The allure of vintage motorcycles lies in their storied past. Often those stories began on the race track where a motorcycle proved its worth on the podium. One example of such a motorcycle is the Moto Guzzi Le Mans.
The Moto Guzzi Le Mans series began in 1976 after Dutch road racer Jan Kampden developed an 810cc version of Moto Guzzi’s v-twin engine. Kampden built the engine with advice from legendary Moto Guzzi engineer Lino Tonti and used it in 6-hour race events. On the back of Kampden’s successes, Tonti and his team created an 844cc racing engine that dominated the majority of 1971 Bol d’Or 24-hour at Le Mans. The bike finished in a respectable 3rd place after suffering a broken rocker arm, but its impressive performance up to that point caught the attention of the motorcycling world. Four years later, on the back of that hype, Guzzi released their first Le Mans roadster to the public.
Moe of Sheriff Motorcycles in the UAE has been a long-term Guzzista. As such building a custom Le Mans sat high on his bucket list. “This bike was a personal project fueled by my admiration for older generation Guzzis,” he says. “Their amazing character always made me wonder what I could create if I ever had the chance to design one.” Moe’s chance to do just that came about when he discovered a retired 1984 Le Mans 1000 race bike for sale at the right price.
“The donor bike was an authentic race bike forged in Spain, which competed in Le Mans, the 4 Hours of Spa, and other European races,” he explains. “Overhauled for endurance racing, it was a dominant force on the track, thanks to the expertise of the Spanish team. After purchasing this remarkable machine, I transformed it, giving it the design and shine it deserved as a retired competitor, now to be admired and respected for its glory days.”
The entire process of building the Guzzi, which Moe fittingly named ‘Lemans’,m took six months to complete, including the time spent conceptualizing and sourcing parts. According to him the biggest challenge of this build was to not “over-design” the bike since Moto Guzzi did such a great job with the Le Mans 1000 in the first place.
“The concept was to balance aggression with elegance, a challenging mix due to their contrasting design approaches,” says Moe. “Aggressive motorcycles are often blacked out with minimal color accents. However, with this motorcycle, we wanted to break the mold. We challenged ourselves to create a design that exudes power without relying on black, striving for a striking and beautiful look.”
Transforming an 80s racer into a street-legal custom requires significant work. The Sheriff Motorcycles team began the transformation with the fitment of a custom front fairing wearing an integrated LED headlight. Tommaselli clip-on handlebars tuck in behind the new fairing and have been paired with CNC-milled mirrors. The controls and instruments have been upgraded with Motogadget switches and a speedometer.
In the rear, a handcrafted rear seat cowl sits atop a new subframe and features an integrated, dual-function tail light. The cowl wears a diamond-stitched saddle finished in tan leather to match the new hand grips. A set of spoked rims bolsters the bike’s classic stance and the trademark Guzzi green paint scheme looks elegant paired with a spattering gold accents.
“The bike had no electronics when we purchased it,” Moe explains. “It had no alternator because it was all removed for weight reduction. When we received the bike we had to design it and at the same time fully convert it to become street legal.” So to remedy its electrical shortcomings, the Le Mans has received an entirely new wiring harness in addition to a new alternator and voltage regulator. To wrap up the local homologation requirements the handlebars wear bar end turn signals.
As for performance, the ex-racer had no shortage of upgrades. “Everything about this bike screams racing,” Moe says. “Equipped with 44mm racing carbs designed for full-throttle endurance racing, it embodies the essence of a true racing machine. When you ride it, the raw and untamed nature of the motorcycle takes you by surprise—it just wants to fly. Its handling is reminiscent of a 250GP bike, delivering an exhilarating experience.”
This project was driven by a deep admiration for older-generation Guzzis. Moe’s goal of exploring what could be achieved through thoughtful design and meticulous craftsmanship has paid off. By blending the aggressive nature of its racing past with a new-found elegance, Sheriff Motorcycles has created a bike that honors Tonti’s vision half a century ago.
