The 1957 V8 Moto Guzzi race motor cycle – the Otto cilindri- Visits Australia

To celebrate the 95th anniversary of Moto Guzzi one of the few operational Ottocilindri in the world came to the small country township of Broadford.

The crowd milled around to hear the legendary bike speak

not speak – rumble

not rumble – roar

Roar to life as it did to awe struck crowd 60 years ago.

I wondered would it exhaust note sound different in Italian

The Italian mechanic who travelled with the bike was coaxing her to start

“iniziare per me bel bambino”

fine tuning the latin lovely

“Inizia per me bellezza italiana”

Spoken softly to the points as he caressed them softly

“Ho solleticare la vostra carburatore bene”

he whispered to her as he adjusted the carburetor

Then it was time to make her sing

“cantare per il pubblico la mia bella diva”

“cantare, cantare, cantare” he urged

But like all temperamental Italian divas perform she would not

The singing of otto cilindri was the spluttering of a quattro cilindri

Unfortunately on that Saturday she was not to sing

But like a true diva just before the curtain was drawn on the closing day of the Broadford Bike Bonanza she did sing the full aria of otto cilindri.

Unfortunately I had left before the lady sang.

This is her sound but unfortunately not recorded at Broadford