not so much anymore. It is a bummer that even private buyers are hit with this extra cost.

...i don't know, I tend to come across some nice Guzzi customs with some frequency. And everything that comes out of Kaffemaschine's shop in Germany is fabulous.

Fulvio has Moto Guzzi coveralls. Maybe he is a retired Moto Guzzi employee? Someone forgot to tell him that if you personalize your motorcycle, to the extent of permanently immortalizing it with your name in multiple places, it may become difficult to sell... But what do I know....

To my mind similarly hideous.

Most of the time you cannot stray from the original design and improve a MG . It usually looks stupid . It is EXTREMELY rare that a modified (personalized) MG can pull it off and look great ! these three bikes do it .