Ducati.Net Photo Gallery - Vicki's View
We come from all over the globe, Australia and Japan and America and all the corners of Europe every year, just to ride small cc vintage motorcycles on the roads they were designed for. The question is often asked, why? The answer is difficult, it lies in what doesn't show - how the bikes sound blasting down the road in a group, the sort of people the event attracts, the difficulty of all of it, from getting the bikes selected/prepared/transported/insured and home again. Even the way it smells, a unique combination of Italian countryside and gas and oil. The history is strong here in Bologna, as close as it gets to how and where this all began and so that is where this years story starts.......
Photos and story by Vicki Smith
Photos and story by Vicki Smith
Participants tend to find others they are comfortable riding with, it often happens based on the bikes ability maybe even more than the riders. It's also possible to enter as a team, maximum of three bikes. Some of the teams have ridden together for many years and it's incredible how they seem to ride as one.
This year the smallest bike was a 65cc Moto Guzzi, this 100cc Laverda was a close second. Every afternoon it would get hot and seize, then cool off and run like a top again. The demand put on the machines is ridiculous, from mountains to the sea
That's Ducati guru Rich Lambrechts purpose built cutting edge Giro tool, a 125cc Ducati with all extra weight removed, high compression and a magneto to eliminate the most likely point of failure on these bikes - the electronics
With no battery and cutaway cases it almost looks like it's missing pieces. It's strong point is it's good everywhere - uphill, downhill and on the straights. Most of us have to pick our battles, our bikes better in some area than others. Not this one.
Emerson Gattafoni arrives on the OSSA, easily one of the prettiest bikes entered this year. He's probably Italy's most famous moto journo because of his Dreams Road series
That's Massimo, the winner last year in Rome. He and many of the other Italians compete all tear long in the Italian Championship series making them very hard to beat at this game but the "English Speakers" as we are called got closer this year than ever in the past. Watch your backs boys!
Rick Hammond is the lone Canadian participant
Every stop, no matter how scenic, is a good time to look things over. Weak sparking 6 volt systems and general stress and fatigue of the long days make maintainance constant
Each day at least three times there are skill tests, which is how the winner is determined. Timing is critical, .5 of a second out and it's "see ya - have a nice day"
Each entrant must navigate the route using a route card, a road book and arrows posted along the route
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