Custom: Shinya Kimura MV Agusta 750 S America

We’re excited to be exclusively unveiling Shinya Kimura’s latest artwork, this custom MV Agusta 750 S America. Before taking us for a canyon ride yesterday, Shinya took the time to wheel the MV outside so we could shoot it. It was the first time the bike had ever left his workbench. Photos: Grant Ray “This is for a famous Japanese singer,” Shinya tells us. The unnamed singer has houses in both LA and Tokyo, Shinya speculates that the bike will see use in America before being shipped off to Japan. “Basically, chassis is stock,” he continues. “I just cut the cross bar to make it removable for easy access to the cylinders and heads. Original MV Agusta is straight across, I had to remove it.” “I made all the side covers, seat and fairing from sheet metal, by mallet.” Shinya has an old English wheel in his tiny LA-area shop, but says he rarely uses it in favor of forming the metal bodywork by hand himself. He uses 1/8” thick aluminum sheet which is much thicker than normal, making it less pliable and harder to work on. That’s one of the reasons why the mallet marks remain a lasting testament to the artist’s hand on the bikes he creates.

“I fitted GP forks and a leading brake and the 18-inch wheels,” Shinya says the mechanical work he did to this bike was very basic, in contrast to some of the wilder creations in his garage. “Not so special, I just fixed the inside of the motor.”

A neat detail are these glass jewels used as the idiot light lenses. Shinya describes how he formed the front fairing, “At first I made the x-section by bracket, then put the skins between the bracket plates.”

As you can see, the stock 750 S America has an entirely different look. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WYb2HnHHj0&feature=player_embedded “I offered the customer to make an MV Agusta because I wanted to create an MV Agusta custom bike,” concludes Shinya. Look for a full interview and a Shop photo feature in the coming days.