Italian sculptor Giordano Loi transforms a 2008 Yamaha MT-01 into a radical street fighter with carbon fiber bodywork and far more aggressive intentions.
When the Yamaha MT-01 arrived in 2005, it felt like Yamaha had built a motorcycle from two completely different design briefs. At its heart sat a massive 1,670 cc air-cooled pushrod V-twin borrowed from Yamaha’s cruiser lineup. But instead of building a laid-back boulevard machine, Yamaha wrapped the engine in a stiff aluminum frame with fully adjustable suspension and powerful radial brakes derived from its sportbike program. The result was something genuinely unusual: a torque monster with superbike hardware. It wasn’t quite a cruiser, not really a naked sport bike and certainly not the kind of muscle roadster bikes like the Ducati Diavel would later define.
What the MT lacked in peak horsepower, it made up for in sheer presence. The enormous twin produced a tidal wave of low-rpm torque, surging forward with the muscular authority of a big-block engine. Reviewers praised the bike’s stability and surprisingly composed handling, too. Every ride came with a heavy pulse through the bars, a booming exhaust note and an addictive sense of mechanical drama.
Still, that unique character made the MT-01 a tough sell. Torque lovers tended to buy cruisers, while performance riders gravitated toward lighter, higher-revving sport machines. As the naked-bike segment evolved, it ushered in sharper roadsters from Triumph, KTM and later Yamaha’s own MT-09. The bike never sold in large numbers, but today, it’s remembered fondly as one of Yamaha’s boldest production experiments.
We wouldn’t call the MT-01 flawed by nature, but still, imperfect motorcycles make some of the most intriguing donors for custom projects. In the case of Yamaha’s big V-twin, Giordano Loi saw the strengths and weaknesses of the platform, and reimagined the MT-01 as something lighter, bolder and more focused. At the risk of sounding cliché, Giordano (a sculptor with a passion for motorcycles) approached this Yamaha MT-01 the same way he’d approach a block of stone: by removing material until the shape reveals itself.
When the bike arrived in his workshop in Dorgali, Sardinia, it wasn’t a pristine donor. Years of neglect had left their mark—oxidized exhausts, scarred chrome, dulled anodizing and even crash damage in the frame. Instead of restoring it to factory condition, Giordano chose to rebuild it from the ground up, using the MT-01’s hulking V-twin as the foundation for something livelier.
The bike was stripped to its last bolt before the real work began. The frame, swingarm and wheels were sandblasted and finished in Cerakote, while the engine covers were restored by hand. A new aluminum subframe was fabricated and welded in place, designed specifically to support the project’s most distinctive element: the dramatic rear section.
Titanium fasteners and Ergal foot controls keep weight down, while the intake and exhaust systems were reworked to let the big twin breathe more freely. The stock airbox made way for DNA cone filters with enlarged intake ducts, and the exhaust is now a custom titanium system capped with a MotoGP-inspired silencer.
Visually, the transformation is just as radical. Most of the bodywork has been replaced with bespoke carbon fiber pieces, leaving the original steel fuel tank as one of the few factory elements still in place. The OE oval air filter covers spoke the language of the early 2000s, so Giordano fit custom covers that channel air through sculpted openings that resemble gills, while also cooling the lighting system.
Up front, the MT-01’s dual-beam headlight, factory indicators, various bits and bezels were trashed in favor of something far more focused. A bespoke carbon-fiber front cowl was crafted, housing a hidden LED headlight. Slim LED indicators were added, and the front suspension was lowered dramatically to create a much more aggressive geometry. The stock switchgear remains, preserving the factory feel, but the levers, master cylinders and grips have been upgraded to sporting contemporaries.
Considering the bulky tail section the MT-01 sported from the factory, forming the basis for a chunky cruiser seat and a pair of embellished cone exhausts, the new tail is undoubtedly the bike’s party piece. Giordano put special emphasis on the intrados (the inner, concave curve or surface of an arch or vault) of the tail, citing that “this plane that turns air into narrative matter.” Spoken like a true artist.
Shod in carbon-fiber sections 5 mm in thickness, the waspish tail section transforms the bike’s profile dramatically, and Giordano finished it off with sculpted neoprene seat pads and a hidden taillight that bears resemblance to a stinger.
In his description of the bike, Giordano uses terms like gills, thorax and tail, suggesting various biological influences on the bike’s design, and we’re certain it feels quite alive with that 1,670 cc V-twin cradled underneath. But Giordano, instead, dubbed this MT-01 ‘ORCO,’ Italian for ogre. While any number of possible inspirations come to mind, it’s likely the brutish character of the thumping V-twin that made it so.
Translations aside, it’s plain to see that ORCO isn’t just a styling exercise, but something that looks like it really works in the real world. Starting with an abused and misunderstood brute, Giordano reshaped the Yamaha MT-01 into something far more intentional, and if he were offering test rides, we’d be first in line for a go.
Website | Instagram | Photos by Alessandro Spanu
Photo Gallery
Comments