Truly Italian RootsTruly Italian – HERITAGE – Roberto Totti
Engines, forks, wrenches and screwdrivers, gaskets and frames, sheet metals, drills and welders. This is a mechanic specialized workshop, Roberto Totti’s kingdom. This is TottiMotori. Roberto Totti is a customizer – this is how those who modify or create motorcycles by hand are called – best known in Italy and in Europe, not only in his native Bologna.
He is a member of MDA, the Motorcycles Design Association. In 2012 he obtained the certification by the IMBBA USA for Master Bike Builder 2, which is the highest title a customizer can get in the field. He is the only one in Italy who has been awarded with it.
His passion for motorcycles began when he was a boy, and he borrowed the passion for engines from his father, a car test-driver. Then, came the interventions on friends and high-school mates’ motorcycles. One of these friends, already in 1973, with foresight, wrote “TottiMotori” on the tank, effectively creating the brand.
Roberto has a long experience that goes from the preparation of the vehicles for motocross competitions to the restoration of historical brands and vintage motorcycles, up to the modification of the most current models.
However, his specialty remains the pure creation, putting on the road models totally invented and made by his own hands and those of his collaborators. And it is precisely in this context that Roberto can fully and freely express all his creativity combined with his expertise.
TottiMotori is in line with the great engineering tradition of the Motor Valley, the Land of Motors of Emilia Romagna, known throughout the world for the Imola and Misano circuits, as well as for the factories and museums of the cult car and motorcycle brands .
“We are strongly anchored to our territory and to the tradition of the Motor Valley, and we want to pass on the values and culture of the Emilia Romagna region”, says Roberto himself. “Unlike other craftsmen in this area, we respect the historicity of the model in every bike, even in the components,” he continues.
In 2014 he established the “Heritage TottiMotori” association for the conservation and promotion of the specials’ heritage and the history of the motorcycle. An unmatched history to honor and celebrate, just like Gaggia does, starting from its roots to build and develop the future.
Roberto never stops and neither do the other mechanics who work in his workshop. The only moment of break is the one dedicated to coffee. “For us, coffee becomes an important moment to take stock of the work in progress and to exchange ideas and suggestions. We have strategically placed the coffee machine in a separated area, so we have to move physically to reach it. And we really switch off our minds for a moment.”