Rarely do we come across a chain-production machine that fools us into thinking it’s a one-off custom. Such was the case with the Tracker 125i by Verve Moto, an Italian manufacturer that evolved from the Bali-based custom workshop of its founder, Eugenio La Torre.
Eugenio grew up in Milan with a passion for two-wheels. After graduating from Scuola Moto, a school that teaches motorcycle repair and mechanics, Eugenio traveled the world and established a workshop with two other designers in Bali. The crew built Brat and Jap-style customs for the thriving market of Indonesia, where it seems that everyone owns, loves, and customizes a motorbike. As the reputation of Verve Moto grew, orders increased and soon they were selling their creations overseas.
Eugenio decided to take the company to the next level, moving back to Europe and establishing a chain production process based out of China. The company’s Tracker 125i model is based off a custom 125cc tracker/scrambler built in the original Verve Moto garage.
When we first saw the Verve Moto bikes, we thought they were true “specials” — built one-off in the garage for individual customers who commissioned them. In reality, the Tracker 125i is available through dealers in Italy and Germany for 3190 euro. The bikes can be configured and customized with factory accessories from the Verve Moto website.
Below, we get the full story on this unique approach to motorbike production.
The Story of Verve Moto: In the Builder’s Words
There is an Italian heart inside Verve Moto. The heart of a team that took its first steps in Italy, where Eugenio, our chief designer, moved its first steps.
Eugenio grew up in Milan and developed a passion for two-wheeled vehicles. With his contagious passion and a strong will to master the technique by learning from the real experts, Eugenio enrolled in Scuola Moto in Milan, finding the best Italian experts with whom Verve Moto still works.
After finishing college, Eugenio decided to follow his heart and become a customizer of bikes. We all know that this job is deeply based on inspiration, and there is no better way to nurture it than traveling. New worlds, new ideas, new ways to conceive a motorcycle. The most important destination, after USA, Germany and Australia, is Bali.
Motorcycles in Bali and in Indonesia are the most used transports and the local motorcycle scene has no equal in the world.
Everybody comes here — people with different styles and dreams. They all have their bike, everyone wants a bike — his own bike, a unique model. Bali is the best place to measure one’s creativity. It is there that Eugenio started his own workshop, matching the talent of two other designers, one from America and one from Holland, with his own and working with local mechanics and technicians.
This is Verve Moto. Verve stands for passion, creativity, an intense drive, the motor and the soul of the team.
The first garage, the first projects, prototypes, the first customers. Guidelines are simple and clear: simple motorcycles, small engines capacities, and something easy and fun to drive. It’s a Jap Style, revised Japanese basis with a touch of vintage for customization. Small works in the back part of the frame, tank, saddle and mudguards for a very peculiar and easily recognizable mixing of classic and modern styles.
After the first positive experiences, demand increases and the workshop grows and along with it come some very important acknowledgments from the most important international magazines. Verve Moto became a landmark for the entire island and eventually for United States, Brazil and Europe, where some items were being shipped.
The dream was to take it all of this to the next level: a chain production keeping the spirit and the concept of Verve. Simple things with a well-defined style. This is what it is all about. Reliable items with a reasonable price and low maintenance costs, as well as a pleasant drive.
After finding his chain production in China, Eugenio renewed his team, now entirely Italian, and came back to Europe, starting a new adventure for Verve Moto. The name is the same but the legacy is now a major one, the logo changed to match the minimalist and effective approach of Verve Moto, which can be epitomized in two words: Just Ride!
Verve Moto Tracker 125i
Tracker 125i was born as a real “special” motorbike and was developed in the Verve Moto garage, the same garage that gave life to all the early custom models. Its genesis is not due to calculations but to our talent and inspiration at Verve Moto, in our customizing and surfer style attitude.
For Tracker, Eugenio La Torre and his technical staff empirically changed every single part of the bike, until the desired outcome was finally reached on both the aesthetic and dynamic front. A first rate work that only real craftsmen can delivery. The heart of the Tracker 125i is a strong machine: a mono-cylinder, 4 stroke, air cooled engine, the basis of all the 125 range of Verve Moto bikes, already famous for its low consumption and its reliability.
Lots of attention was given to the steel flex-frame crib frame with an added small backframe and a new rear suspension. The long swing arms provides the rear wheel with a nice jolt, at the same time guaranteeing a better traction on all types of road surfaces. It is matched with a mono absorber with leverages for an even firmer response and a more polished line. The short and high exhaust outlet completes the picture.
On the front wheel we find an Upside-Down-type fork, whilst the braking system relies on a couple of front petal disc brakes on both the front and back wheel, with a combined CBS breaking system. The 5 speed gearbox and the chain-based final transmission complete the picture.
The backframe mounts the original saddle, reminding the one-seaters from the ‘70s, on which another rider can also seat. Tracker is approved for two, even if the riding experience is a lone pleasure which can be practiced around the bends or among the dunes, thanks to the large high-grip tires (4,10 x 18” and 4,60 x 17”). The rider’s position was designed for an active and fun ride in the spirit of the old school enduro style.
All the rest was inspired by a strict minimalism, for an even purer experience. Just take a look, for instance, at the small odometer speedometer featuring all the service lights, or the compact front headlight, the taillight and the LED operated direction indicator lamps.
• What custom work was done to the bike?
It’s an on series motorbike. It can be customized with some accessories provided by us. You can find them on our website www.vervemoto.it.
• How would you classify this bike?
Tracker/Scrambler.
• Was there anything done during this build that you are particularly proud of?
The style of the bike really reflects our heritage and our experience.
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