Batten down the hatches and don your flak jacket: The purveyors of the world’s most hated motorcycles are back. This time, the infamous El Solitario crew has done unspeakable things to… a Zaeta.
That’s right, you’re looking at a Zaeta 530 DT: A street-legal flat track racer powered by a 528cc DOHC single, making close to 60 hp and weighing a meager 255 pounds (115 kilos). It’s perfect for going sideways around a dirt track?and wholly inappropriate for long distance road trips.

So that’s exactly what El Solitario did. Once they finishing working their black magic on the Zaeta, they took it on a 1000-mile tarmac jaunt and raced it at Dirt Quake V.
Shop boss David Borras tell us how it all started: ?I think it was in the Sideburn blog where I first saw the Zaeta, maybe five years ago,? he says. ?The bike immediately seduced me and got me fantasizing about how cool it would be to ride it like a hooligan on any terrain.?
?Then I read about Paolo [Chiaia, Zaeta founder] and his original ideal of what his dream bike was, and how he put all the meat on the grill to make it happen. F—, I admired that man and I didn?t even know him yet.?
?I guess it was meant to happen, the meeting of the troublemakers. Some years passed and one day… BANG! ‘Paolo, I want to make a Solitarization of the Zaeta. What do you think"’ His answer was a straight ‘F— yes?let’s do it, wolf!’ Some months later I had a...