ROME – The parish priest most loved by Italians has put down his bike and got on a motorbike. What’s strange? It is the normal evolution of the times as well as of a television series, that of Don Matteo, which for 13 years has kept millions of spectators glued to the TV. And therefore that iconic figure of the provincial priest who rides in contempt of fatigue and years (but Terence Hill carries them like no other), has given way to a perky Don Massimo (Raoul Bova) at the handlebars of a Triumph Legend TT 900.
His name, Legend, leads us to imagine a long curriculum studded with commercial and sporting successes. And instead the British house produced it for only three years, from 1998 to 2001, as an entry level model of the āclassicā range where the Thunderbird 900 and the Adventurer grazed alongside it.
Equipped with a liquid-cooled 885 cc three-cylinder engine capable of delivering 68 hp, the Legend undoubtedly had a charm of its own, even if its main feature was economy, both in the purchase phase and in that of maintenance. And in fact the color options were only three: “Obsidian Black”, “Cardinal Red” and “Imperial Green”, the latter the one chosen by Don Massimo.
A beautiful bike then, with that vague retro flavor that fits perfectly with the new hero of the television series. And to which soon, by dint of seeing him riding his old Legend TT 900, the parishioners of the Church of Sant’Eufemia will love (almost) as much as the unforgettable Trinity.