{"id":48645,"date":"2017-08-24T13:50:20","date_gmt":"2017-08-24T12:50:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.influx.co.uk\/?p=48645"},"modified":"2022-06-22T12:21:57","modified_gmt":"2022-06-22T11:21:57","slug":"metisse-house-motorcycling-alchemy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/bikes\/metisse-house-motorcycling-alchemy\/","title":{"rendered":"M\u00e9tisse \u2013 The House of Motorcycling Alchemy"},"content":{"rendered":"

The warmth of welcome at the Oxfordshire based factory of M\u00e9tisse is not unlike being invited into a family home.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The host, in this house of motorcycling alchemy, is Gerry Lisi – a friendly, honest gentleman with no airs and graces, deeply passionate about all he produces; an opera singer and a true artisan.<\/p>\n

\"Gerry<\/a><\/figure>\n

Gerry was born in Italy in 1949 and his parents left their native country when he was one. His father, Ferdinando, had been invited back to work at Mitchin Court Farm in Oxfordshire, where he had previously worked as a prisoner-of-war.<\/p>\n

The farmer at Mitchin Court, Gordon Shepherd, rode scramblers at an expert level in the South Midland Centre and was a huge influence on the young Lisi. By the age of 16, Gerry was competing on an ex-Brian Curtis Matchless 500 Scrambler. He also dabbled with grass-track racing, including a period on a sidecar outfit. By the age of 19, Gerry moved onto cars and successfully raced a Mini in 1000cc Free Formula Club and was often the first Mini home.<\/p>\n

A career change working as a rally sport mechanic at Hartford Motors in Oxford beckoned and Gerry was trained by Ford on the RS1600; he built himself an RS2000 and used it to tour Italy for six months. In 1983, Gerry took over the family thatching business, purchasing a 156-acre farm to grow large quantities of thatch straw material, but within 10 years health problems forced him to give up thatching. Gerry decided to diversify and the farm was converted into an 18-hole Golf course (also the current home of M\u00e9tisse). The irony is that Gerry doesn\u2019t play Golf!<\/p>\n

In 1999, Gerry linked up with Pat French and MRD M\u00e9tisse, forming M\u00e9tisse Motorcycles Ltd. In April 2001, Pat sold his share of the business which Gerry purchased to become sole owner and so the modern era of M\u00e9tisse was born.<\/p>\n

M\u00e9tisse have a wide range of bikes on offer, including the Hammer MK3, the stunning MK5 Caf\u00e9 Racer and MK5 Street Scrambler. The MK5 is very much the M\u00e9tisse factory bike, as it’s powered by their in-house designed and built air-cooled parallel V-twin 997cc engine.<\/p>\n

\"Metisse<\/a><\/figure>\n

One of their most famous builds, however, is the 650cc T6 Triumph powered Steve McQueen M\u00e9tisse Desert Racer replica. Originally built for McQueen in November 1966 so he could go desert racing, it was designed to Steve\u2019s own specifications (including battleship grey paint) so that both bike and rider could cope with long hours in the saddle, often in tropical temperatures, racing through the scrubby, sandy terrain of Southern California. It was apparently the \u201cbest handling bike\u201d McQueen had ever owned.<\/p>\n

Gerry notes that M\u00e9tisse is attracting many more customers in their 20s, 30s and 40s, who appreciate the enduring appeal of Steve McQueen and desire to have a connection with the \u2018king of cool\u2019. Films like \u201cThe Great Escape\u201d (1963) and \u201cOn Any Sunday\u201d (1971) have added to McQueen\u2019s biking aura. By owning an exact replica of Steve\u2019s Desert Racer, approved by the McQueen family (Chad McQueen) and Steve\u2019s biking friends such as Dave Ekins (brother of stuntman and Hollywood Triumph dealership owner – Bud), buyers have a direct connection with the movie icon. They also purchase a great future investment; the Desert Racer is a limited production run of 300, which Gerry mentions is now almost half way through including the current orders.<\/p>\n

\"Metisse<\/a><\/figure>\n

Asking Gerry about famous owners of his M\u00e9tisse\u2019s and mentioning Jason Statham, he replies \u201cI\u2019ve seen the photos of Jason, but have no idea who\u2019s bike he\u2019s on. It was not supplied by me (sold to Jason by me)\u2026I have sold bikes to a variety of famous and important customers across the world though\u201d even Prince William has tried a M\u00e9tisse for size.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/figure>\n

One of those important customers includes director Guy Ritchie who approached Gerry to supply bikes for his 2015 film \u201cThe Man from Uncle\u201d. Gerry recalls that actor Armie Hammer visited the factory and the film crew were supplied with a number of MK3 M\u00e9tisses, including mock ups, and also a modern Honda for the extreme high jumps. However, the M\u00e9tisses proved to be so robust that the Honda was not used as much as expected. After filming Guy Ritchie kept one of the M\u00e9tisses for his own personal use and it is highly likely that another stayed on Ritchie\u2019s 1,200 acre Ashcombe House estate in Wiltshire.<\/p>\n\n\t\t