Ignition New Zealand July 2017 | Página 19

Italian Stallion Amazing restoration of a classic This beautiful 1970’s Benelli 125 Sport Special comes to us from Andrew Dredge at Carline Mufflers Enoggera in Queensland. The bike was originally sold by Andrew’s father to a family friend in the early 1970’s. In 1975, the engine was removed for a rebuild which never happened and the bike was left in a shed for the next 40 years. The original owner offered the bike to Andrew in 2016 and as you can see pictured right, it was in terrible condition and was missing the engine. After extensive investigative work, Andrew’s father retrieved the original engine from a local motorcycle repairer who stored it in a box at the back of his workshop for 40 years, waiting for the go ahead to rebuild it. After many painstaking hours, the bike was back to its original condition. Parts were sourced from Italy, Sweden, England and the USA. Some parts were even sourced from Benelli racing legend and engineer, Primo Zanzani. When registering the bike after the restoration, Andrew discovered that it had never previously been registered and that his 1971 Benelli 125 Sport Special was the only one of its kind registered in Australia. As a result, his bike was used by the Queensland Department of Transport as an example to add to the national database. A beautiful ground up restoration on an extremely rare Italian classic. Great job Andrew! If you think your ride has what it takes to be published in Ignition Magazine please email ignition@capricorn. coop. Ensure you include the subject line as 'Member Ride'. We look forward to featuring your ride! CAPRICORN IGNITION JULY 2017 19