Commissioned builds are the lifeblood of any successful custom motorcycle businesses, but so is a strong portfolio. So it’s not unusual for a workshop to occasionally close their order book for a minute, and pour all their energy into building a showpiece. It’s a chance to show off the full spectrum of their talent and skill?without a brief or budget to rein them in.
This Moto Guzzi 1000 SP is one such build. On the surface, it’s a glossy café racer with a flawless stance. But the more you stare at it, the more you realize just how heavily this late-70s tourer has been customized.

It’s the work of Massimo Rinchiuso, who runs Fuchs Workshop in the colorful city of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. Fuchs is effectively a one man band, though Massimo does occasionally farm out jobs that are outside of his area of expertise. He purchased the 1979-model 1000 SP as a true basket case, with its parts divvied up into four boxes. ?It was completely disassembled by the previous owner for a restoration attempt,? he tells us, ?then let go over time.? The goal was to not only bring the Moto Guzzi back to life, but load it with an eye-watering list of mods.

For starters, Massimo removed the Guzzi’s lower frame rails, then fabricated new attachment points to hang its V-twin mill from. The engine now sits a little higher and at a sharper angle, which has left space to sharpen up the steering angle too. Tucked away between everythi...