Miscellaneous Cool Italian Bikes

[ducatiz]

A Laverda tribute brand?

In-ter-est-ing...

The gas tank is kevlar according to the acticule.  €30.000!  ouch!

[Raux]

That's what i get for only spending two days at eicma.  missed them

[gOoIe B]

A Laverda tribute brand?

I read this as A Laverda tribute band and had to back up a page!  lol

[techno]

Saw this at a recent historics race meeting.

Morbidelli....... haven't heard anything about them before.

[ungeheuer]

Saw this at a recent historics race meeting.  Morbidelli....... haven't heard anything about them before.

I've posted several pics of the very cute Morbidelli 125 in this thread.  Never get tired of it though  . 

Ducatiz will be along soon to tell us about its rear shocks  .

And did I mention about that tiny seat being real suede? 

This is a later example, with "MBA" beginning to appear in the badging and with tiny mufflers built into the tail pipes.

Rotary valve intake rather than piston ported...


... hence the little bulges in the fairing to accommodate the carbs.

The last of them dropped the Morbidelli badging entirely, as below...

[techno]

I thought someone would have heard of it before.

Here is another one I had no idea about. British though, so probably doesn't belong in the cool italian bikes thread.

You might know this one as well Unge as it comes from Vic I think.





and a Duc to bring it back to Italians

[ducatiz]

Saw this at a recent historics race meeting.

Morbidelli....... haven't heard anything about them before.

Morbidelli was one of a few dozen motorcycle companies in Italy that went south after the Japanese companies started making decent bikes in the late 60-70s.

The shocks are old Marzocchi Stradales.  This particular model is actually made from a solid die cast aluminum body, they are very pricey now, used.  HIgly prized by collectors.

Campagnolo wheels.. 2" wide I think.  The forks are probably Paolis from the look of the triple, but Marzzocchi and Paoli copied each other a lot.

Ducatiz will be along soon to tell us about its rear shocks  .

And did I mention about that tiny seat being real suede? 

LOL

Suede was a good non-slip option.  Great for leaning, it gives just enough friction to hold your butt centered.

[ungeheuer]

You might know this one as well Unge as it comes from Vic I think.

No mate, cant help with that one at all.  Where'd you see that Morbidelli techno?

Morbidelli was one of a few dozen motorcycle companies in Italy that went south after the Japanese companies started making decent bikes in the late 60-70s.

The mid-70's Morbidelli 125 was a thing of beauty to behold, beautifully made, quality components.  King of it's class.  But got surprisingly tough competition with the advent of the widely available and very much more affordable Honda MT125R.  I remember laughing at the first MT125s I saw, with their simple air cooled single inherited from the 125 Elsinore MX bike.  How could such a parts-bin crudity hope to complete?  But the unsophisticated Honda was very much a match on the track, right out of the box.  Soon stopped laughing....  And I still dont understand.....   Not Italian so I'll just include a link if anybody's interested >>  http://www.vintagemotorsports.net/hondahall/hch_mt125r.htm

Campagnolo wheels..  The forks are probably Paolis from the look of the triple, but Marzzocchi and Paoli copied each other a lot.

Campagnolo wheels, Marzocchi forks.

[dan_t]

Cool...? Italian......?

My Dad used to ride well before I was born & gave it away when we kids arrived on the scene around 30 years ago.
Then out of the blue, he decides that he wants to ride again!

Brilliant!

Then I get an email with these pic's attached. Not a bad ride for a bloke who's 65 years old and hasn't ridden for 30 years - I think I'll look into some sort of 'refresher' skills training for him for Christmas, what do you reckon?

Moto Guzzi Breva V1100 (can't remember if it was a 2006 or 2008 model)

[stopintime]

That's a really cool dad - living his life

If he's willing to take off those side boxes, you can tell him his bike gets all thumbs up 

[Travman]

Nice . Way to go dad. Tell him we dig he reddish-brown seat.

[HotIce]

Saw this at a recent historics race meeting.

Morbidelli....... haven't heard anything about them before.

Morbidelli is from my home town (and Rossi's   ).
It always was a small shop, and I remember seen them around back them, though not too many. IIRC (I was a little kid back then) Moto Morini was more  popular around my area, more then Ducati. Still remember stealing my brother Morini 350cc when I was like 10yo  
Morbidelli then converted the factory to produce wood working machines, and were then acquired by the SCM Group.
I worked for them SCM/Morbidelli as a contractor few times while in Italy with my old company.

[ducatiz]

Then I get an email with these pic's attached. Not a bad ride for a bloke who's 65 years old and hasn't ridden for 30 years - I think I'll look into some sort of 'refresher' skills training for him for Christmas, what do you reckon?

30 years off of riding?

I'd say basic first. 

I think the biggest group of motorcycle accidents are middle-aged men within a mile of their home.  Guys who decide to pick up riding later in life and don't have the skills.

Bikes 30 years go are nothing like bikes today, and I would also argue that cage drivers are far stupider and more distracted than they were 30 years go.

[ducatiz]

Morbidelli is from my home town (and Rossi's   ).
It always was a small shop, and I remember seen them around back them, though not too many. IIRC (I was a little kid back then) Moto Morini was more  popular around my area, more then Ducati. Still remember stealing my brother Morini 350cc when I was like 10yo  
Morbidelli then converted the factory to produce wood working machines, and were then acquired by the SCM Group.
I worked for them SCM/Morbidelli as a contractor few times while in Italy with my old company.

Pesaro is a beautiful town right up the road from Rimini -- we vacationed in Rimini for several years, actually a small place north, perhaps closer to Pesaro.

Totally different feel from Emilia Romagna

In the US, most of our vehicle history is in Michigan for some reason and all of our motorcycle companies were in Wisconsin (well Massachusetts too). 

In Italy, it is very regional.  Bologna of course has Ducati, but also has/had NCR, Italjet, Minarelli, Morini, Malaguti, Marzocchi.  Varese has Cagiva and Aermacchi, Milan has MV, Pontedera has Piaggio and Gilera.  Pesaro has/had Benelli and Rimini has Bimota.

And that's not even a complete list... It blows my mind how many Italian bike makers there have been.

[HotIce]

Bologna (spent 5 years there - University) is certainly the heart of Italy's motor industry (forgot Ferrari, which is like 25 miles from there). Certainly the one which was "entrepreneur driven".
There was a time back then, when people having an idea (and some money to back it up), could build their own dream.
People that were willing to put money and hard work, where their mouth was. People which were risking their own house and personal property to follow their dreams. Nowadays it is harder to find this kind of people, mostly because the market changed.
Compare that to today's CEO/BoardOfDirectors driven industry, where the worse it can happen if something does not go with the plan, is making nM$ instead of 2xnM$.