Italian Spoken Here

ITALIAN SPOKEN HERE

Expert help, spare parts and mutual aid societies for the best of the thoroughbreds

Jean Crabb

Italian motorcycles are, well, different. Always have been. From past until the present, from the days when the American companies vied to see which could make a large V-Twin and all the English builders had wars over which 500cc Twin was better than the dozen from down the road, right up to the sure knowledge that the Big Four Japanese factories will compete in terms of bigger Fours, Italian motorcycle makers have followed their own instincts.

Line up the large models from Laverda, Benelli, Moto Guzzi and Ducati. What do they have in common? Only good looks, distinct components and the air of springing from the hands and minds of men who care deeply about what they’re doing.

This isn’t to say Italian motorcycles are best sellers. They are popular but not numerous. They are not cheap. They’re usually imported and distributed by companies lacking the budget for promotional and advertising campaigns. They must depend on satisfied owners, the press and word of mouth.

Which is where this list comes in. The owner of an Italian motorcycle must have a sympathetic temperament, must be prepared to accommodate the quirks that come with any spirited creature. Help in this line is sometimes hard to find.

We have therefore compiled a reference list. Included are the importers or distributors of the Italian makes now for sale (or formerly for sale) in the U.S.

We have a list of owners clubs, in general the best place to find firsthand information, good or bad, about service or parts or useful advice.

Then come the shops. The list was collected partially through our own experience, but mostly from owners we know or the owners clubs for the various makes.

We can’t endorse any shop, simply because we can’t visit them all, and to recommend the ones we’ve done business with would be unfair to those beyond our reach. What we can say is, when you need to hear Italian spoken, here are the places to start.

IMPORTERS

BENELLI

Cosmopolitan Motors

Jacksonville & Meadow Brook Rd. Hatboro, Pa. 19040

DUCATI—MOTO GUZZI

Berliner Motor Corp.

Railroad St. & Plant Rd.

Hasbrouck Heights, N.J. 07604

LAVERDA

Yankee Accessory Corp.

P.O. Box 36

Schenectady, N.Y. 12301

MOTO MORINI

Herdan Corp.

Rt. 61

Port Clinton, Pa. 19549

MV AGUSTA

Chris Garville

200 Clearbrook Elms Ford, N.Y. 10523

CLUBS

Ducati International Owners Club

1447 St. Rd. 84

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 33315

(305) 524-8659

Laverda Owners Club

Secretary: Michael P. Kavula, Jr.

6157 Mary Beth Cove Bartlett, Tenn. 38134

Moto Guzzi National Owners Club

Director: Frank Wedge P.O. Box 93

Sylvan Grove, Kan. 67481

Moto Guzzi Owners Club

Harvey Woien 1175 Montecito Dr.

Los Angeles, Calif. 90031

Moto Guzzi Owners Club

Jeif Lavin 10549 S. Victoria Whittier, Calif. 90604

Rickey Racer Sports Riding Club

444A E. Monterey Pomona, Calif. 91767 (For all Italian bike owners)

DEALERS

Amsler Motor Corp.

5823 49th St. N.

St. Petersburg, Fla. 33709 (813) 522-6451

Dave Amsler has a philosophy . . . “Without a good stock of parts you can’t give good service.” Working on and selling Moto Guzzis is his livelihood. He does restoration also. He has a^small shop dedicated to Moto Guzzi and BMWs; parts and service for the old as well as the new.

Portland Motorcycles

933 N.E. 82nd Ave.

Portland, Ore. 97200 (503) 255-5787

Portland Motorcycles has a parts inventory that dates back to 1968-’69. They service Moto Guzzi as well as Ducati and Suzuki. Mr. Hillis, owner of the shop, says the parts department is in 90 percent good shape 95 percent of the time, and that the company has the largest parts inventory on the West Coast.

Atlas Cycle 6708 E. 11th Tulsa, Okla. 74112 (918) 835-9959

The claim to fame here is having the world’s largest mail order parts business for Ducati and Moto Guzzi. The operation has been in business since November 1965. They also dress Moto Guzzis and have been doing so since 1972. Call Ken or Donna Johnson.

Rissman Motors

8414 4th St., NW Albuquerque, N.M. 87114 (505) 898-3623

We spoke to a very nice lady, Elsie Rissman, who said the motto is “We try a little harder.” They have parts and service for Moto Guzzi, Ducati and Norton. The stock dates back to 1969, which is when the business was started. They also send parts to dealers all over the U.S.

Gardner Cycles

204 E. Broadway, Rt. 2-A Gardner, Mass. 01440 (617) 632-6840

Gardner Cycles is a fairly new dealership for Moto Morini, Benelli and Laverda. The parts inventory is up to date and goes back three years, which is how long the company has been in business. Claims to have a good stock of parts for all three machines.

Beranger Volkswagen

20 Farmington Rd., Rt. 11 Rochester, N.H.

(603) 332-6242

Beranger Volkswagen works with Yamahas, Maicos and Carabellas but started with Benelli three years ago. They claim to have a good parts inventory and service availability.

Jack’s Motorcycles

2216 W. Belmont Fresno, Calif. 93721 (209) 237-2215

Jack’s Motorcycles are strictly Moto Guzzi, Ducati and BMW. The company does restoration on these machines and the parts inventory for the 700s goes back to 1968. Jack says he never gets complaints on the service and no one has had to wait for lack of parts availability.

Champion Motorcycles

1980 Harbor Blvd.

Costa Mesa, Calif. 92626 (714) 642-2311

Champion Motorcycles services MV Agusta, Ducati and Laverda. It has parts available for all current model MV Agusta 750s and 850s, Ducati 500s, 750s, 860s and 900s and Laverda 750s and 1000s. It does not do restoration but if parts or service are what you need Champion is ready.

Rickey Racer

444A E. Montgomery Pomona, Calif. 91767 (714) 622-0533

Rickey Racer sells and services Moto Morini and Laverda. You can also get an MV Agusta on order. It is the largest source for original aftermarket equipment for MV Agusta, Moto Morini, Moto Guzzi and Ducati and has the largest parts inventory for Laverdas, some parts dating back to the American Eagle, ’68 or ’69. They do cafe conversions, custom jobs and restoration. It is also the importer for the Laverda Jota kits and they do the conversion work themselves.

BMW of Fort Worth

4420 N.E. 28th St.

Haltom City, Tex.

(817) 429-2182

BMW is the mainstay of business for BMW of Fort Worth, however, the owner, Mr. Bushong, tells us that MV Agusta and Laverdas are a hobby with him. He specializes in cafe equipment, custom and exotic high-speed performance MVs and Laverdas. He says he has a good up-todate stock of parts for both machines and also buys up used parts which makes for a good back-up inventory.

C&D Cycle Sales

City 66

Atlanta, 111. 61723 (217) 648-2512

Kathy and Chuck Begloka work mainly on Suzukis but have been selling and servicing Laverdas since 1974. They claim an excellent parts department and get calls from all over the U.S.

Ham’s Motorcycle Shop

59 Fort Point St.

Norwalk, Conn. 06855 (203) 853-6727

Ham’s Motorcycle Shop claims a parts inventory dating back six to seven years with most parts in stock available for Moto Guzzi, Ducati, Norton, Benelli Sei and Laverda. The company also prepares endurance Moto Guzzis, Ducatis and Laverdas for AMA racing. It doesn’t do restoration but will prepare special racing machines on request.

Challenger Enterprises

John Greeg, Jr.

8206 Lomas N.E.

Albuquerque, N.M. 87103 (505) 265-8355

For the last 4XA years Challenger Enterprises has been selling and servicing Laverdas and has a full line of parts for the 750cc and lOOOcc back to ’72-’73.

Cycle Center

Mike Adams 214 E. Harding Pine Bluff, Ark. 71601 (501) 536-6500

Cycle Center sells and services Laverdas, Benellis and for the past year has had Ducatis. It has a good supply of parts for the Laverda 750cc dating back to the American Eagle and a parts inventory for the Benelli back to 1971 and some parts from the Fifties. It claims a good up-todate supply of parts for Ducati.

Tony’s Cycle Sales, Inc.

566 Easton Rd.

Warrington, Pa. 18976 (215) 343-6814

Tony’s Cycle Sales bills itself as the “Home of the Record-Holding Laverda” and the speciality is the Laverda lOOOcc Triple. The company also sells and services Benelli, Moto Guzzi and Ducati. The business started about eight years ago and the parts inventory dates back to the early Sixties.

Fox Trail Motors

919 Huntley Rd.

Algonquin, 111. 60102 (312) 658-7151

Fox Trail handles Laverda, Can-Am and Triumph. The company has a good supply of parts dating back to 1969 which is when the business was started.

T.T. Motors

2800 Adeline Berkeley, Calif. 94703 (415) 845-8235

For the last four years T.T. Motors has sold and serviced Laverda, Ducati, Norton and Triumph/BSA. A current stock of parts is kept and this company can get whatever is necessary in a day or two.

Penner’s Cycle Barn

Rt. # 1 Box 495 DeSoto, Kan. 66018 (913) 585-1048

Penner’s started with Moto Guzzi 12 years ago and the company claims an excellent parts inventory for these machines. It has had Suzuki for the past two years. Mr. Penner says he is too busy keeping bikes on the road to do any restoration work for customers, however, he has a couple of antiques of his own he hopes to work on some day.

Storm’s Cycle Sales

3000 E. Jefferson Grand Prairie, Tex. 75050 (214) 262-3313

R. L. Storm says he’s the biggest in the Southwest for Moto Guzzi, Ducati, Norton and BMW. The company does mailorder business all over the U.S. and has parts available for these machines, new and used, going back 10 years. They also dress bikes and have been doing so since ’69 or ’70. They’re active building and racing machines, with the current racer being a Ducati.

Woods Motor Shop

525 W. Colorado St.

Glendale, Calif. 91209 (213) 246-9748

Jim Woods sets up the Ducati test bikes on the West Coast and is very keen on Moto Guzzi and Ducati. We can honestly say that they ride what they sell.

DUCATI DEALERS

A member of the Ducati International Owners Club gave us a call and here’s just a sprinkling of a few of the Ducati dealers that they think from their own personal experience are the outstanding dealers for parts and service.

Cycle Specialties of Athens

220 Oak St.

Athens, Ga. 30601 (404) 543-0235

Eugene Cycle & Sport

4065 W. 11th Ave.

Eugene, Ore. 97402 (503) 343-7392

Great Escape Motorcycle Company

1449 State Road 84 Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. 33315 (305) 524-8659

Macho Touring Cycles, Inc.

Rt. 537

Jobstown, N.J. 08041 (609) 723-4222

Moto Sport Continental, Inc.

893 Quest, Rue King St. W.

Sherbrooke, Que., Canada (819) 562-0233

Raytown Cycle Center

6324 Overton Raytown, Mo. 64133 (816) 353-6251

S&R Enterprises

21181 Mission Blvd.

Hayward, Calif. 94541 (415) 782-7255

Sports Motor Corp.

5919 Wooster Pike Cincinnati, Ohio 45227 (513) 272-0586

Syd’s Cycle

6600 Haines Rd.

St. Petersburg, Fla. 33702

(813) 522-3333 E3