Pro Italia’s Service Department
We have an absolutely amazing Service Tech Team; we think it’s the best in the country . . and, yes, we are a bit biased. :-) Our Service Team consists of John French, our Service Manager, and Marc Maidens, Orlando Belotti and German Silva-Lara, our techs. They are assisted by Ken Aiken and Roger Young. (Seen above, Orlando, Roger, Marc, John and German).
John, a Ducati Master Tech, is considered by many to be one of the very finest motorcycle techs in the country and is extraordinarily Ducati “knowledgeable”. In fact, he trained two-thirds of the Desmocedici D16RR techs in the US in the fall of 2007. Marc and German are both Ducati Master Techs trained on Ohlin’s, dyno tuning, advanced electronics, and engine blue printing. Orlando, a Ducati Level 2 Tech, is shortly to be a Ducati Master Tech. There’s not much by way of bikes that these guys haven’t experienced and fixed. But, there’s more to being a great tech than having a certificate and book knowledge. The Pro Italia Service Team has more than 50 years of experience working on Italian motorcycles. They’re passionate about motorcycles and customer satisfaction, enjoy riding (especially track days), and have loads of real world experience.
John was born in England and started fixing English bikes and cars at a very young age. He cut his teeth on Triumphs (the bike) and Jags. Based on his experience, John believes that if you can fix an English vehicle you can fix anything. He was, until very recently, the Regional Service Manager for Ducati in the SouthWest (the SouthWest region sells and services more Italian bikes than any other region in the US). John has 27 bikes in various states of restoration, an Austin Healey 3000 that he’s restoring, and a truck. A huge fan of the IOM, John’s missed only one IOM TT in 20 years. John’’s got a wealth of knowledge about motorcycles and, lucky for us, he’s a great teacher.
Marc was born in northern Michigan (not a very long riding season there). He’s fixed a bike from virtually every manufacturer and works on most of the Desmo’s that come into the shop as well as some other very special street and track bikes. Marc been riding since he was 13 and has been working on Ducati’s for more than 15 years (he says he loves working on Italian bikes because “they have personalities and require great problem solving skills”). He commutes to work on a ’96 Monster and is partial to naked bikes (“I love to see the components and engine”). As Marc says, “Our team has a passion for motorcycles and for our manufacturers, a desire to solve difficult problems, a respect for each other and our customers, and we want to make the bikes run the very best that they can”.
Orlando was born in Italy and he’s also lived in Hong Kong, London, Boston and Los Angeles. At last count Orlando has 7 bikes and scooters in Italy (including a 748, ’02 Guzzi California, Piaggio Zip SP) and five in LA (including an ’08 Hyper S and a’64 Ducati 250 Scrambler). Orlando loves fixing bikes and can often be found on his off days at the shop working on his own bikes. For Orlando, Ducati’s were love at first sight (his favorite is the Ducati 748RS) . . but he loves working on all Italian bikes. You can find Orlando at almost every Pro Italia track day on his very fast Hyper S, and on his dirt bike almost every Monday. People love Orlando’s work because he makes bikes run very fast and very reliably. Orlando says,” I love working at Pro Italia. We have a passion for the bikes we sell and our customers and our service team has the skills to make sure that they run great.”
German (pronounced “HAIR-man”) was born in Caracas, Venezuela. He was first exposed to motorcycles by his father, a renowned heart surgeon. He started riding bikes at the age of 3, had his first bike at 7, and has been working on bikes for more than 12 years. In 1996 Herman moved to the US where he began working on Ducatis. His first Ducati was a 900SS which he fell in love with the very first time he rode it. Herman loves martial arts and currently has a black belt in Karate. When asked what makes Pro Italia special he said that there is “…nothing that between the four techs that we can’t troubleshoot and fix. Individually we’re all good and together we’re great. We are a true team sharing knowledge and respect and working together for our customers.” Herman loves all Italian bikes but has a special love for Ducatis and Guzzis (“full of character”).
We’ll leave it to John to sum up why the Pro Italia Service Team is great:
- Pro Italia has been continuously selling and servicing Ducatis for 24 years and, for most of that time, MV’s, Guzzi’s and Aprilia’s as well. There isn’t much we haven’t seen, worked on and fixed.
- We have the finest techs in all of California and among the very finest in the country. I can safely say that there is nothing this team can’t fix or make better.
- We have one of the very best parts departments in the country. We are the largest buyer of Ducati bikes, parts, accessories and apparel in the US and a top five Moto Guzzi, Aprilia and MV Agusta dealer.
- After years as Ducati North America’s Service Area Manager, I’ve probably been exposed to more Ducatiss, more warranty issues, more technical questions and have solved more difficult mechanical issues than anyone else in the US. And, I’m driven to have the best service team in the US at Pro Italia.
- We really, really care about our customers.
Come by the shop and give Service a call at 818-249-5707 or email John at john.french@proitalia.com.
