I’D ARRIVED AT THE BATH AND WEST Showground for the Bristol Classic Show a day early, just to scope out the entries and see if there was anything that might be worth investigation. As I secured my Moto Guzzi, a motorcycle was wheeled out of a neighbouring van. And it was this stunner. I knew nothing about Parillas, but the whole stance of the thing, the superb finish, the lines, made it one of those unignorable motorcycles. This 1960 Parilla was restored by John Crookes. “This is the high cam engine with short pushrods to the rockers – it will rev to 8500rpm and used to see off British 650 twins on the road,” he said. The MSDS F3 is how it came out of the shop – though in reality it’s so much better than when it was new. Buyers could specify the use of the gear-driven cam, but it cost an extra third of the total price of the chain-driven item.
John said: “It’s fantastic for the early 1960s and up the scale on the grin factor. It’s got a lovely, throaty exhaust note and
