Milano Taranto Rievocazione per moto d'epoca
By László Gergely Hordós (87) Ducati 175TS
Italy, heat, motorbikes, people
I wrote about the Milano-Taranto race last year, if you don’t know what it’s about, just open the right 2023 issue of the Veteran Magazine. A long-standing competition, where the route changes every year, as well as some of the participants are always new. Of course, the point is eternal. Mostly small-cubic Italian engines racing for six days, so that 1,800 km away, everyone really crawled on the film of engine oil to the finish line. Although not all racing motorcycles were prepared perfectly, the fact that 90-95 percent of the 140 people saw the shores of Taranto clearly shows the indomitability of these 50-60-70-year-old, uncomfortable and not very fast motorcycles on funny sausages size tires, and with a weigh not more than a hundred kilos.
The start in Milan held a pleasant surprise and caused some excitement. The name of the pleasant surprise was Tibor, who as a Hungarian visited the Novegro fair center to meet us and even asked for a (nonsense!) autograph on a poster. The latter embarrassed me so much that I forgot to ask his full name, but in any case, we thank with Mikós for his kindness.
On the day of the start, it seemed to be raining by the weather forecast, but before at midnight start I was already sure that we would get away without rain gear. Ha-ha-ha could be heard from above, and when I rolled to the start line for the 0:37 start, it was already raining properly, so much so that the navigation that I had carefully set up on my phone was immediately turned off by the first raindrop. I hoped that the ignition wouldn’t begun to misfire. It did. Fortunately, the rain was only good enough to scare the field a little, but it didn’t even made the bikes dirty. After half an hour there was no sign of the water on the asphalt.
Compared to last year, the route became more curvy, although the quality of the tarmac removed the boogie-woogie factor from many hairpins. But this was not the biggest challenge, but the hellish heat. At the stopovers I threw off the textile like a striptease dancer fueled by ecstasy.
This year, our accompanying friends coming with us was six of them came with five bikes. Miklós on the newly aquired Honda VTR was ahead of everyone in the “taster” category, I again signed up the 150-175 cm3 “Sport” division with my Ducati 175TS
Now, in an unusual way, I will spare everyone from the further experience report, the special bikes and the interesting bikers will follow here.
If there is a name that has mixed a new color in the Milano-Taranto paint bucket, it is Ragastás. Of course, this is just a nick name, because even when he was a boy, he was a kid to be rogue, which is how he got the name from.
Ragastás (2) is famous of his flying style riding on the 65 cm3 Guzzino, and also well recognised by his cool red and white overalls and his sophisticated self-marketing. In 2023, he gave away large badges decorated with his own image all over Italy, but following the zeitgeist this year, rubber bracelets with inscriptions and QR codes were far cooler.
Let’s not envy him so much, because on the third day he had to change the engine, it’s even lucky that he prepared with two spare ones, and even a tire fix was happened on the fifth day.
Silvana Visentin and her son Fulvio Cavazzini (92) started for the tenth time in the sidecar category with the Motoguzzi V7 Special. The bike is far not as interesting as Silvana, one of the biggest fans of Milano-Taranto. Her sons would have left the competition a long time ago, but you can’t argue with the Mamma. Silvana was one of the liveliest participants of the entire race week, and here’s the quiz: Why did they get the start number 92 this year, when last year it was 91? (Silvana’s age)
Who would be the real heroes? Look at this mule!
Everyone has seen the three-wheel Piaggio Ape the small goods carrier. It’s an integral part of the Italian streetscape, the perfect illustration of evolution in the encyclopedia. But Italy also needed bigger trucks, and Guzzi thought it’s a good reason to built the Ercole (Herkules in Italian). It is like the love child of a 500 Guzzi Falcone motorbike and an Iveco tipper truck. You drive it like a motorcycle, even you can load 1500 kg in the back. It’s a rare thing, it’s no wonder that no one, apart from the German Guzzi club, has thought of going all the way through the Mi-Ta with it. It has a top speed of 80 km/h, Moto Guzzi drum brakes at the front (totally in vain) and hydraulic brakes at the back.
Ah, another BMW! Go to the eye doctor, blind mouse! It’s an Universal B50!
As a true Swiss, Claudio Delco pulled out a mouth-watering piece from his collection to show that there was life beyond BMW.
Universal engines are designed by ex BMW engineers and built withthe finest Swiss mechanical traditions in mind. It was made as a kind of super R51, but in the end approx. After 900-1000 manufactured engines, the project was hit the ground.
