Life is rich in paths crossed. Some are unnoticed and ephemeral, others are loves at first sight and then there are the simply human, friendly meetings, born out of a shared passion … This kind of chance meeting which can lead to projects, or collaboration, was the case for project W650. For me, it was always important to share moments, values or passions with people. Every individual has his real-life experience, their principles and their ideas. Each of us is rich from their own history and from that which makes them move forward.

I met Nicolas from Egerie Moto two years ago during our Flat Track events that I organize with my buddy Domice through our Vintage Racing Spirit association. We saw each other punctually during these days and chatted about our feelings on the track and most of all we spoke a lot about our machines. We shared a common vision of things: love of the vintage machines and a certain taste for simple and uncluttered aestheticism. Nicolas had launched his custom motorcycle workshop called Egerie Motorcycle some time ago and I just launched the brand Age of Glory. And he had just built two very beautiful motorcycles including his flat track bike that I particularly like. The project started very naturally all on its own through our discussions. I had a motorcycle to work on, quite a lot of ideas but not all the required skills. And I fast realized that Nicolas had them and moreover, he shared a common value of good workmanship and the aestheticism.

Nothing was simple on this project. There were quite a lot of challenges with regard to the initial project idea. For example, the idea of adapting an inverted fork did not ease Nicolas’s task. But he met the challenge, successfully! Having studied the idea and having found the best compromise, we used an Aprilia 550 SXV fork. We needed one that we can fit without making modifications which could affect the reliability of the front axle. We refused to modify the pivot or to tinker with safety points. The SXV fork seemed the good compromise, long enough for a tracker (a sport bike fork would have been too short), Oversize and equipped with a radial break support. It was only missing the right color, new adapted bearings and a clearance reduction. Both wheels were re-spoked and enhanced by a pair of Firestone tires, vintage Flat Track style.

There were quite a lot of challenges with regard to the initial project idea. (…) the idea of adapting an inverted fork did not ease Nicolas’s task. But he met the challenge, successfully!