Italy is proud of some among the oldest marriages in motorcycling, many of which are still prolific to this day. But the annals of Italian motorcycle history also have many companies that have not stood the test of time – like Aermacchi.
If you don’t know the story, Aermacchi is an aircraft manufacturer that started producing motorcycles after the Second World War. American readers will know the name, because Harley-Davidson bought half of the company in 1960 and started selling Aermacchis in the suburbs. You are looking at a 1961 Aermacchi Harley-Davidson 250 Sprint, masterfully reworked by Christian Schwarzenlander at ExesoR Motorcycles in Austria.
Christian chose Aermacchi for this rehibilitate project, especially because he wanted to do something with a rare Italian classic. “The style of the 60s single-engines and the pure design of this era are unmistakable,” he told us. “I always play with the mindset of one day building an Aermacchi.”
“But today it is increasingly difficult to find an affordable Aermacchi. Some of them have been modified into vintage racing bikes, and some of them are completely restored in private collections. “
Christian scoured the internet and came across the 1961 Sprint 250. It was in poor condition and overpriced, but because they were hard to find, he bought it.
Fortunately, there is a client who sponsors the project; unusual, as Christian often enjoys working on his own bikes. It helps that the client is also an old friend – and he gives Christian the freedom to do whatever he wants with Aermacchi. And we’re glad he did, because the end result strikes an elusive balance between classic restoration and elegant customization.
The first job was to get the rat donor motor working again. That was done within three hours, leaving Christian very optimistic about the rest of the project. But as it turns out, the single-cylinder power plant is one of the few parts on the bike that still works.
And that doesn’t say much either; Christian had to rebuild the entire front end, because “some idiot drilled holes through the exhaust port and replaced the head bolts with wood screws.”
There are many rest jobs lurking elsewhere. The frame needs to be firmly ground and sandblasted before it can be repainted. And the OEM fuel tank, a part that Christian insists on keeping, is almost gone.
“It was a disaster,” he said. “After I removed three coats of paint and a few millimeters of filler, I saw disaster: the big dents were always on the side. After soldering the new muffler to a Monza-style filler cap, I took the tank to a friend of mine at I-Flow to prep the tank and do the paint job. ”
There wasn’t much work to be done on the original chair either, so Christian repaired the seat cushion, shaped new foam, and covered it with suede. It is attached to the bike via a beautiful hand-made stainless steel subframe.
Smaller salvageable items have been cleared away. But other parts have rusted irretrievably and must be recreated – like the oddly carved aluminum frames. Christian also commissioned master builder, Bernhard ‘Blechmann’ Naumann, to build a new cover for the electric box on the right side of the bike.
Christian also reattached the stock hubs to new 18” shouldered aluminum rims, wrapping them in new Heidenau rubber. The front fork has been stripped and refurbished, while the rear shock has been swapped out for a set of aftermarket units.
In the cockpit are a bunch of clip-ons that come with the car, along with new headlights, handlebars and grips. Lower down, Christian restored the original exhaust tip and fitted it with an internal dB suppressor.
Thoughtful little details abound on this charming Aermacchi. There’s a small toolbox on the left side of the bike, made with a modified valve cover from an old Dnieper. And the bike is sprinkled with drill bits and subtle custom details.
Christian said: “Many organs could not be saved. “A total of more than 50 parts were made to order and more than 20 original parts were modified.”
It took Christian 250 hours, spread over 13 months, to complete this work. But the hard graft is clearly worth it. The fruit of the lush green paint job has earned it the nickname ‘Verde,’ it’s as cute as the rare Italian classics get.
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