Meister Engineering V10 Centauro – Return of the Cafe Racers

Again in 1997 Moto Guzzi celebrated their seventy fifth anniversary with the discharge of a particular and somewhat uncommon motorbike. Coined the V10 Centauro, after the half-man half-horse beast from Greek mythology, it was Mandello del Lario’s oddball reply to the Ducati Monster.

By all accounts, the Moto Guzzi Centauro was a good performer. Shoehorned into the bike’s body was a retuned model of the Daytona Sport 992cc 8 valve v-twin that produced 92hp and 92Nm of torque. Mixed with dealing with optimized by WP Suspension the bike delivered an gratifying driving expertise regardless of a hefty moist weight of 242kg (533lbs).

The Centauro was Moto Guzzi’s late nineties try at a unadorned sports activities bike. Though solely launched 3 years earlier, the Ducati Monster had amassed an enormous international following and Guzzi wished a slice of the pie. Sadly, the Centauro was extra aesthetically akin to a laid-back portly cruiser than the sporty bare roadster.

The entrance half of the Centauro was dominated by an enormous sweeping gas tank. The seat was a 3 half fake par that began midway up the tank. And the tail unit and exhaust pipes bore an uncanny resemblance to Suzuki’s yet-to-be-released ’99 Suzuki Hayabusa. It was a unique-looking motorbike, to say the least, and would appeal to plenty of consideration out on the road, however not all the time for the proper causes. However now, over 1 / 4 of a century after its launch, Antoine Meister and his group on the Swiss workshop Meister Engineering, have confirmed that this ugly duckling has the potential to be extremely fascinating.

“This was a shopper challenge on a bizarre (or ugly?) wanting ’98 V10 Centauro Sport that was in unique form,” says Meister Engineering group member Adrien Lombard. “However it got here out fairly good! It’s additionally a fairly uncommon mannequin too with solely 401 items produced.”

Meister’s transformation of the V10 Centauro took 4 months to finish and was predominantly a visible overhaul. Based mostly loosely on a design their shopper introduced to them the completed result’s a lot sportier and visually pleasing than the manufacturing facility unit. And it’s all because of a set of well-planned and executed modifications and upgrades.

The largest modifications are in fact to this Centauro’s bodywork. Meister achieved the brand new look by remodeling a number of the current parts together with completely changing others. The gas tank is likely one of the Centauro’s defining options. Together with its distinctive form, it options distinctive inlets on its aspect panels that draw air into the airbox. Seeing because the V10 Centauro is of historic significance Meister determined it needed to keep, however not with out some finessing.

Step one was to determine a horizontal bone line which is a typical trait of Meister’s work. This was completed by trimming the bolt-on aspect panels so that they run parallel to the bottom. This method inadvertently uncovered the manufacturing facility air field however fortunately the one on this bike in some way manages to be visually interesting.

With the bike’s rear finish, the Meister group took a way more aggressive method. Changing the Hayabusa type haunches is a custom-made cafe racer-esque wasps tail cowl. That includes a svelte tuck and roll leather-based saddle it sits stage with the tank on an all-new subframe. Being primarily based in Geneva Meister’s work is topic to Europe’s strict automotive homologation codes so the subframe and all different modifications on this bike have been licensed and authorised.

To maintain all the pieces wanting clear rear-end lighting is supplied by twin operate extremely shiny flip/brake indicators and the license plate relocated to a custom-made, aspect mount bracket. Entrance-end lighting has additionally been given an overhaul with tiny LED flip indicators mounted to the handlebars and a slim LED headlight nestled between the yokes.

Accompanying the Centauro’s new lighting association is a set of different fashionable accent upgrades. Sitting atop the headlight is a Motogadget Motoscope Professional digital gauge. The brand new roadster-style handlebars sit in aftermarket risers and put on LSL grips, levers, and a quick-action throttle meeting.  A single bar finish Motogadget mirror hangs off one finish and there’s all-new Motogadget switchgear too.

In regard to efficiency, Meister opted to maintain issues just about normal. Their V10 Centauro Sport donor was in close to new situation so a {custom} exhaust and a carb retune are the extent of any energy upgrades. The WP suspension and manufacturing facility brake setup stays untouched too. Nevertheless, to make sure the bike may stay as much as its sportier aesthetic there are Avia braided brake traces and high-performance fashionable rubber.

As they are saying “Excellence is within the particulars” and excellence is definitely what’s been achieved right here. To finish this challenge Meister gave your entire engine a recent coat of high-temp black earlier than painstakingly sharpening all the fins on the engine circumstances. The entrance finish of the body has been chrome plated, the wheels refurbished and the bodywork completed in a modern fashionable gray. Even the gas injection badges that when sat on the aspect panels have been relocated to the airbox and a set of one-off Meister Engineering badges fabricated for the gas tank. So regardless of as soon as being an Italian oddball, this Moto Guzzi V10 Centauro has exceeded all our expectations.

MEISTER ENGINEERING