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| Motorcycle Online: Interview with Francesco Quinn |
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By the Motorcycle Online Staff
Torrance, California, March 13, 2001 -- It's not every day that you see a seven-figure actor turn down a limo ride to the set in favor of riding a motorcycle through the snow.
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Francesco Quinn, son of actor Anthony Quinn, has been enamored with two-wheeled vehicles since he was first introduced to them as a child in Italy.
"I was five when my father bought me a Kawasaki Coyote," said Quinn. "It was delivered six days before my birthday, along with the two bikes he bought my brothers. My brother was only two-and-a-half and had to learn to ride his Italjet with training wheels!"
When most of us picture the 33-year-old actor, the words "motorcycle" and "racing" do not cross our minds. Instead, many of us know the young actor as a task force detective on "The Fugitive" which airs Fridays on CBS. Or, some of us may remember him from the soap opera, "The Young and the Restless" or the movie "Platoon." However, this Italian actor's true passion lies in riding anything with two wheels, and he has been serving as a spokesperson for the Motorcycle Industry Council since 1995.
Joining us for some track time at the Streets of Willow, Francesco put in a number of impressive laps on his Superhawk."I only ride two wheels,"said Quinn. "I drive almost never, only if I have to take my wife somewhere." Francesco has been using his celebrity status to frequently promote the use of motorcycles. Recently, Francesco was seen on the daytime talk show "Woman to Woman" teaching host Ann Martin to ride his wife's Kymco 50cc automatic scooter.
Francesco strongly suggested starting off learning on a scooter. "Start small and then move up," suggested Quinn. "Don't buy a motorcycle. It's intimidating and confusing. Always start without gears and enjoy it for a year while learning about traffic. If you feel like moving up after that, then do it."
Though he learned to ride a motorcycle first, Francesco rode scooters a lot growing up as a teenager in Italy. He finds that he enjoys scooters immensely because they're easy to ride, have no gears and consume less gas. Still, nothing matches the thrill of a "real" motorcycle for him.
Francesco began racing motocross in 1984, at the age of 17, for Cagiva. Growing up, it was a big thing for everyone to go to the races at Ascot Raceway in Gardena, CA. Francesco was good friends with the owners of Ducati, which is owned by Cagiva, and they persuaded him to call the president of Cagiva.
Francesco is a long-time enthusiast who even raced motocross for Cagiva in the 80's. He still rides the occasional motocross and always opts for two wheels instead of four.The president, being a big fan of "Platoon" thought it would be an excellent PR opportunity if Francesco raced for them. "I wore Cagiva logos on clothing while at media shoots for the movie to get the name out," said Quinn.
At the age of 21, Francesco decided to attend school in New York in order to become a director. "I should've pursued directing," said Quinn who will be producing two films this year. "Sun and Shadow," which is being filmed in Mexico, is a movie about bull-fighting which Francesco both stars and produces. Trying to juggle acting and motorcycling has kept Francesco very busy, but he still continues to ride as often as his schedule allows.
He joined us at Willow Springs with his Honda VTR1000 Superhawk praising, "I know it's not going to let me down. It's the best bike." He also owns a heavily modified Ducati Monster 900 and, staying true to his love for Hondas, he travels on his Goldwing. "I really believe in them (Hondas), so I do as much PR for them as I can," said Quinn.
Though Francesco likes to get around on his motorcycle, he rides his bicycle just as much. He pedals an average of 300-400 miles a week and has biked to Willow Springs (150 miles) at least 15 times in the past year. In fact, Francesco once designed his own bicycle for Swatch, which he modeled from motorcycle frame technology. Sbike, a subsidiary of Swatch, bought the design and the the bike won the 1992 World Downhill championship.
"Yes, I do think a lot of stars are posers," commented Francesco after a number of laps on board various machines."I also wanted to be a mechanical engineer/designer," said Quinn. "Motorcycle racers and engineers were my idols, not actors." Impressively, this enthusiast is not a buy it, pose on it, ride it, and sell it kinda guy like many celebrities are.
"Yes, I do think a lot of stars are posers," said Quinn. "But I do appreciate the fact that they ride, and for that I feel like we have something in common. I would rather see a poser on a motorcycle than see someone on a couch."
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