Petrolicious Brings Us Into Master Motorcycle Craftsman Franco Augello’s World

Operating out of his infamous Sumisura shop, Milanese craftsman Franco Augello has long had an obsession with classic BMW touring bikes. In fact, ever since he was a kid, he’s been drawn to the bike line’s sterling reputation for reliability and longevity.

So, for the past few decades, Augello has made it his life’s mission to work on these vintage bikes, completing full restorations and subtle, tasteful modifications. This obsession all began when he discovered that his favorite bikes from the 70s and 80s were no longer around and were apparently dying out.

Augello says, “[I owned] several high performance late model BMWs. These were no longer the classic BMW motorcycles from the 70s and 80s, they were becoming more and more like Japanese motorcycles. This held me back a bit. After much thought, I decided to create my own motorcycle based on the BMWs from days of old.”