Sportsters
Aldo Querio Gianetto, owner of AQG Motociclette in Colleretto Castelnuovo, Italy, is the man responsible for this fight on wheels and it’s just one of the many, many back-road-worthy customs he’s made over the years. Named LC-02 Corsa, the “LC” stands for owner Luca Chiavazza’s initials, “02” for the second version of this style of bike, and “Corsa” is Italian for race, but I think it should have been called FC-02 Corsa.
Starting with a ’99 XL frame, Aldo had to make room for the taller-than-stock S&S engine and removed any extraneous tabs. He also clipped off the tail end just aft of the top shock mounts before fabbing up a beefier aluminum swingarm to replace the Sporty’s somewhat generic steel unit. Reworking the internals in the Sportster front end for better handling in conjunction with the replacement of The Motor Company’s faux shocks for a set of longer aftermarket real shocks gave him a platform worthy of back road shenanigans. Spooning on a set of Performance Machine’s forged aluminum Torque wheels not only added high quality and lighter weight than stock, but a dash of drama with the nine-spoke directional design giving a sense of motion even at rest. Aldo’s choice of reasonably-sized Avon Venom tires and Performance Machine brakes act like a referee when the fight gets out of hand.
Plugging in that S&S’ 100” engine was a one-stop shopping trip of power that almost makes the tach redundant as it bellows out the by-products of high-compression combustion through the Aldo-modified rakishly upswept SuperTrapp 2-into-1 exhaust. A great soundtrack is part of any Italian motorcycle and this Italo-American hybrid continues that fine tradition. Internally, a set of Andrews gears in the tranny easily handles what the S&S mill can hand out while a Barnett clutch smoothly rings the bell for the next round amid all the aural commotion.
The gorgeous hand-formed aluminum fuel tank is not an end result of Italian panel beating, but a smart choice plucked directly from Sportster guru Steve Storz’s line of products offered by his company, Storz Performance. Not so with the aluminum tail section now doing double duty as an oil tank that Aldo fabricated. The sculptural mounting tabs holding it in place bolt directly into the truncated rear frame and the twin braided-steel oil lines draping over the top and down the left side add a theatrical aspect while providing additional capacity and cooling for the engine oil. This may not go with Erik Buell’s thoughts on mass centralization, but it does give the underseat area an airy, open look. Sometimes you’ve just got to have a bit of style for the sake of it and questioning an Italian designer’s sense of style might be considered a grande errore.
Paint and graphics are subtle, but striking and compliment the overall design instead of trying to pummel the lines of the tank and tail section. Aldo sprayed a cool titanium matte finish on the frame and primary cover that allows the matte white bodywork to crisply stand out. Meanwhile, the white piping on the comfy Selleria Viano tuck ‘n roll upholstered seat ties everything together. BM
Up Close: Auto Meter Fat Tach
Nothing adds a bit of instant street cred more than a huge tach with a shift light sitting imposingly high above your triple clamps for all the world to see that you’re a bad-ass who lives life by a needle approaching redline. If that’s the case for you, Auto Meter Products in Sycamore, Illinois, has just the coolest looking five-inch tachometer with a built-in programmable shift light made especially for motorcycles.
The Fat Tach’s got a vintage musclecar look with modern touches that separates it from the usual tiny aftermarket tachs that are kinda cheesy as far as I’m concerned. The bold white face with a font you can’t miss even if you forgot your bifocals features vibrant green LED through-the-dial illumination and its own cool dash within-an-instrument for setting the shift light. Between the size of the face and the shift light and setting knobs, most people might surmise you’ve got it going on even if you don’t. On top of that, Auto Meter made sure this is not just a decorative piece, but something that could withstand the vigors of the open road as it’s vibration and water resistant too.
Even if hitting red line is not on your to-do list, with the high cost of gas you could just set it to flash for maximum efficiency and nobody would be the wiser. I gotta admit I’ve got a shift light on one of my bikes and like a loaded 45, it’s there if I need it. Kinda comforting in case a shootout breaks out at the next set of lights.
For more info on all of Auto Meter’s motorcycle gauges, check out www.autometer.com.
Builder: Aldo Querio Gianetto
There’s a small town of only 316 inhabitants located in the northwest region of Italy in the mountains of Turin called Colleretto Castelnuovo that is famous for its vineyards, beech and chestnut trees, chapels and small countryside churches. It all sounds so peaceful and lovely, so much so it’s known as the Sacred Valley. Not too much going on there, why there’s not even a hotel or B&B in case you ever wanted to stay overnight should you somehow end up there. One of those 316 residents is a guy named Aldo Querio Gianetto who must be considered the town rowdy every time he breaks the tranquil silence by firing up one of his motorcycles he creates at his shop, AQG Motociclette.
Test riding is not an unusual event, though, as Aldo seems to knock out internationally acclaimed bikes on an extremely frequent schedule. The unmistakable sound of an American 45-degree V-twin has got to make the other 315 stop and take notice.
Hey, it’s probably the high point of everyone’s day as they can’t help but hear him pull hard through the gears climbing the local mountain switchbacks on one of his diverse one-off customs. If not, they can always pour another glass of the local vino while taking a long drag on a Sigaro Toscano and wait for the dead silence to return once more. Theoretically there’s a good reason for this besides just having an extraordinary amount of fun. “It’s extremely important that all of my custom machines are mechanically sound when they leave my shop. The engines and transmissions can be expensive to repair,” said Aldo. “So that’s why I use the best power trains.
When modifications are requested or required, I use only the best parts available.” Sounds like a good reason for a ride to me.
Visit www.aqg.it for more info on Aldo and his machines.
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