We’re suckers for classic Moto Guzzi café racers. But we like it even more when someone messes up the recipe a little. As with this sleek and quirky 1000 SP from France—which mixes conventional and unorthodox styling cues to great effect.
It comes from Samuel Aguiar, a multi-talented chap who designs furniture as well as motorcycles. He runs the Shiny Hammer workshop in Saint-Quentin, a town near the border of Belgium in northern France.
Samuel’s previous creations include a Rocketeer-style electric scooter and a stunning Shovelhead. They’re both fantastic builds but have little in common with this Guzzi.
“This one’s based on a 1981 1000 SP,” says Samuel. “The donor bike had been crashed, and the front wheel was basically stuck in the engine. I had to make the bike ‘straight’ before making any mods. But on the engine, only the alternator was broken.”
The ‘Spada,’ as it was known, was an excellent bike in its day. It had sharp handling, an integrated braking system, and all-day touring ability. The relaxed V-twin sent around 70 horses to the traditional Guzzi shaft drive, and the bike could cruise at 100 mph for hours.
The plasticky styling has not dated too well though, and that’s the main thing that Samuel has fixed. “My idea was to start with a ‘known’ style for the fuel tank, and then go a little more unusual on the front fender,” he says. “I wanted a kind of ‘weird cafe racer’.”
It’s a personal build, so Samuel had the freedom to explore a few ideas. “I always say to myself that I’m gonna sell the project I’m working on, but then I fall in love with it! I keep most of my builds, since they are all quite different.”
After giving the engine a thorough check and service, Samuel replaced the 32mm Dell’Ortos with a pair of mighty 36mm units. The stainless exhaust system is custom, with twin straight-through pipes hiding baffles to keep the noise level down a little.
Tarozzi rear sets nestle above the upkick in the pipes, and the vintage-style shocks are oleo-pneumatic units from Fournales—with adjustable air springs that you can pressurize with a standard bicycle tire pump.
The forks are stock but refurbished, lowered a little, and upgraded with Brembo brakes. Samuel has also rounded off and polished the top triples, right behind a Motoscope Pro—the most recent generation of Motogadget’s digital dashboard.
The stock 18-inch mag wheels have been replaced by custom-built spoked Morad rims in the same diameter, in 2.5 [F] and 3.5 [R] widths. They’re shod with a fresh set of Avon Roadrider AM26 tires.
There’s a Beringer front master cylinder with a custom lever hooked up to the front Brembos, but the rear master cylinder comes from a 50cc scooter and operates via a custom linkage.
The hard yards are in the metalworking though. Like everything else on this Guzzi, apart from the grey leather seat, Samuel tackled it by himself in his workshop.
“I’ve wanted to be able to weld aluminum for years,” says, “and decided to learn on this project.” He bought a TIG welder and literally learnt on the job, although you’d never be able to tell.
The bodywork is all new, and all aluminum. The shapes of the tank and fairing (complete with a Peugeot Ludix scooter headlight) are perfectly judged, but it’s the front fender and shortened tail unit that provide the twist.
There’s no paint on the metalwork to hide any imperfections. “I was thinking about black or grey paint, but decided to just brush it and add a clear coat,” says Samuel.
Raw metal is a tough trick to pull off, because there’s nowhere to hide. But it’s becoming a signature look for Shiny Hammer—and Samuel has the chops to make it work.
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