Showing posts with label Benelli Motorcycles Cosmo Vintage Cosmo Cosmopolitan Motorcycles Italian Pesaro Classic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Benelli Motorcycles Cosmo Vintage Cosmo Cosmopolitan Motorcycles Italian Pesaro Classic. Show all posts
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Old Cosmo Now Home to Feral Cats!!!
I also got to see the "old" Cosmopolitan Motors complex in Hatboro, Pennsylvania -- now closed, and soon to be razed for a luxury condominium development (what else? a parking lot?) called "StoveWorks." This large building was a beehive of motorcycle activity in the 60s, 70s, and into the 80s and 90s. It is now overrun by feral cats, which Mr. Larry Wise (Weiss) kindly suggested I take back to New Mexico with me!!! I would have preferred some motorcycling souvenirs...
At left is an outrageously-cool, vintage Italian-Built Super-Duper electronic component tester. At right, the old Cosmo Dyno(meter) room, now leased to an automotive body shop....
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Visit To The Enchanted Kingdom!!!
I spent several days in March visiting the incomparable Joe Purshock of Vintage Cosmo in Hatfield, Pennsylvania (that's Joe, below) . Joe is the owner of Vintage Cosmo and the de facto custodian of this fantastic collection of original vintage NOS Italian motorcycle parts and accessories.
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!
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!
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!
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