In the custom world, Simone Conti marches to the beat of a different drum. He?s not into retro throwbacks, old school vibes or stealthy upgrades. He builds fast, aggressive-looking machines that look like they?ve just rolled out of a NASA design center.
His new build is based around the motor from an Aprilia SXV550, and that?s a good thing. ?It?s a very beautiful and small engine,? Simone tells us.

The bike was created for the first Motorcycle Arts & Designers (MOARD) exhibition, held in Milan?s historic Palazzo del Ghiaccio in May. And despite appearances, it?s not a CAD effort?Simone works on the design of a bike as he builds it.
The SXV550 was a basically a street-legal supermoto racebike, and although its 70 hp V-twin was temperamental, it also provided more thrills than just about anything else on the road.
It?s hard to describe the style of this build, which is unusually low?and short, at just 1400mm (55 inches).
?I originally wanted an ?Italian chopper,? says Simone, ?but while was building it, I had to change the style.? He?s kept the idea of a rigid back end, though, which helps to keep the weight down to a remarkable 120 kg dry (265 pounds).

In his workshop in the small town of Sassuolo in Modena (yes, Ferrari?s home territory), Simone started the build by removing the SVX550 engine and discarding the rest of the Aprilia.
The engine is now cradled in a custom-made frame similar to Yamaha?s ?delta box? design, built from 1.5mm steel. (The tube sectio...