Report From Italy
REPORT FROM ITALY
CARLO PERELLI
IT HAS BEEN some time since anyone in Italy has produced an out-and-out 250cc scrambler, but ex-motocross rider Signor Muller from Cremona in Northern Italy, has seen fit to change the picture. Muller, one of Italy's foremost specialists in the design of off-the-road machinery, has recently put his machine on the market.
The Moto Muller is powered with a 26 bhp Villiers “Starmaker'’ and employs a full double-cradle frame. Ceriani suspension units are used both front and rear. Routing of the exhaust system beneath the engine affords the rider with a comfortably narrow riding stance and enhances engine accessibility. The brakes are eight inches in diameter and the rear hub incorporates a rubber drive cushion. The bike is available with either a 2.75-21 or 3.00-19 front tire and a 4.00-18 rear. Wheelbase is 51 inches, saddle height 31 inches, ground clearance 9.8 inches, and weight 210 pounds.
NEW “DIRT” MOTO MORINI
Last season the Moto Morini “Corsair” 125cc notched, among other successes, two fine achievements, with a fourth place (first Italian machine) in the ultra-tough “Valli Bergamasche,” and a gold medal in the ISDT, with only one entry in this last event.
Now, a much improved “Corsair” is announced, and is offered also in lOOcc and 150cc models. The current frame features a tubular double cradle, stiffened at the rear, and fitted with more efficient suspension having longer travel. The rear shocks are adjustable to three or, if desired, five positions. Also, riding position has been improved, which makes the rider feel immediately “at home” (thanks also to the well laid out and easily operated controls).
Engine torque has been increased, and the internal gearbox ratios have been better spaced and the clutch reinforced. The engine is always easy to start, resistant to overrevving because of the vertical overhead valves and flat top piston, accelerates cleanly, and vibrates little. The exhaust note is robust because the “silencer” is absolutely empty! Only two snags: the average-size rider would perhaps like more pulling power from low revs, and the front brake is too brutal.
The four-stroke, pushrod-operated ohv engine, with light alloy cylinder and austenite liner, follows traditional Italian design. At the right end of the crankshaft there is an alternator which supplies the electricity, while on the opposite side, driven by the same cam-gear, is the contact breaker (easily accessible), the primary drive gears (also actuating the oil pump, to draw lubricant from the sump) and the clutch. The external HT coil is under the tank and there is no battery in the system.
General data for the 100, 125 and 150 are, respectively: Bore and stroke — 50x50, 56x50, and 58x54; compression ratio — 10:1 (all three); horsepower (rear wheel) @ rpm—9 @ 10,000, 11.5 @ 9,500. and 12.5 @ 9.000; tire size — 2.50-19 front and 3.00-18 rear (all three): top speed — 60, 65. and 70.
ITALIAN “SPECIAL”
Italians don't show the same enthusiasm that Englishmen and Americans do for building “specials,” hut interest is growing and when they apply themselves to the job they usually obtain good results. A fine example of an Italian special is that of Giovanni Ridenti, from Rome, who has modernized, “hotted up” and converted for street use a Moto Guzzi “Dondolino” — the classic over-the-counter racing fivehundred from Mandello built up to the mid-fifties and illustrated in the December, 1966 issue of CYCLE WORLD. Ridenti has stiffened the frame by adding tubes, as is evident from the comparison with the photo of the original “Dondolino.” The rear suspension, previously with rear arms acting on helical coils under the crankcase, has been modernized with adjustable Ceriani dampers. The typical tendency of this bike (the name “Dondolino” means “little swinger”) of “snaking” in the bends has disappeared.
The engine has dual ignition, inside lighting, positive lubrication to the rockers. and is now reputed to produce at least 35 bhp at 6,000 rpm, compared to the original 33 at 5,800 rpm. Anyway, it's not difficult to use in town. The oil for the engine is carried in a compartment at right of the light alloy fuel tank. Top speed is reported to be very close to 125 mph, with brilliant acceleration, aided also by the machine’s low weight pounds. Consequently, Ridenti is nearly always successful in the challenges against the British and German machine riders from Rome and surrounding areas.
TRANS-AFRICA “FIFTY”
Roberto Patrignani, the racer-journalist who rode a 150cc Vespa from Milan to Tokyo in 1964, has recently finished another difficult journey, which we in Italy call a “raid" and pronounce “ride." He rode Africa from bottom to top on a 50cc machine — the Moto Guzzi “Dingo Cross.”
Reason for the “raid" was a “super” road test of this diminutive machine which has been particularly successful among Italy’s younger enthusiasts. Robert started in November, 1966, from Cape Town, with good wishes from that town’s Lord Mayor to the Lord Mayor of Milan, where the rider finished. The trip took him through South Africa, Rhodesia, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia and Egypt and finally by sea to Italy. The trip is about 10,000 miles, mostly on bad roads, including the difficult hills of Ethiopia.
The machine was a production job, the only modifications being a larger fuel tank, luggage carriers and a reduction in carburetor size from 16 to 14mm for more low-end torque. The engine is a piston-port two-stroke with light-alloy cylinder, chromed bore, magneto ignition, and four-speed gearbox. It puts out 4 bhp at 8,000 rpm on 8:1 compression ratio. The tubular frame has an “upper” cradle under which the engine is attached. Wheels are 17 inches. It weighs about 150 pounds in ready-to-run condition and carried about 45 pounds of luggage on the trip. Roberto said it gave him no trouble and he didn't get so much as a flat. He changed plugs four times, mainly because he was too lazy to clean them. ■'
