Little Wing PART TWO

I had always hankered after an Aermacchi and early in my search went to view a 1970s Harley Sprint – a development of the original Aermacchi single, built in Italy for the American market – but when I saw it I could not believe how disjointed and awkward it looked. The cylinder had the later, all-covering head cover, longer forks, peanut tank, high bars, mismatched seat and mudguards, all apparently standard. It looked like someone had designed it after a bad trip, as they used to say in the 60s.

Then I found an Aermacchi Blue Wing, the Ala Azzurra. It just looked right to my eyes. It was advertised as an Ala Verde, the sports model, but I could tell from the photos and a bit of research that the model was either a Blue or a White Wing. These were the touring models with same frame but a less stressed motor than the sports models, and a different petrol tank