The Demm museum

© photo Phil Aynsley

THE MUSEUM

Opened in March 2005, inside a premise provided by Graziano, the company that took part in the workforce employed in the motorcycle company before closing. The Museum owes its birth to Giuliano Mazzini, who has devoted a lifetime to DEMM: as a mechanical designer he became Production Director, Delegate and Vice President. Starting in 1985, along with his son Mosè, he began a long and detailed research, retrieval, restoration and enhancement of documents, prototypes and models related to the legendary production of motorcycles.

In order to be able to see the complete set-up, it took five years, when, as a result of the continuous restoration work, another fifty pieces were added among which are the plurivittorous competition motorcycles and utility vehicles, including tractors and machines. In particular, among the competition vehicles, the collection boasts the bikes that obtained numerous victories in the national championships of uphill speed, the notorious “Torpedo” which gained 24 world records. What is currently exposed is testimony to the prestigious work carried out by the DEMM.

The visit is facilitated by the detailed technical sheet which includes all the motorbikes and mopeds, divided into two halls and chronologically lined up. It is possible to see the Dick-Dick, the first DEMM moped built in 1956, as well as the first 125cc two-stroke motorcycle produced by the company painted in original colors. Continuing the visit to the Museum it is possible to admire a curious moped: the “Mini DEMM”, with an unprecedented technical solution of the engine installed on the rear wheel hub.

A room is dedicated to the “modern history” of DEMM, where in addition to the technigraph used by Giuliano Mazzini to realize his projects, the fruits of his work are neatly arranged, such as the horizontal cylinder engine, which equipped the Smily, Ping- Pong, Brio and Quick 2.

In addition to the production of motorcycles and mopeds, the museum boasts a complete collection of precision and measurement instruments, made by DEMM in the first half of the 40s, and some valuable collectibles among which a unique example of “Motrice Pia” made by engineer Enrico Bernardi in 1884: that is the very first model of a petrol engine in the world.

HISTORY

DEMM was an Italian metal engineer and motorcycle industry from 1919 to 1988. Founded in Milan as OPRAM, it became OMD in 1926 to become DEMM in 1928. It has now dismantled the motorcycle activities to concentrate on gear manufacturing and transmission systems for the agricultural and industrial vehicles sector.