125 Capriolo
125 CAPRIOLO
Road Impression:
As IS THE CASE with most products manufactured in sunny Italy, the little Capriolo 125cc single is a joy for the lover of handsome machinery to behold. Outwardly the overhead cam engine resembles a small two-stroke, due to the absence of the usual plates, tubes, separate castings, etc., generally seen on fourstroke engines. Underneath that clean exterior lurks an overhead cam mechanism of ingenious proportions; a rotating shaft, driven by a worm gear on the crankshaft, runs upward to the head, mounting a face cam at the end. This cam, a disc with the cam contours upon it, rotates, permitting a pair of rocker arms to follow it, thus opening and closing the valves. This rarely seen type of valve actuating mechanism, though not revolutionary, does indeed allow for a very clean engine layout permitting the enclosing of the bits and pieces necessary to drive the camshafts high in the head.
Contemporary practice is adhered to in that the engine and gearbox are one unit, adding to the overall simplicity and outward cleanliness of the design. All the alloy surfaces are polished to a high luster, contributing to an excellent overall finish that might be called typically Italian. This “image” is a vital element in the popularity of the Italian motorcycle market, which, incidentally, is heavily dominated by single-cylinder, four-stroke engines, for some strange reason.
Cápridos are built by Stablimenti AeroCaproni, an aviation firm, who previously invaded the motorcycle market some years back with a cycle called the Caproni. Before the most recent big war, Aero-Caproni earned fame as makers of a very fast seaplane that held a record for many years.
Our two-wheeled Caproni, now a Capriolo, sported all of the finery generally associated with full-fledged motorcycles; four-speed gearbox, more than ample brakes, dual seat (though foot pegs for the passenger are not fitted), hydraulically dampened forks and swinging arms, and a short stroke (55mm bore x 52mm stroke) engine. One might gather from this that it is a high revving “buzzer”; not quite true. Its mighty 12 horsepower is felt at a comparatively low 6,100 rpm.
Italians seem to favor tall gearing (i.e.; high speeds at low engine rpm); this often produces the rather strange sensation of being able to go faster in third gear than in fourth, and such is the case with the Capriolo. We reached an indicated 68 mph in 4th gear, yet reached 72 mph in third, albeit with the gay accompaniment of a variety of engine mechanical noises. Of course our test machine was quite new. Given a few miles we are certain it will run faster, and quieter.
Continuing our praise for Italian machines, we must cast our vote for the spirited handling built into machines from that highly competitive section of Europe.. Though on the stiff side of the comfort scale, traction is excellent and handling is above average. Again, typically Italian, is the rather hard and narrow seat, and we can only surmise that Italians have sterner hindquarters than CYCLE WORLD’S testers.
Technical details include; 123.5 cubic centimeter displacement, 8.3:1 compression ratio, flywheel magneto ignition, 16mm Dellorto carburetor, 18 inch wheels, 41" wheelbase and 180 pounds dry weight. The pressed steel frame, tank and fenders on our test machine were painted in a highly attractive blue finish. Fuel consumption is claimed to be 120 miles per gallon.
We are even forced to summarize our evaluations of the Capriolo by framing our reference around the Italians. Our experiences on the roads in Italy proved one thing to our utter and complete satisfaction: Italians make great sport of even the shortest trips to the ravioli store; every rider or driver who tries to pass them is a challenge to their driving abilities and esprit de combat. Consequently, Italians are constitutionally incapable of building any motor vehicle that is not competitive, if only in the smallest degree. Capriolo’s little 125 fits the image perfectly, and we get few opportunities to have more sporting fun putting CYCLE WORLD together each month. •
