Superalce - New Owner
Graeme Studdert
I have just become the owner of a 1946 Superalce which i imported from
Italy. I need some help to authenticate this bike. I am led to
believe that the bike was a special order from the factory for the
Vigile del Fuoco (the Fire Dept). It is painted red and has a later
model single muffler exhaust. All else looks like a 1946 model. How
can i check the authenticity of the machine?
regards
Graeme S.
Australia
SA, Galletto, Nuove Falcone, V50, LM5, Cali, 860GTS
Guzz...@aol.com
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Patrick Hayes
On 12/5/2011 8:19 PM, Graeme Studdert wrote:
> I have just become the owner of a 1946 Superalce which i imported from
> Italy. I need some help to authenticate this bike. I am led to
> believe that the bike was a special order from the factory for the
> Vigile del Fuoco (the Fire Dept). It is painted red and has a later
> model single muffler exhaust. All else looks like a 1946 model. How
> can i check the authenticity of the machine?
Graeme: The early models had the dual tube exhaust copied from the
earlier Alce while later versions were the single tube. As they rotted
out, the single tube version was easier to obtain and replace. I
wouldn't use that as an identifying characteristic.
You sent some incredibly beautiful pictures to me. I suggest you post
those pictures in some hosting venue like photobucket.com and give the
links here so others can see and evaluate the photos.
The only questions I had regarding your machine were:
1-you seem to have a grease fitting for the upper (intake) rocker arm.
I believe that is a later series application as it requires a slightly
modified rocker box casting.
2-you have a round air cleaner. I think early versions had a
trapezoidal cup below the air cleaner to collect the dead bugs and mice
which were filtered out by the filter matrix. I think later versions
were only the round air cleaner.
All of these parts could be interchanged quite easily of course.
I think someone might be pulling your leg about the Vigile del Fuoco. I
don't see the fire brigade needing a moto transport for any reason.
It is possible (albeit not very easy or cheap) for the factory to
research production records and tell you exactly the date of production
for the frame and for the motor and to whom they were first sold.
Through local Italian connections, I was able to get production
information for my bike on factory letterhead. The motor is 1946 Naples
Police. The frame is 1957 Rome Army. Who knows where and how the bits
got together. The army would always conveniently move parts from one
machine to another.
I have 28 SuperAlce listed in my USA inventory. If you give me the
frame and engine numbers, then perhaps they are close in sequence to
some other machine already listed. Nevertheless, registration dates for
these machines are all over the map.
None of this really matters for a SuperAlce. They were produced from
1946 through 1957. When the army got rid of them as surplus, the sold
them in literal piles. Vendors would buy a pile, load it home and start
stripping bits. As the parts accumulated, they would eventually
assemble one complete bike and sell it off. It is quite possible that
your machine is actually a conglomerate of several original bikes. That
condition would be quite normal for a restored SuperAlce. My personal
unit has two leg shield fairings. I road it for years before I looked
closely. The leg shields have reinforcement stampings. The left shield
and the right shield quite obviously came from two distinctly different
stamping dies. I just never noticed.
Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA
Patrick Hayes
On 12/5/2011 8:30 PM, Guzz...@aol.com wrote:
> Welcome Graeme !
> You must visit the Super Elk web site hosted by our very own Patrick
> Hayes...... http://home.comcast.net
Tim: he's already chatted with me and found me originally through the
web site. BTW, that address would be home.comcast.net/~superalce
I hope he posts a pic as his bike is really a beauty in bright red
livery. (if he doesn't I will)
Patrick
Guzz...@aol.com
Charles Mullendore
There was a link posted on Wildguzzi of Italian fire equipment that included a pair of "Vigili del Fuoco" Falcones: http://www.flickr.com/photos/41890777@N07/6399841451/in/set-72157628117989708 . Some pretty cool stuff in the series.
I'm guessing these were used by the equivalent of the "fire police" in the US? Charlie http://www.AntietamClassicCycle.com |
Guzz...@aol.com
Patrick Hayes
On 12/5/2011 9:21 PM, Guzz...@aol.com wrote:
> Hey Patrick........ Do you know how the siren works? Electric or
> friction type?
On the Falcone it was electric mounted between the forks above the front
fender. I've never seen one on a SuperAlce. Often, visitors confuse
the large, shiny air cleaner with a siren because of its radial intake
louvers.
Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA