ITALIAN MOTORCYCLE NIGHT AT THE CANDY STORE

And what, pray tell, is the 'Candy Store'? It's complicated; about the swankest place to park your seven-figure car, a private club, a former Packard dealership, and a warehouse shared by a bunch of gearheads, who happen to be well-heeled.

Last Saturday night was the second 'Motorcycle Night', with members and friends supplying their special two-wheelers, as there are always crossover enthusiasts who like both cars and bikes. So, with some pretty spectacular sheetmetal as a backdrop, we had a few lovely Italian bikes to discuss before an informal buffet dinner and a few guest speakers.

The top photo is the former Packard display area; Packards are fine, but Gullwings and Spyders are better! Especially in company with a nice trio of Ducatis; '78 900ss (distinguishable by the Campagnolo cast wheels and black/gold paint scheme), '74 750GT (in Sport yellow paint and pipes, plus period-trick Marzocchi remote-reservoir shocks), and a nearly-vintage 888. A couple of nice Jags (XK 150 - the thick 'waist' gives it away, and a Series 1 E-type; I used to own a '62 flat-floor Roadster) and a prewar Rolls lurk in the background as well... oh, and the '67 365 California Spyder in burgundy.

A study in contrasts; a lovely little Capriolo 175cc ohv, ca '59, standing before a 300SL convertible, also resplendant in red (but I prefer silver Mercs...).

More Italian exotica; a ca. '57 Benelli Leoncino 125cc ohc, beatifully restored, complete with period-correct cast aluminum lion on the front mudguard - a pedestrian biter! Behind in blue is the first Lamborghini production car - a 350/400 GT, sitting next to the competition, a Ferrari 250 Boano. That's 25 cylinders...

Yet more Latin lovelies; up front is a Parilla 175cc ohv Gran Sport, which was ridden in the Motogiro USA last year (see my previous post). Not a true overhead cam design, the Parilla used a very high-camshaft design with short rockers opening the valves - they are very much sought after here in the US. Behind are a couple of Alfa Romeos; a 1930 6c 1750 GS Zagato, ridden regularly, and a blue 1951 Touring-bodied 6C 2500, which was truly a luxury car in its day.

That's John Goldman, and no those aren't his toys - we'll get to those shortly. But what toys indeed; no need to be demure, that's a Fly yellow Ferrari 275 GTB in the background. The motorcycle is another
Parilla 175cc, the 'street' edition. In the far background is Ed Gilbertson, chief judge of the Pebble Beach Concours, who announced that a Motorcycle class will be added this August to the Pebble lineup. It will include only one class this year, for British bikes pre-'57, made up of 8 machines total, which doesn't sound like much, but two of the bikes will be Rollie Free's infamous Vincent record-breaker, and George Brown's 'Gunga Din'. High-caliber entries indeed. And if you hadn't heard about Bikes at Pebble, well, you read it here first again!

John Goldman brought a few of his Mondials along for show and tell, and spoke at length on the history of Mondials and his bikes in particular - which you can read here, in previous posts from the Legend of the Motorcycle Concours.


Frank Scurria, who deserves a post of his own, spoke of his history racing a Ducati 350cc ohc in California way back in 1959, before the factory offered a 350cc machine. The US importer (the Berliner Co.) was besieged with requests for 350cc machines after Frank's success with his Duc; it took a few years for the factory to take the hint and produce one themselves (as was ever the case with Ducati - always producing models people didn't want, and under-producing what they did). Here he is pictured with Steve Allen of Bevel Heaven.

That's Bruce Bern on his (real) '74 Ducati 750 Sport - after the duck-egg green 750SS, the Sport is one of my favorite Italian motorcycles of all time. I toured extensively on one years ago, and the -very- uncomfortable riding position makes sense above 70mph and above, which the bike was happy to oblige for days on end. 'Long legs' indeed, although it helps to have long arms to ride the beast!

A nice Motobi 175cc ohv ex-Giro machine sits before an interesting 1955 'Hagemann' Jaguar special with a one-off aluminum body; very Italianate!

From the header to the footer, a Bugatti always deserves two photos; a ca.1925 Type 35 Bug in French racing blue (how they always look best), with two MV Agustas old and new, and a Model T ice cream truck! An odd combo, but a lovely shot of the late afternoon sun on an unreinforced masonry wall...