Italian Moto Guzzi guru Filippo Barbacane has just finished a new custom, ‘Black Jack’. Simple and understated in silver and black, it’s based on the 1000 SP—a somewhat ungainly tourer built between 1977 and 1985. Barbacane has transformed the machine with his usual painstaking attention to detail, creating a stylish, usable and fast bike. Handling is taken care of with 45mm Marzocchi forks up front and Bitubo shocks at the back. The frame is reinforced to tighten up the handling, and a new Brembo brake system has been fitted with 320mm Alth rotors at the front. The tank, side covers, triple tree and fenders are bespoke Officine RossoPuro items, matched to Tarozzi bars and foot controls. It all works very well, and begs the question: is this the sort of motorcycle that Moto Guzzi itself should be building today, as a 1000cc bigger brother to the V7 Classic? Rather than ploughing its meager resources into competing with BMW’s GS range?
