While cutting his teeth as a mechanic, learning the secrets of car mechanics from his father, Romolo, in the family workshop, a barely 18-year-old Mirko Perugini devoted much of his free time to his passion for motorbikes.

To learn the tricks of the restoration trade, young Mirko, born in 1974, soon started working with a workshop specialising in vintage motorbikes. This experience in craftsmanship would later prove invaluable in his profession as a custom builder.

He started his own business in 2000 under the name Gallery Motorcycles, and opened a workshop in Rezzato, midway between Brescia and Lake Garda. Since then, he has divided his time between Harley-Davidson^® restorations and a creative business making unique pieces on commission. From modern, full-custom builds and café racers to classic choppers and bobbers, Mirko’s work has always been of the highest quality, repeatedly winning him recognition at Italian events such as Brescia’s Rombo di Tuono and Verona’s Motor Bike Expo.

He has also made his mark by winning coveted Best of Show awards in Harley-Davidson contests in Port Grimaud, Lugano and Faaker See. In Sturgis, South Dakota, he reached the 2011 AMD final with his ‘Tazio’ bobber, dedicated to the racing driver Tazio Nuvolari. It was the forerunner of the neo-retro trend that prompted Mirko to focus on 1920s H-D^® twin-cylinder engines to power ‘Legend’ and ‘Deeva’, two customisations that racked up trophies.

A shared passion for vintage mechanics sparked the involvement of the Classic Motorcycle Shop, next door to Mirko’s workshop. Owned by Roberto Ceruti, the showroom is given over to carefully selected used motorbikes. Among the stand-out pieces are Harley-Davidson JD sidecars, and motorcycles ranging from single-cylinder B-series models, preserved or restored, to more ‘modern’ Flatheads and Knuckleheads, and no shortage of recent v-twins.

For his business partner Roberto, Mirko has created a unique custom bike, taking a 1946 WL 750cc twin-cylinder and equipping it with WLR cams, Dell’Orto carburettor and a three-speed gearbox. The single-beam frame is complemented by an exceptional parallelogram fork. The entirely handmade bodywork harmonises the round shapes of the fairing and rear wing with the angular ones of the split tank, which holds the petrol and oil and hides the battery and electrical system in the centre of the frame.

Mirko used fine wood to create retro details, but also metal machined from aluminium billet. Kustom Tech master cylinders on purpose-built brackets are activated by cables, while Rebuffini brake callipers grip large-diameter discs inside the spokes, in axis with the hub and rim. This system could be revived thanks to the co-operation of JoNich Wheels.

No surprise, then, that the harmony of form, impeccable assembly and original solutions of Gallery’s WL wowed the judges at the European H.O.G. Rally in Portorož – where it not only won the Best in Show and People's Choice awards, but also earned the praise of Karen Davidson herself! We can certainly see why…