Alberto Soiatti’s life is perfectly poised between artisanship and digital, restoration and content creation, motorcycles and fashion.

After receiving his degree in Economics and Finance, Alberto decided to follow in his family’s footsteps and began working in his father Daniele’s workshop in Novara, Soiatti Moto Classiche, one of Europe’s most important workshops for restoring vintage motorcycles.

Alberto was farsighted starting right from this business, and thanks to his talents and passions, such as photography and fashion, he also became a digital entrepreneur and ambassador for various brands, including Montblanc, Iwc, Tagliatore, Jeep, and Seboy’s Shoes.

Determined and authentic, we met him in his workshop and he told us how he combines these very different personalities of his: roots and ambitions that he keeps together thanks to a contagious passion and the demeanour of a true gentleman.

“My love for photography was what triggered it all. I started by sharing the work done in the workshop on social media, photographing the motorcycles my father and I were restoring. At the beginning, he was uncertain about it and thought I was wasting my time. But soon we came to understand that social networks were a great opportunity for finding new customers. Our product is one that requires a great deal of motorcycle culture; we target a niche group of enthusiasts and making ourselves known is fundamental for us.”

“My father, who taught me everything, and I, are the only ones in the workshop. He was an official SWM motocross racer in the 1970s as a young man. He stopped racing rather early and began working in a workshop in Novara called Merlo Moto, which mainly dealt with the maxi-motorcycles of the era. He opened Soiatti Moto Classiche thirty years ago and still works there every day. I had always hung out in the workshop but I have been working there ever since I graduated in 2014.”

“In order to restore a motorcycle, you need to study and have a good network of contacts. Whenever a motorcycle comes in that we are not familiar with, we have to study it, and plough through trade magazines to get an in-depth understanding of the model and its components. For example, a motorcycle is composed of about 350 bolts and to restore it you need to know the sizes of all of them. For the more popular motorcycles, of which millions of pieces have been registered, it is easier to find spare parts, but for the lesser-known ones, the relationships we have built up over the years with suppliers are fundamental.”

“Some customers describe us as their ‘last resort’ for saving a motorcycle they cherish. The motorcycles that are brought to us are often in desperate conditions: we have had motorcycles pulled out of the sea or others damaged by flooding. Many seem unsalvageable, but my father is capable of putting in whole nights and weeks of work to find the solution to the problem. There is always a solution for every problem and what others see as something to be thrown away, we try to save.”

“People often decide to undertake a restoration solely for sentimental reasons. For example, at 13 years of age, my father received a turquoise Caliph First Series as a gift from his grandfather. In the following years he lost or sold it, but some time afterwards we found one just like it in terrible condition and decided to restore it I still remember how moved he was the day he started it up for the first time. We often restore motorcycles that belonged to grandparents and which are commissioned by their grandchildren: getting them up and running again has an inestimable sentimental value.”

“My father and I found ourselves to be complementary here in the workshop. He taught me the technical aspects and tenacity: I will always admire his ability to never give up in the face of fear or problems. He learnt from me that artisanship today is more fluid than in the past, that the restorer is no longer just a mechanic, but must also be able to communicate. This is the added value I have been able to give in these years.”

“There was a project that has a special place in my heart because it united the two natures of my work. A few years ago, we collaborated with Seboy’s and made a pair of leather boots designed specifically for owners of classic motorcycles. In fact, the toe box was reinforced on both the left and right shoe, so as to be functional for those with the gearbox on the other side. The launch event brought together motorcycle enthusiasts and people in the fashion world, and my father had a great time, too”.

“I consider myself a gentleman rider in the purest sense of the word. In a world that is going in the opposite direction, being a gallant person for me means being a good person, in life as in work. I believe that companies today, when searching for a spokesperson, need to identify with people who embody these values of fairness and graciousness. It’s a bit old school, I have to admit, but this too I have learnt from my father.”

Photography by Paolo Biava