Forking rubbish service

So at 9.30am last Tuesday morning I ordered two 35mm fork seals for my Guzzi from a Guzzi parts supplier beginning with an M, thinking that'd be plenty of time for them to turn up to fit on the weekend, seeing as I was also paying for 1st class postage. The bloke I spoke to just sounded a bit nonchalant, like he wasn't awake properly. "Should be able to get them out today mate.."

They eventually arrived on Thursday in the afternoon, and I put the packet to one side. Opened it Friday morning, fork seals weren't 35mm but 40mm. Called them. "You sure?" they asked. "They're all 35mm in the box here." "Yes mate, I've owned the bike for 22 years, I can tell at a glance, plus they've got 40mm written on them. Can you send the correct ones please, and special delivery so they arrive in the morning?" Well, after some mumbling and moaning about the post office (?) they said yes.

Anyway, they arrived this Monday morning, standard post, so couldn't fit them and couldn't go out on my bike yesterday as planned (though it was cold..). I'm aware mistakes can be made, but nowadays you have to do things right. Not impressed, and should have stuck with Gutsibits, who also advertise in the mag, so I'll be spending my money with them in the future.

Rust in peace

I last rode the 750 in November, and lazily threw it back into the shed not realising the roads I'd ridden over had been salted and gritted. I hardly ever wash my bike as it is, so no surprise then that the Italian chrome has protested now I've come back to it five months on. Oh well...

365er

Pete who gets out a lot more than we do and is always coming across interesting bikes sent us these pics from Newark Autojumble. A Ducati single used every day for example.

"Hi Adam - hope you are well and enjoying the weather (yeah..). This little Ducati is always at Newark Autojumble and always parked in the same place. I got to talk to the owner today, he uses it every day 365 days a year. It has a Condor 350 engine otherwise as nature intended. He had heard of you but not Italian Motor Magazine (he has now).       Cheers..   Pete"

Thanks Pete. Check out Pete's great and eclectic blog here: Eat The Rich UK

Moto Guzzi Lodola 175 start up - unrestored shed find from Italy

I still get such a kick out of starting up some old bike that's sat around for who knows how long. Dorian and I spent a bit of time yesterday on this cammy 175 Guzzi Lodola that I brought in from Italy some months ago, and the end result was satisfying. The motor sounds good, just need to fettle cables, brakes and whatever else needs it. Unrestored, that's how we love 'em...

Can you Beliebe it?

I can barely 'beliebe' I'm writing this myself after having received one of the most pointless press releases ever from MVAgusta, telling me that for his 19th birthday, Justin Bieber's dad bought him a 'personalised' MV F3 675, which has a theme dedicted to JB's favourite cartoon super hero Batman.

The power of the cult of personality, eh? Well, we've published the pic, so it obviously works. 

I think for my 19th birthday, I got a packet of 10 Bensons and a faux leather steering wheel cover from the market for my Ford Escort van. Ah, kids today don't know they're born...

Issue 5 to 8 - subscriptions now open!

Well, we've been working our thermal little socks off the last few weeks to get everything put in place, but we're now pleased to say that we are now offering subscriptions for issue 5 to 8 of ITALIAN MOTOR.


It might seem that it had gone all quiet at ITALIAN MOTOR H.Q., but if you regularly check this blog or Facebook page, you'll know that we've never been away - but negotiating the choppy waters of global recession to pick a good time to offer subscriptions for the next four issues of ITALIAN MOTOR magazine, and that time is now. This is bare bones direct-to-reader publishing, and there is certainly no corporate cash cow to pay for the time and dedication that it takes to put an issue together.

Simply put, if each one of our readers that has bought and appreciated Issues 1 to 4 of the magazine also buys a subscription for Issues 5 to 8, ITALIAN MOTOR has a solid and exciting future on which we can build, develop and progress the magazine - and of course get new issues out to you quicker and more regularly. It's simple economics - the more people that subscribe, the more issues of ITALIAN MOTOR we can put together for your delectation and reading pleasure.

More concise words, professional journalism with insight, fantastic photography and clean original design. More hardcore Italian motorcycles from old (1912 Frera) and to the new (latest Guzzi California 1400), and of course, a hand-picked and handsome Italian four-wheeler every issue. More talented and like-minded people who build specials in their sheds and garages. More getting our hands dirty and making pitiful progress on our own Italian bikes and projects. Real stories from Italy from personal friends and hard-earned contacts, built up and nurtured whilst living there for many years - we have family there!

We speak, listen, learn and question in fluent Italian, so there' s nothing lost in translation. Articles and tests are written first-hand by the person you actually see photographed riding and experiencing the motorcycle. Just good, honest independent journalism and stripped-back publishing with passion - not rehashes of history from the well-thumbed reference books you've already got on your shelf, and you've already read 25 times.

ITALIAN MOTOR is authentic as it comes - but it is definitely a case of use it, or lose it.

ISSUE 5 is already printed up and waiting to be mailed out priority to subscribers. It's a one-off single payment for all four issues 5 to 8 which includes all mailing costs - simple - and no stupid and complicated recurring payment profiles (thanks for nothing PayPal..).

We've also upgraded our online store, so if you can't wait any longer, you can subscribe here: ITALIAN MOTOR store - and contact us for any reason here

That's it. Thanks for your support...

900SS Capolavoro Assoluto for Mondo Ducati

It's still exciting after all these years to see my work in print, and this month one of my articles has been published by our friends on the Italian magazine Mondo Ducati, for whom I've been supplying various pieces of work and translation for a while now to pay the bills (what, you think home-publishing a magazine makes money??). The 900SS was an unrestored original, and one motorcycle I would have loved to own, if I had serious cash.

They've put together a really nice clean layout, and used the excellent photos (taken one cold February) by ace snapper Matt C. We'll put the article in ITALIAN MOTOR in a future issue.

If you like Ducatis, try and get a copy of Mondo Ducati which features, as the title suggests, only Ducatis. And you can practice your Italian too...