W.T.S Guzzi
AKA the Westlake Tagand Special
A 'Bitsa' short for 'Bits of everything' is a term often reserved to describe a mongrel dog who could have any number of breeds in its blood line. When you take a Moto Guzzi T3, strap a Dresda Triton seat to the back, BSA cans underneath, Manx Norton fairing to the front and finish it all off, paint it in Porsche's Miami blue, a 'Bitsa' is exactly what you have.
The owner of this beautiful machine is no stranger to custom motorcycles, Roger has had more motorcycles than we have fingers and toes, all receiving the Deus treatment‚ But the affectionately named 'WTS' or Westlake Tagand Special is the pice de' resistance of his fleet.
After purchasing the donor bike from Guzzi guru, John at Motociclo, Roger brought the tired T3 to Jeremy at the House of Simple Pleasures in Sydney, describing exactly what he had in mind. And after ironing the finer details of the build Jeremy got to work, prepping the build while Roger started scouring the web sourcing parts from every inch of the globe.
Jez stripped the bike down to only the frame and motor, first step was to get the stance just perfect. Both wheels were sent to Ash's Spoked Wheels for a complete refurbish, the rear rim was upgraded to a wider unit to accommodate a larger tyre, the hubs and rims were powder-coated black and laced with stainless spokes and wrapped in classic Metzeler Lasertec rubber. The bike is supported in the rear by Matris shocks courtesy of Terry at Shock Treatment, while the forks were spruced up with all new internals, shaved outer tubes, Tarozzi brace and the triple clamps polished within an inch of their life. Lastly, Tarozzi rearsets and a set of Ace bars to put Roger in the optimum seating position for hitting well cambered corners.
With the bike now sitting levelled, the next task was to get the various body parts to work in unison. The first piece of the puzzle was the new polished alloy tank, Roger brought Jeremy a Dresda Triton seat base that he'd had in storage for the past 30 years, which was modified to fit the Guzzi's frame. The side covers were originally designed for a Triumph 'Thruxton', fitting took a little persuasion. Along with a short front fender and polished alternator cover. Finally, the gorgeous bikini fairing, taken straight from a 'Manx' Norton.
Once the bike looked the part, the performance needed to match. The carbys were upgraded to 30mm Dellorto units with alloy velocity stacks, giving the engine plenty to inhale. Roger then delivered a set of BSA Rocket Goldstar mufflers, which the guys at Hi-Tec Mufflers transformed into a 2-into-2 stainless headers system. The Guzzi was then brought into the twenty first century thanks to an electronic ignition system, Acewell speedo, and some super classy Kellerman bar-end and Atto DF indicators.
Finally the bike was stripped down one last time, brackets and fiddly bits sent off to PCS for powder coating. The motor and body work sent off to Dutchy's Motorcycle Spray Painting to work his magic. Roger chose to keep the paint simple yet sophisticated with this build, 'borrowing' the blue from the new Porsche 911 and the WTS emblem reminiscent of the A.J.S logo. The engine was blacked out and the fins and valve covers polished to a mirror finish.
While we're on the subject of paint, we'd like to thank Dutchy for all his incredible work over the past 10 years, making our dreams a reality and constantly pushing the boundaries of what is possible with a spray gun. The WTS is his final job for the House of Simple Pleasures, but talk about going out with a bang!
The last piece that we're sure you haven't missed is the crocodile seat cover stitched together by Dave at Badarse Trim Co.
After re-assembling the motorcycle the result is what you see before you, a classic British styled racer with an Italian power , German sports car colours and a seat fit for Mr Dundee himself. Talk about a real Bitsa
