Did I say parts and accessories? At Vintage Cosmo, there are also many holy sacred relics -- check out this beautiful Benelli Sign, below, one of two in the world (the other is at the factory in Pesaro). Handmade after the war, it is a thing of great beauty and it would take an incalculable sum to wrest it from him!
Early warning to motorcycle museum curators who want these thing for free: forget about it, it ain't gonna' happen!!! At right is another treasure, a lovely Benelli Moto sign -- so perfect it looks like a reproduction, but it isn't, it's an original. Stay tuned; Vintage Cosmo will soon be selling reproduction signs that look every bit as nice!
I also got a chance to see my 1966 Benelli Nuovo Leoncino 125 (sold in the U.S. as the Benelli "Cobra Scrambler") at the tail-end of its superb restoration by Claudio Catania of CFM Motorcycles. This bike was a basket-case before Claudio took it in, and he's been fixing it up for months. The bike is virtually all NOS (new old stock) parts, and it shows -- the bike looks like it was made yesterday, not 42 years ago! I took the bike for a test drive and it motors right along, a real blast to drive. Nice work, Claudio!
Claudio will also be re-doing a Benelli Cobra for me, and perhaps a rare Harley-Davidson Aermacchi mini that looks more like a bicycle than a motorcycle!!!
If you can't make it to Vintage Cosmo in person, you can always visit them on the web -- Joe's popular E-Bay Auctions, great parts and accessories spiced with his unique commentaries and personal perspectives, can be seen at: www.http://stores.ebay.com/Cosmopolitan-Motors
Joe will also be attending several vintage motorcycling events this season, including Mid-Ohio (AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days), July 25-27th; and the Barber Vintage Festival (October 17-19th) in Alabama. He'll have truckloads of vintage goodies with him, and new stuff like helmets, t-shirts, and more.
Should be a great season!
