THE ALGORITHM OF THE OPEN ROAD: DAVID’S MOTO GUZZI V7 III & MOTO-TRACKS
How a London quantitative finance specialist turned navigation frustration into a custom-built routing app for his Moto Guzzi V7 III Special—and discovered the unmatched generosity of the riding community.
Not all custom builds involve wrenches, welding torches, or high-octane engine swaps. For London-based quantitative finance professional David, the custom work happened behind the screen and out on the asphalt. Riding a largely stock 2020 Moto Guzzi V7 III Special—a machine chosen for its unhurried character and effortless charm—David quickly ran into a modern rider’s dilemma: existing navigation apps consistently rerouted him onto dull highways the second cell coverage dropped in remote hill passes.
David`s Moto Guzzi V7 III Special
„What drew me to the V7 was that it isn't in a hurry. It's a bike that rewards finding a good road rather than a fast one.“
David
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Rather than settling for clunky software, David spent six months of evenings and weekends engineering his own solution: Moto-Tracks, an offline-first navigation app built specifically to calculate road curvature and deliver pure winding routes without needing cell signal. Paired with his active involvement in the London Motorcycle Riders Club (LMRC), David’s story highlights how technical ingenuity and a shared passion for two wheels unite riders across borders.
THE RIDER
Name: David
Base: London, UK
Garage / Life: Quantitative finance specialist, founder/developer of Moto-Tracks, LMRC club member, and father.
THE MACHINE
Model: 2020 Moto Guzzi V7 III Special
Spec & Mods: Stock setup with forward foot pegs, paired with a custom-developed offline curvature routing engine (Moto-Tracks app).
IN CONVERSATION WITH DAVID
RWN MOTOZINE: Who are you, where are you based, and what do you do when you’re not out riding or in the garage?
David: I'm David, based in London. By day I work in quantitative finance, building trading models and risk systems, which is roughly as far from motorcycling as you can get. Most of my spare time now goes into Moto-Tracks, and the rest of it goes to my young son, who is not yet old enough to be allowed on the bike.
I came to riding late. I got my first motorcycle about six years ago, around the same time my son was born. Some people have called that a mid-life crisis! I prefer to think of it as excellent timing.
RWN MOTOZINE: What is the exact make, model, and year of the bike, and how did you get your hands on it?
David: 2020 Moto Guzzi V7 III Special. It’s my first “big” bike after learning on a 125. I always thought I’d get a Triumph after that, but as soon as I saw the Moto Guzzi I knew I had to have it instead. I love how it looks, and it’s just as good commuting through London as it is exploring lanes in the countryside.
What drew me to the V7 was that it isn't in a hurry. It's a bike that rewards finding a good road rather than a fast one, which turned out to matter more than I realised at the time.
RWN MOTOZINE: What have you modified, restored, or tailored on the bike? Was there a specific challenge along the way?
David: This is where I'm the odd one out. The bike itself is close to standard, the only change is the forward foot pegs. The thing I modified was the navigation.
I'd been using the usual motorcycle route planners and kept hitting the same frustrations. One had a good app but a weak web planner and a price I couldn't justify. Another had a decent web planner but a clunky app. Worst of all, both would plan a beautiful winding route while I had signal, then reroute me onto something dull the moment I took a wrong turn somewhere remote, because the offline routing wasn't the same engine as the online one. That happens precisely where you least want it, in the mountains and the empty bits.
So I spent the last six months building my own. Moto-Tracks scores every road by how much it actually bends while avoiding low speed limits and builds routes using the best roads. The whole routing engine runs on the phone, so you get identical curvy routes with no signal at all, including when you miss a turn. It's out on both app stores now.
The challenge was mostly that I'm one person doing this in evenings and weekends, and the mapping side is genuinely hard.
RWN MOTOZINE: Is there a specific memory, road trip, or moment with this bike that stands out to you?
David: A great memory was my first ride with the LMRC around the Surrey hills, after joining the club about a year ago. It’s the first time I saw the wonderful warmth and friendliness of fellow riders. There were also some fantastic roads and lanes, a perfectly planned route by the ride leader. That inspired me to start planning my own routes, which ultimately led me to build Moto-Tracks.
RWN MOTOZINE: What does motorcycle culture mean to you? Feel free to share anything else you’d like our readers to know.
David: What's struck me most is how generous the culture is. I'm a member of the LMRC here in London, and the thing that keeps me turning up isn't the riding so much as the people. When I started showing the app to riders I'd never met, strangers on the other side of the world took time out of their weekends to test it and tell me honestly what was wrong with it. A rider in Switzerland has given me more useful feedback than I'd have got from any agency.
That's the bit I'd want readers to take away. Motorcycling is one of the few things left where someone will help you out simply because you ride too.
RWN MOTOZINE: David, thank you for the craft, the time, and for keeping the raw spirit of the culture alive.
Photos by David - Story by Sascha Köhmstedt
Photo Credits
Fast Snaps Photography — https://fastsnapsphotography.pixieset.com/
Bex Shots — https://bexshots.pixieset.com/
Michael Jones-Price Photography — https://michaeljones-pricephotography.pixieset.com/
Jae Captures — https://jaecaptures.pixieset.com/
CSP Photography — https://cspphotographyy43.pixieset.com/