Bob Hanson wrote:
> I'd be curious to know when Motta began building bikes. And also
> why they
> seem to be so uncommon over here. Perhaps just had little
> interest in
> exporting to the US?
Well, Gianni Motta bikes weren't actually common in Southern California, but not uncommon either. Bud's Bike Shop in Claremont, 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, carried them in the early 1980s and Gianni Motta paid a visit to the shop back then. I've got a picture of me talking with him outside of Bud's somewhere in my stuff.
Most popular model was the tricolor Italian flag paint scheme:
http://www.classicrendezvous.com/
Chuck Schmidt
South Pasadena, CA