a dominant form of transportation, and
there were soon no fewer than three deal-
ers in young Marcelo’s hometown of Los
Surgentes, Cordoba, Argentina.
To say the Argentines (and in particu-
lar, the Doffos) were enthusiastic about
motorcycles would be an understate-
ment. Marcelo’s cousin had a motorcycle
and his uncle, who owned a dealership,
built a dirt race track, and Marcelo’s fam-
ily bought their first motorcycle, a 125cc
Vicentina. As Marcelo explains it, the
Vicentina’s fragile frame required a rider
with good welding skills. Marcelo used
the Vicentina for going to work, school,
dances and on dates. Ah, to be a young
Italian motorcycle rider ...
Motorcycle racing was in the town’s
blood, and when Ducati displayed a 175cc
Sport at the local race track, Marcelo
remembers feeling as if he were seeing a
nave spaziale (a space ship). The Ducati had
it all: candy-apple red paint, gold stripes,
chrome, noise, speed — and style that
just wouldn’t quit. The hook was set. We
all have had that first magical encounter
with a motorcycle. For me it was a 1957
Harley-Davidson Panhead parked outside
a restaurant in Pennsylvania. For Marcelo
Doffo it was a Ducati 175 Sport in Los
Surgentes.Coming to America
Marcelo immigrated to the United
States in 1975. He had worked as an
automotive body repairman in Argentina
specializing in welding (the experience
with the Vicentina served him well). He
sailed through job interviews in the U.S.
for similar positions by answering “yes”
to every question; it was the only English
word he knew. After a succession of body
shop jobs, Marcelo started buying, repair-
ing and selling auto wrecks one at a time,
and that led to opening his own repair
business. In the 1990s Marcelo visited
a great-uncle in Italy who created hand-
crafted wines, and he decided that’s whathe wanted to do. Marcelo purchased an
old farm in Temecula, California, and that
led to the birth of the Doffo Winery four
years later.
During all of this, Marcelo’s love of
motorcycling never waned. He drifted
away from motorcycling as family and
work intervened, but his interest was
rekindled when he bought and restored
a basket case Harley-Davidson. After
the restoration, he rode the Harley to
Hollister, California (made famous
in 1953’s The Wild One starring Marlon
Brando), and found that the Harley and
the Harley lifestyle were not a good fit.
Marcelo sold the Harley, but the restora-
tion bug had bitten hard. The next project
was a frame-up restoration of a Ducati
Bronco, and that motorcycle was the seed
that grew into the MotoDoffo Collection.
With interests in both Argentina and
California, Marcelo’s duties require fre-
quent travel to and from South America.
He combines business with pleasure,
finding parts and complete motorcycles
for the MotoDoffo Collection during hishttp://www.MotorcycleClassics.com 59
Marcelo Doffo,
patriarch, rider,
racer, collector,
and winemaker
extraordinaire
(above). The
1959 photo to
the right shows
Oscar Colacilli
(the cousin who
sparked Marcelo’s
interest in riding)
in Los Surgentes,
Argentina, with a
75cc Altino.