“Gustavito” and the minibike.
Horacio Pagani was about fourteen years old when he got a Sachs Televel engine from the 50s as a gift, damaged and out of use. Together with his friend Gustavo Marani, “Gustavito”, they were planning to build a go-kart as they shared the same passion for cars, thus they went to Carcarañà, a small village in the surroundings, to purchase four small wheels. When they realized that with one single go-kart they couldn’t have fun together, they soon gave way to the project of two minibikes.
Horacio Pagani was about fourteen years old when he got a Sachs Televel engine from the 50s as a gift, damaged and out of use. Together with his friend Gustavo Marani, “Gustavito”, they were planning to build a go-kart as they shared the same passion for cars, thus they went to Carcarañà, a small village in the surroundings, to purchase four small wheels. When they realized that with one single go-kart they couldn’t have fun together, they soon gave way to the project of two minibikes.
Gustavo managed to find another engine, a Deem 48 cc, the same one that was mounted at the time on the Italian bikes, in Legnano. The Marani family owned a workshop, which became the place where the two friends used to meet to build their minibikes. The frames were very similar, but the engines were very different: Horacio’s was a 125 cilinders, while his friend’s one was a 48 cilinders.
The two bikes were different not only in size, but also in definition. They built every single detail by hand: the fuel tank, the fenders, the forks, the exhaust pipes. Gustavo’s bike looked more like a chopper model, Horacio’s one was a motocross. Both were great although very different from each other.
The two bikes were so original and eye-catching that attracted great attention in the town and time later the owner of a store wanted to display them in his shop window.
Cafetin de Buenos Aires, tango by Homero Manzi, Argentinian poet
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