What a Ride!
In 2002, I had the pleasure seeing and riding the Mondial Piega. I had been working in the company of an American distributor of Italian motorcycles helping to market a new race team that was making plans for Daytona.

When I arrived in Dallas, Texas to meet up with the team, I was amazed to see a gorgeous blue and silver motorcycle parked out front. I knew the moment I saw the bike, what it was that I was looking at. The Mondial that I had only seen in pictures was more beautiful than I had imagined.

Looking over the bike I realized that I was looking at an engineering marvel that I felt at the time couldn’t possibly be as cool as I was told it was. But further inspection revealed a motorcycle that was built to incredible tolerance and was adorned with more big name equipment than any bike that I had ever seen. From the gold inverted Ohlins front forks built especially for Mondial, right down to the impeccable blue and silver paint that coated its perfect fairing lines, this was one gorgeous bike!

I remember drooling over this bike for two straight days as we made our way to Daytona. We were traveling in style in a forty footer with our race trailer in tow. And though we were heading to Daytona to race another motorcycle, I just couldn’t get over the Mondial’s extremely fast lines and custom racing looks that I found out later takes everyone’s breath away, not just mine.

As we arrived in Daytona, I remember feeling like a kid and most probably acting like one as I asked again and again when we were going to fire up the Mondial and give it a test ride.

When we arrived at the track the next morning, we all had duties to take care of to get the team ready for practice. We unloaded the motorcycles and began to setup our pits, and within minutes there was a crowd around the Piega. People were stoked about this bike, and they didn’t even know what it was! But all it took was one look and most everyone felt the way that I did. Plainly stated, it was a dream bike!

Finally, I got my hands on the keys, but had to almost fight the crowd to get enough room to mount the saddle of the Piega. Then, with one quick touch of the start button the Mondial came to life. The Piega had a crisp smooth sound that was unique and unlike anything that I had ever heard, but the real joy was in the ride! I proceeded to make my way around the infield filled with excited Daytona fans, with a grin that had to be a dead giveaway of my first ride on this unique bike. The power delivery, the feel of the suspension, the sound of the power plant… this really was as much motorcycle as I heard it was.

I remember thinking that I wanted one of these bikes! But I didn’t want it to ride around and show it off, I wanted it to race! The Piega had first come across as a bike that I could enjoy riding on the weekends with my friends and be the envy of everyone on the road. But when I rode it, I wanted to see it perform on the race track. I wanted to feel the superior mid-range power of the twin driving out of the turns, and the performance of the well rounded balance of the bike as I braked hard into the turns. This bike just felt great!

Now all I had to do was figure out how I could get my hands on one of these for my own!

I can hardly wait for the Mondials to hit the states! Hopefully I will be able to get one of my own one day.

Alan Blair

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