Eddie Nail
Here we begin a new series of reports in which we will rescue a selection of repair, restoration and / or maintenance premises for vehicles of all conditions that treasure a special charisma. They are places with tradition, alchemical spaces capable of transforming the inert into animated, of breathing life, color and audiovisual power to all kinds of machinery; of high sports lineage, contemplation vintage or simple utilitarian transfer and that can be cataloged, without a doubt, as classic workshops in themselves.
"Casa Riojim, founded in 1940", It can be read on the business card provided by its owner: José Luis del Río. We could not have started this tour of the traditional workshops more correctly, since Riojim has been repairing, caring for and pampering motorcycles, scooters and mainly Vespas of all kinds in its secluded space on Calle Juan Bravo in Madrid, since the past seventies. and four years. The Barrio de Salamanca is not an area prone to grease and wrench, however this small and select space for repair and maintenance of scooters and the like has remained in this same location since its opening in 1940.
We are very kindly welcomed by its current owner, José Luis del Río Jiménez, grandson of the original founder, Félix del Rio Villa. It was his son, also José Luis del Río Jiménez (hence the acronym RIO-JIM), who continued with the family business until his son joined in 1980, also named José Luis, with whom we currently maintain a fluent and detailed conversation.
[su_quote] “The place was rented for the first time by my grandfather in 1940. They had just finished the construction of the building after the Civil War and at that time he had knowledge of mechanics because he worked as a coach driver on the Barco de Avila line - Avila and also as a private driver for the Marqués de Urquijo.
At first he was in charge of the repair of the motorcycles that still circulated after the war, all foreign, mainly English, BSA, Norton, Royal Enfield; Belgians, FN and French, Terrot and then brands like Sarolea, Motobècane, until the first national motorcycles like Sanglas appeared from 1943 and already from 1953/54 specialized in Vespa. "[/ su_quote]
While José Luis places us at the beginning of the professional career of his business, we observe the space and its circumstances; a tiny workshop with direct access to the sidewalk of Juan Bravo street, specifically at number forty of this Madrid artery with spacious central boulevard. The cubic-shaped room with a single room is approximately 15 square meters, with space for a couple of workbenches and a hydraulic lift on which a latest generation Vespa, an ET2, rests.
[su_quote] “My grandfather got the official Vespa service in Madrid since the beginning of the brand, in 1954, when the factory was at number 15 Julián Camarillo Street, in Madrid's Ciudad Lineal district. Apart from Vespa it also took over the official Lambretta and Mobilette service. My father always affirms that the first engine of a Vespa in Spain that was opened took place here between these four walls. " [/ su_quote]
The workspace is minimal but sufficient, effectively four walls with high ceilings painted blue and cream and still with the original carpentry of the closing gate and glass with a small bar. With the tool arranged in horizontal wooden panels on two of the fronts and the entire mechanical decoration reflecting that patina of meticulous use, with muted and matt tones produced by time, gases and fats. Because the unmistakable aroma of gasoline, lubricating oils and exhaust smoke permeates the small room while José Luis continues his story:
[su_quote] “Since 1981, Vespa specialization and exclusivity has been the norm of the house, and in the last thirty years there has been a logical evolution with the incorporation of electronic components and computer fault checking systems.
Even so, the Vespa client has maintained an unwavering loyalty to the brand, being its origin very eclectic: university students, messengers, postmen, liberal professionals fleeing traffic jams and parking problems, doctors, television journalists, etc, etc. " [/ su_quote]
Cycle of three generations
Indeed, on one of the work benches rests a laptop that shares space with a varied assortment of live tools that José Luis himself has been handling moments before our conversation. The free walls are decorated with all kinds of memorabilia alluding to scooters and the Vespa universe in particular: advertisements for various models, engine diagrams, press clippings, photographs of the workshop's founding grandfather (now deceased) and of the continuing father of the saga (currently retired).
[su_quote] “I now work here alone, José Luis continues, this IS a very small space and I am self-sufficient. If a machine comes in in the morning, I try to get it finished that same day. I do not undertake restorations because they disable the workshop for a much longer time. I do mechanics, electricity and electronics but when there is sheet metal and paint I refer it to Vespa Roma, Elvira or Samper (Madrid establishments also attached to the Vespa microcosm).
I mainly deal with the latest generation Vespas, automatic, four-stroke, from 50 cc. up to 500 cc, but I also work on two-stroke engines with gearboxes, 75, 125 and 200 cc, although older than the Primavera (1972) I don't usually admit, because spare parts are scarce and they are more work for a restorer " . [/ su_quote]
José Luis proudly shows us his tool, with some pieces from the XNUMXs and XNUMXs still placed on the vertical panels; wood-handled alloy welders, grandfathers, reamers, sergeants, hammers, and other more contemporary pieces that share panel space alongside other objects that rest on small shelves.
[su_quote] "During these last decades I remember some curious anecdotes", says José Luis, "as on one occasion at the end of the seventies when a sweaty client, Mr. Cano, appeared at the beginning of July after arriving pushing his Vespa S 125 from Plaza de Castilla. "It stopped me and it won't start," the costumed customer commented panting.
The first thing I checked was the gas tank and its corresponding tap and indeed that gentleman had not placed it in Reserve; I turned the tap down, kicked the starter lever a couple of times, and on the third try the two-stroke engine roared to life amid a puff of whitish gases. Then the client, not without a certain blush, thanked me profusely and got lost in the traffic. [/ su_quote]
[su_quote] On another occasion another customer appeared with a similar problem, I was busy with another machine in the elevator and I gave him the instructions in voice while he was taking care of his Vespa 150 Sprint in the street: “First unscrew the cap of the fuel tank and check the level ”… and that customer could not think of anything else than to bring a lighter closer to the tank hole.
The gases in suspension caught on at the moment and then that unsuspecting man blew to try to put them out ... thank goodness they went out with that first blow because if the flames penetrate the tank, we all get scorched. " [/ su_quote]
During the course of the interview we are interrupted by greetings from various neighbors, ladies, gentlemen, passers-by and merchants from the surroundings. After the pleasant conversation filled with anecdotes and curious details, we managed to finish the talk and said goodbye to José Luis del Río Jiménez, but not without first questioning him. on future business continuity.
[su_quote] “Probably when I retire, more or less ten years from now, the family cycle with Talleres Riojim will be definitively closed, because my two sons have not shown interest in the mechanics business. They belong to another generation, they are studying in the university and they do not move with ease in the field of fat and combustible gases.
My daughter, although she is a teacher in a nursery school, is the only one who would not want to lose the place and continue with the activity after my retirement. I already have it assumed, the mechanical business of repairing Vespas and the like will end with me. » [/ su_quote]
This will definitely close this small workshop with great tradition, this mechanical space with immemorial pedigree in Madrid's Salamanca district: “Casa Riojim, founded in 1940”.
Text by Edi Clavo / Photographs by Gonzalo Bárcena
