Sven grew up around engines, thanks to his rally driving, repair-shop owning father. These days he splits his time between photography, journalism and media consulting, all under his Wheels of Stil brand. But he also keeps some tools on a farm near Berlin?where his ?workshop meditation? takes place.
?I never learned any craftsmanship professionally,? he tells us. ?But I love the excitement of trial and error, and those great moments of finding working solutions for a problem.?

?I bought it intentionally to slow me down,? he says. ?I was very often tempted by fast bikes on the open road before, and wanted to minimize speed and risk while maximizing the dialogue between bike and rider.?
?The V7 perfectly matches my expectations of a daily driver. She unites reliability and classic, prototypical looks?and a great legacy. There?s just enough power, great sound and relatively nimble handling.?
His first port of call was the fenders: ?The small, unnecessary holes in the fenders?reflector mounts for the American market?were a thorn in my side, ruining the overall line!? So he TIG welded the holes closed while figuring out his next step.
With the engine and gearbox ticking over nicely, there was no need to open them up. Instead, Sven stripped everything else down to begin rebuilding.

He got stuck into the wiring too, updating various components to bring the old Guzzi up to muster?it now starts via a car-style ignition. Then a rare set of 29mm carbs was thoroughly cleaned, t...