CHRISTIAN Moretti is a talented bike builder based in Laveno-Mombello in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. He is particularly fond of getting hold of what he calls “old bikes only good for trash” and turning them into something better, which is why he calls his business Plan B Motorcycles.
“This XV750 is the perfect example,” Christian says. “It was designed to compete with Milwaukee’s twins but despite some interesting technical solutions, it turned out too clean, too quiet, almost tasteless and without the character of the American bikes.”
Little was known of the donor bike’s history when a prospective client, who Christian calls Mr F, dropped in with his Yamaha. “Sometimes it’s better not to ask,” he says of the boxes of rusty parts, spray-painted engine pieces, knots of…