I have been following this discussion with considerable interest. I was taken by the comments on the difficulties posed by the steerer being cut too short. Apparently very difficult to replace.
I bought a beautiful bike built for a bike show by Ton Ritchey a few years ago. Custom paint, a special twin plate fork crown...great bike. However, someone had cut the steerer way too short. Replacing the fork was out of the question, as it had the custom paint, too, and this wonderful fork crown (write for a picture if interested). The Chris King headset I had bought would not nearly go on the bike. I got my head together with my buddy Bill, my favorite mechanic, and we sent out to visit a local retired custom motorcycle builder of some note.
This elderly gentleman cut my steerer and welded in a length of round stock the same size and ground it off beautifully. A gorgeous bit of workmanship for which he charged me $40. The bike went together beautifully and has performed flawlessly for years since.
If the steerer on this Masi is replaced, it will not be original, anyway. Why not put an extension into it, instead? Seems like less work to me.
Tom Sanders
Lansing, Mi