Ducati “Junk Collector” Has Home Showroom

SUFFIELD, CT – Motorcycle collector Paul Mancinone admits to having a problem. “I’m a junk collector. I can’t rid of anything. I get attached. It’s as simple as that,” he said.

Fortunately, he has the space to indulge his addiction and the wallet to stock his collection with some sparkling and rare bikes that are anything but junk, which RIDE-CT / RIDE-New England discovered during a recent tour of the in-law apartment at his home that he’s converted into a showroom.

Mancinone, who works as a tax attorney and C.P.A. in Springfield, MA, took up riding at age 34. He bought his first bike 16 years ago – a 1998 Ducati 748.

“It’s the only bike I don’t have any more. Never should have sold it. It was starting to give me a couple of problems; one problem too many,” he recalled.

Mancinone’s love of motorcycles dates back to his youth. His father, Silvio Mancinone, was a Springfield blacksmith whose shop was located on land taken by eminent domain for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. “My dad loved bikes, but he wouldn’t let me have one,” he said.

So, like many riders who grew up with reluctant parents, he waited until he got older to indulge his motorcycle lust. And he’s done so with great passion.

To get to his hidden showroom, a visitor must first go through the garage where a 1987 Ferarri 328 GTS and a 2004 Maserati Spyder are parked. Immediately inside the door is 1967 BMW R60/2. “It has the best riding position of any bike here,” said Mancinone as he began the tour.

And that’s just the appetizer. Beyond it is a limited edition 2000 Ducati MH900e (below), the “MH” standing for racer Mike Hailwood. Designed by Pierre Terblanche, only 1,000 were produced in 2000 and another 1,000 in 2001. Mancinone said the first lot sold out in 32 minutes. “I just got lucky,” he said.

That’s not his rarest Ducati. He also has a 1999 Ducati Monster 900 Cromo with a chrome gas tank. “They say there were only 80 built,” he said. Another uncommon bike in Mancinone’s collection is a 1977 Aermacchi thumper, a race version that ran in the Milan Taranto Road Race three times. He also has a 1964 Honda Dream 305. “I had to buy a bike for the year I was born,” he said.

A 1974 Honda CB450 (above) and a 2009 Ducati Hypermotard 1100 can also be seen. The CB450 was a barn find and only has 3,000 miles on it, while the Hypermotard was a “mistake” in Mancinone’s view. “This is the only bike I don’t plan to ever ride again. Way too much power. It scared the bejesus out of me,” he said.

Mancinone owns one more motorcycle – a Sears-branded 1967 Gilera which he displays in his office in downtown Springfield and which we later visited.

Before parting ways, Mancinone and I drove up the hill to the Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History to see one final bike that he’d donated – a 1909 Harley-Davidson Model 5 replica. It certainly has found a good home.