The most beautiful engine: FB Mondial TV 175CC from 1959
David Ward’s (74) blue-silver Mondial bike was so beautiful and good that it caught my eye every time I saw it. Its gear OHC control was an exciting technical treat and advanced beyond its age. At David’s request, the undercarriage is out
The most beautiful engine: FB Mondial TV 175CC from 1959
David Ward’s (74) English blue-silver Mondilaja is so beautiful and good that it caught my eye every time I saw it. Its gear driven OHC cilinder head was an exciting technical candy and advanced beyond its age. At David’s request, his undercarriage was raised to make it more comfortable to ride. Had some ignition problems during the six days, but a transformer change fixed the issue. The Ducati 175 Sport motorcycle of James Curtis (78) can be seen on the far right, and on the Parilla Jan Smart (73) can be seen on the left.
And the best scooter prize goes to the Lambretta LI125 of Gaetano Ricchiuti (46).
In 2023, Gaetano proved that with a tuned Lambretta and the right riding capebility, he can keep up with the pace of the 500 single-cylinder sport Gileras. In any case, Muttley the dog sticker on the side of the motorcycle is a well symbolise the attitude of Lambretta-man from Taranto.
Pictured is Barry Porter (80) on the MV Augusta Rapido Sport 150 (1959). Those with sharp eyes will notice that this is not a production bike, but a model heavily modified for racing purposes.
Barry is a motorcycling citizen of the world, holding old timers in Italy, France, Scotland and, of course, at home in California.
The motorbike itself is even more interesting. It was built for Remo Venturi as a demonstration bike, with a more modern front fork, a 1976 MV Augusta tank, a fiberglass rear hump, and a full direct exhaust.
Remo Venturi is a one-time Moto GP winner in the king’s category, twice finishing second behind his teammate John Surtees at the end of the year.
In 1954, he won the original Milano Taranto, taking the 1,300 km distance in 13 hours and 18 minutes. In 1957, he also finished first the Motogiro Italia.
This bike was built to promote the oldtimer gran fondo races and was last ridden by Remo in 2004 at the age of 77.
Eligio Arturi (81) was my starting mate during the entire race. He deals with the long-term storage of motorcycles and the organization of motorcycle tours, but also helps with the purchase of vintage motorcycles. He rides hard, usually abandoned me in the first couple of corners.
If you look at his Morini 175, you see an oily, black matted (read: preserved in its original condition) machine, nothing fancy, just a vehicle, and nothing more. The block has already had to be repaired and the ignition is electronic, but everything else is as it came from the factory in 1954.
You probably know when a small child is told that he is interesting, smart, clever, but not by any chance that he is beautiful. The 192 cm3 Moto Guzzi Galetto is the product of a manufacturer that, even in 1967, built its engines on the basis of the 1928 design. He is the child I was talking about.
A scooter needs a spare wheel, we’ve known this since the Vespa, but the Galetto has 17″ rims, so it only fit in front of the foot guard.
I’m interviewing Rosina (90), who with her husband pushes the 1,800 kilometers on a Guzzi sidecar motorcycle. I often ride behind them to watch this frail woman jumps like an acrobat from turn to turn, from a kneeling position, to the right side, leaning out of the car at the waist in right turns. I ask Rosina if she is enjoying it, right? The answer is a clear no. My next question is, how did the famously inflexible Swiss authorities deregulate this? He replies that it’s easy, but reveals that if necessary, the padded floor can be cleverly converted into a seat.
To the question of whether he used to be afraid, the answer is: it has happened from time to time, as well as the fact that objects on the side of the road are closer to his head than is comfortable.
A German should only ride a German motorcycle!
– Is this bike comfortable for you after five days?
– No bike can be comfortable enough on the Milano Taranto.
This is Georg’s (108) second Mi-Ta, but two years ago he had a car accident. He has many other bikes, mainly Guzzis, but the Horex Regina 350 (1950) is his true love.
Only three MV Augusta entered the competition this year, but the most beautiful is clearly Mauro’s (69) CSS 175 (1954).
The motorcycle’s nickname is the flying saucer (Disco Volante) got its name from the specially shaped (beautiful) gas tank. If this is an original CSS, then consider that only 500 examples of the racing bike base made, and producing 15 horsepower at 8,800 rpm.
Look at the rider, not the bike!
The Honda 250 RS (1982) shown in the picture is not an exciting piece, it strongly stands out from the Milano-Taranto range. But the starting number 144 belongs to Peter Frohnmeyer, a member of the Moto GP generation of the 70s. In 1976, he scored points in 125 cm3 and also holds the Nürburgring lap record. Look at his effortless cornering style.
The oldest bike in 2024 Mi-Ta, the 1931 Brough Superior SS80 (110), should come at the end. Yes, you can take a long-distance race with an almost 100-year-old motorcycle. Ok that from the second half of the fourth day, the pride of the British motorcycle production traveled only on a truck platform. “Well…, I told you”, but I would like to cool down the mood, they covered 1100 km anyway.
