Fat Tracker: Untitled’s Stripped-Down Moto Guzzi V9

Fat Tracker: Untitled’s Stripped-Down Moto Guzzi V9

It’s been a busy year for Hugo Eccles of Untitled Motorcycles. His Ducati Hyper Scrambler appeared on Jay Leno’s Garage, and his ‘Supernaturale’ Moto Guzzi custom won the coveted Design & Style award at the Quail Motorcycle Gathering this past June.

Moto Guzzi must have been paying attention because they recently commissioned Hugo to customize their V9 Bobber as part of their ‘Pro-Build’ program.

Untitled Motorcycles have an unusual cross-continent split: Hugo runs the San Francisco workshop, and Adam Kay the original London setup. They’ve been around since 2010, and feature regularly on EXIF and in the original bible of the modern custom scene, The Ride.

Hugo started by stripping the V9 Bobber down to the running chassis—frame, motor, and wheels—to see what lay underneath the panels.

“The V9 has a lovely Tonti-style tubular frame,” he says. “The rear of the frame, where it supports the engine, suggested the outline of a racing number plate. That’s where the idea for a fat-wheeled flat tracker started.”

“I decided to customize the Bobber version because I like the fat-wheel look, and I wanted to retain the original 16” cast alloy wheels. The shaft drive also makes swapping the rear end tricky.”

Hugo mistakenly thought it’d be easy to find cool 16″ rubber. After three weeks of searching, he finally located a set of Heidenau K66 all-weather tires. “They’re actually scooter tires, but rated to 112mph and 639 pounds—so they’re adequately spec’d for the bike.”

Identical 140/70-16 tires are fitted both front and rear, and are interchangeable—in keeping with the flat track theme.

Hugo has cleaned up the V9’s frame, removing redundant brackets for the stock battery, airbox, and ABS. He’s also moved the rear suspension mounts forward an inch to accommodate longer Hagon 420mm (16.5″) shocks, and added a custom rear hoop to continue the flow of the frame and create a seat bump stop.

The Guzzi’s air-cooled 853cc motor is engineered for torque so it’s well suited to dirt. “I really liked the idea of creating a tension between the large transverse v-twin motor and a small body perched on top,” he says.

Hugo designed a chopped-down, super-slim monobody that contrasts with the width of the V-twin cylinders. It’s inspired by the 1960s Hanna-Barbera character Magilla Gorilla—a large ape with a tiny hat—and takes cues from the lines of the Guzzi’s frame.

Help came from Nate Diepenbroek, a fabricator near UMC’s San Francisco workshop. “Nate and I worked together on the UMC-038 Hyper Scrambler, and we have a good working relationship,” says Hugo. “I create the design and the rough buck—usually from cardboard, foam and bondo—and then Nate and I work together, to translate it into metal.”

Diepenbroek used the original tank tunnel but ended up moving the side-mounted fuel pump, to keep the slim fuel tank design. A dry break receiver on top of the tank completes the flat track race look.

The fuel tank and seat blend together into a seamless monobody design topped with a narrow, vinyl-upholstered seat that matches the grey stripe on top of the tank.

Aluminum heat shields, designed as part of the monobody, protect the rider’s legs from the exhaust. It’s a custom stainless steel system that runs over the top of the cylinders and inside the rear of the frame. Perforated exhaust tips mimic the heat shield’s hole pattern.

The removable shields, built entirely by hand, were a task in themselves. “There are 438 holes. Each one was punched, piloted, drilled and reamed before being filed, sanded, sandblasted, and finally vapor blasted. That’s about 2,200 operations,” says Hugo.

The engine, fortunately, required no work. “I’ve always had a soft spot for the iconic Guzzi v-twin and the V9 motor is beautifully made, so I left it in factory spec and finish.”

All the mechanical and control elements are finished in textures of black, to create a visual separation from the incredible paintwork: “It’s a bespoke color mix from Kandy Kolor, laid down by Jay at motojrefinish,” Hugo reveals. “It has an extraordinary flip-flop quality. The color constantly shifts from metallic yellow to metallic green.”

“I really wanted to specify a color that’s both modern and also uniquely ‘Guzzi.’ That led to the iconic 1971 V7 Sport with the metallic ‘Verde Legnano’ lime green tank and red ‘Telaio Rosso’ frame.”

Hugo originally intended to copy that combination, but then changed his mind and decided to use green for the body and the frame. The bright red is now on the underside of the frame, and on the kicked up rear—where it integrates with a custom LED brake/blinker array designed with Motobox.

“This was an opportunity to push the boundaries” says Motobox’s Josh Alvarez, who also built the DTRA-style front number plate. It’s got integrated turn signals and a pair of 500 lumen LED spotlights that perform as hi/lo-beams.

Up front, there’s a full array of custom controls, including switchgear by Posh Factory, wired inside clip-on bars. “They’re modified Suzuki GSX-R handlebars, mount upside down and backwards, paired with Oury grips and Magura HC1 radial masters,” Hugo explains.

The stock top bracket was retained, but modified with a prominent start button replacing the original ignition block—and a tiny Motogadget LED display machined into the top surface. A Motogadget m.unit operates a keyless RFID module built into the seat.

It’s a less-is-more approach, which has been applied to the whole build. (“I’m a huge proponent of Lotus boss Colin Chapman’s mantra ‘simplify and add lightness’,” says Hugo.)

The pared-down, minimalist vibe makes this Guzzi V9 almost unrecognizable from—and 86lbs lighter than—the showroom bike. That seems to be typical of Hugo’s style, judging by his earlier Ducati Hyper Scrambler build.

Hugo’s recently received a commission from Ducati USA, and a joint USA/UK project with Triumph is in the pipeline: “Adam and I are going to be building two custom Triumphs—one in San Francisco and one on London—but not telling each other what we’re doing. It’ll be an in-house competition!”

Untitled Motorcycles’ Fat Tracker is on the Moto Guzzi stand at the International Motorcycle Show at Long Beach California this weekend Friday 17th to Sunday 19th November.

Untitled Motorcycles | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Erik Jutras | Moto Guzzi USA

SPECIFICATIONS

Length: 203cm / 80″

Width: 71cm / 28″

Height: 104cm / 41″

Seat: 78cm / 31″

Weight: 158kg / 349lbs

Fuel: 9.8 litres / 2.6 gallons

BODYWORK

Custom-designed, hand-fabricated steel monobody

OEM fuel pump

Custom seat, upholstered in grip vinyl, UMC tag