When Giavanni Ravelli, one of the 3 founders of Moto Guzzi, was killed in a plane crash just days after the end of the war, his 2 partners Giorgio Parodi and Carlo Guzzi, decided to commemorate Ravelli with a company symbol representing their common passion for flying planes. For logo, they rook inspiration from the insignia of the Italian Air Corp, the winged eagle (L’aquila Ad Ali Spiegate), still today part of Moto Guzzi logo. A reference to aviation that many also find (coincidence or not) in the engine design, quite reminiscent of the shape of many plane motors. Two facts that builder Alan Bernard from Santiago Chopper must have known when he decided to theme this custom 1997 Guzzi 1100 Sport, customizing it with as many visual references he could find of WW2 combat planes, pinup included (painted on top engine!)

The 1100 Sport Guzzi has a very distinctive, old school look and apart from a few troubles with the original fuel injected system, it makes a very good used buy, around US $5500. When Alan bumped into one with only 2400 original miles, he knew he had to own it, knowing it would be another perfect canvas for a very cool Cafe Racer. The V-twin (1064 cc, 90 hp, 71 ft/lb torque), 5 gears, steel spine frame bike gives you a 1/4-mile acceleration in 12.3 seconds and takes you to a top speed of 140 mph. On something like a Guzzi, that feels bloody fast…



In addition to a perfect body work for such a theme that consumed most of the labor hours, replacing some original parts with the updated after-market version, mechanical mods are limited to adding a 40 mm Dellorto Carburetor (the brand models have been fitted to most Italian motorcycles since the 1950s), replacing the original ignition with an electronic model from Muzi Moto used in Guzzi competition, simplifying/improving/hiding the stock electrical system well known for being affected with several issues. Work performed by Mike Lima and Alain Bernard at Santiago Chopper (photography copyright Erik Runyon at Choppershotz courtesy to Cyril Huze)