Difazio Motorcycles

A Brief History of the Marque

Difazio produced around 50 hub-centre steering motorcycles.

Archive of the history of the marque from the now defunct http://difazio.co.uk.

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Difazio 1968 T500

• James M.
  Never owned, never ridden, but would lurve a diFazio front end, exquisite engineering, a Tinkerer's Treasure. Stuff doing things the easy way!

  Classic Motorcycles. I had a Difazio BMW. Swapped the R75/5 engine for an R100. Went like a cut cat and handled rather like an R1100.

  James M.
  Not THAT ugly. I like the functional Earles geometry setting for the purely functional hub-centre ingenuity. Granny's drying rack at the back, I'd check for structural necessity, do an Occam's Razor job on it: Pluralitas non est ponenda sine necessitate, and at least spray that silver pick-up-sticks conglomerate a nice forget-this-mess matt black. More...

  For the rest, I'd do what the Memsahib did at 18, as I taught her to drive the echoing streets in 5 point harness, her head 32 inches from the ground in a cutaways-no-doors, cycle guards, hot half ton, sub-60 seconds Templestowe Hillclimber with good gear and a voice like a 50 cal machine gun, no silly luxuries of the restricted exhausts kind. A noble steed built by Modest Me and named by the vulgar "The Yellow Peril". Dear girl! I tell her now "You were nice then." Focussed on her beautiful face, I loved the way she winced in heavy traffic, delicately clamping her eyes shut overtaking a powerless peasant or crossing a crowded intersection. These days, she drives boringly well, her own car an Evo, all the while plotting to steal my current Jag and MG. With my own eyes shut, there would be no ugly vision to mar the joy of riding this Laverda Lamia. I dub thee Lamia. Why?
  Scary.stuff. Ask John Keats.
  

  Classic Motorcycles.
  

  Whither fled Lamia, now a lady bright,
  A full-born beauty new and exquisite?

  Thank you for reminding me why I hate Keats.

  Classic Motorcycles. "I loved the way she winced in heavy traffic, delicately clamping her eyes shut overtaking a powerless peasant or crossing a crowded intersection." Chortle. I do hope you store these wandering thoughts for posterity.

  James M.
  Lamia, born deadly serpent, turned luscious lady. Surprised me in my youth that Freud never named a Lamia Complex. Within Woman, the Cobra, the Fury envied by all Hell's tacticians.

  Scorn her at your peril.

  I nurtured this quality in Memsahib-at-the-wheel. Picture her driving our serious large Landrover homewards from The Show thru Dandenong. Traffic clears at long-blocked intersection, lovely Lamia proceeds. To her left a big black gleaming Galaxy, Bourgeois Bastard in control, in this small pond fat fish indeed, Class-entitled to push through a pretty Proletarian's path, no peril. Memsahib's beautiful brow knits in grim determination.

  "Go for it!" sez I. "Brace for it." sez she.

  Pretty foot leaves loud pedal. Clever caress of brakes flashes a red "At-least-I-tried" to witnesses behind, leaving a delicate driver's-door-destroying momentum. He stops, slack-jawed, wide-eyed, door irreparably rooted. She reverses, firm-jawed, grim-gazing, fangs down, set to strike again. "Get out of my way!" she hisses, selects First, revs to 3000. Fatfuk, undies filled, flees back expensively into bullbar of an F100. Proudly I lean right and, laughing, loving, kiss the Lamian cheek. What's not to

  Classic Motorcycles.
  I tip's me lid to you and your Lamian.

Difazio BMW 1976

On 23/01/2014 12:10 PM, Tim Tucker wrote:

• Hi Right! We may of spoken briefly back in 2008 on this subject but was unable to pursue it further. The Difazio Hub Steered BMW motorcycle which I built back in 1975 was bought by Robert Jameison and took it to Australia, his wife went with him as she returned her Difazio Suzuki as she couldn't cope with it. I believe you must of acquired the BMW around 1979 as Robert retuned to the UK and picked up a std BMW R100 and took that back out to Australia. He is still around but I have as yet not been able to speak to him. So if you were the second owner did you upgrade the engine to a 100/7. Have you been able to find some photos of the bike? Finally can you recall where the bike went and maybe where is it now or ways of finding out!!! I have put an elert out to some of the bike clubs and had some feed back but no one has seen the BMW. It's the only bike of ours in Australia so it is important to us to locate it. I have just been speaking to another owner with a similar bike that I built in the USA who is contemplating upgrading the engine to a 100/7. I have also just located another bike a Difazio Suzuki 750 which I built in 1974 and was shipped to Canada and now is in Birmingham AB USA. We also shipped back a Suzuki 500 Falcon from the USA for restoration. We now have quite a collection back in the UK most of which are still ridden regularly. I am the only one around from the original Team that built these bikes but have great enjoyment helping towards restoration and attending shows. It would be great if you are able to help me on this matter and look forward to your reply. Tim Difazio Motorcycle Interest Group UK

Hi again, Tim.

It must have been 1981 or possibly 1982 that I bought the bike, as that shop was not in that location til then - 69 Wentworth Ave, Sydney. I think it was sold in 82 or 83, no later. The engine I just cannot recall, but I think it was 100/7 - I didn't get to ride it as much as I would have liked as I was extremely busy with my business.

I'm sorry, I have no recollection of where the bike went, and I don't recall any feedback from the new owner.

I've expanded the Difazio section on the site and hopefully it will get more attention, so someone may contact one of us.

I have not found an image of the bike but I have bought a professional scanner so I'm actually a little closer to getting on to that task.

Difazio Suzuki 350

Fri Apr 01 2011
turnerja<at>supanetdot com
Difazio Hub-steering Motorcycle
Difazio-Suzuki 350
Wondered if anything was known about this bike that was built for me by Jack Difazio in the 1970s. It used a Suzuki 325cc engine, that had originally been destined for a racer. The registration number I have unfortunately forgotten, but the year letter was P.

Dec 09
It must be a year or so we last chatted about your old HS bike. I wondered whether any other memories or photos have come to light as we are still searching for that bike.

• ............
  Here's another reference to a Difazio BMW in Australia. I suspect it's the same one as the article refers to "Iain" and the name rings a strong bell.
  http://www.bmwmocb.asn.au/mocb/magazine-files/September.pdf 404

<tt007s8919 at blueyonder.co.uk>
Sent: Monday, September 01, 2008 8:48 PM
Subject: Difazio BMW

Thank you for replying.

I attach another picture of the BMW (UK Reg OXB 75P). Its sister bike was a Suzuki 500 which i built also, was for a couple in 1976 who lived in Adelaide Australia and took both bikes out there soon afterwards.
I wonder whether you took any pictures of this bike as i would like any copies if possible to add to the records.
If there is anything else that you can recall about this bike i would be very grateful.

Regards

Tim
................
I bought the yellow BMW from a chap in about 1981, and fitted it with a 1000cc BMW engine. I sold it a year or two later, in Sydney. image above

................
I don't recall the name of the fellow I bought it from, but I rather thought he was from Victoria rather than SA. I do very vaguely recall mention of a T500. I promised the previous owner that I'd contact him if I sold the bike, but when I did so there was no answer. It turned out he'd been overseas, or had moved perhaps - he was upset that I'd sold it, anyway. Interesting chap, collector of Aboriginal art long before there was any recognition of it by the general art world.

I do have photos, I believe, but they are buried well and truly and there is only the remotest chance that I will find them.

The engine I used was something like an R100RT 1979 with square tappet covers. Nothing wrong with the R75 (or was it an R60/5), just wanted more grunt.

It was the best handling boxer twin I ever owned, by far, until the 259 series came along. The R1100GS felt quite familiar after having ridden the Difazio.

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