Report From Italy
REPORT FROM ITALY
CARLO PERELLI
VICTORIOUS COMEBACK BY READ
Only one month after his Rimini accident (which the Italian doctors had judged would take at least 70 days for recovery), Phil Read made a victorious comeback at the Cervia-Milano Marittima, last event of the 1970 Adriatic Coast “temporada,” run in fine weather on April 19.
The Yamaha champion, with a steel strap around his wrist and his left leg sore and weak, was refused a pusher at the start and was last off the grid. In spite of his slow start, he rode heroically and skillfully, and with an enthusiastic crowd supporting him, came through the field to snatch a 2-second victory from similarly mounted Visenzi in the last lap of the dramatic 250 race.
A well-deserved success indeed, but it should be added that it’s doubtful whether Phil could have done it if Bergamonti, who had built up a considerable lead on the works Aermacchi, hadn’t been stopped at the mid-way point by a wrecked rocker arm, and if the brilliant Italian newcomer, Anelli (Yamaha), hadn’t tumbled twice on a long strip of oil lost by a competitor who was having trouble with his fourstroke mount. No less than four riders crashed on the slick oil, but fortunately no one was seriously hurt. They all retired, however, the result of improper signalling by the flagmen in the area.
So, Phil was first, with Visenzi being overtaken in the last lap. Third finisher was Grassetti, and Giansanti was fourth. All were Yamaha mounted.
With Pasolini being dispatched by Benelli to the Nurburgring to learn the difficult course for the first round of the 1970 world championship round (much to the despair of the organizers and home fans at Cervia), Agostini found no tough rivals in the 350 and 500 classes, again aboard his faithful “Threes.”
In the 350 another stroke of bad luck hit Bergamonti. Comfortably second for 16 of the 21 laps, the Aermacchi works rider dropped out because of a broken throttle cable. So, second spot went again to Visenzi, after a fine scrap with newcomer Mandracci, both on Yamahas.
In the 500, Ago enjoyed a bit of company. He played with Linto’s No. 1 rider, Alberto Pagani, for half the race, but then decided to fully exploit the superior performance of his mount and went on to win by over a minute. Ginger Molloy, on the Kawasaki Three he used at Daytona, overtook Paton rider Gallina after a long duel, while the best Italian Kawasaki defender, national champion Bertarelli, finished only 9th after a crash on the second lap.
In the 125, victory finally smiled on Walter Villa, who rode one of his own machines. Bergamonti wasn’t able to fully realize his possibilities (after having been fastest in practice), because the rubber of his throttle twistgrip loosened during the race. He did manage to secure second position, thanks to the piston seizure of third-placeman Mandolini’s Villa.
The 50 event promised to be another fight between Parlotti (Tomos) and Lombardi (Guazzoni), but the duel was short-lived as the Guazzoni shed its chain on the first lap.
So victory was easily won by the Italian rider on the unorthodox Yugoslavian mount, while 2nd and 3rd were the riders of the immaculate Morbidelli, Lazzarini and Ringhini.
RACING NOVELTIES AT CERVIA
Italy is one of the world’s largest producers of mopeds, yet its 50-class mounts produced until now for trials and road racing have never proved really competitive against the German, Japanese, Dutch and Spanish models.
A serious and very promising attempt to put Italy in front in the road racing field is now coming from Malanca, a Bologna factory, which is among Italy’s largest in the moped business.
Their design, which will be contested in the world championship series by riders Silvano Bertarelli and Bruno Cretti, is a rotating inlet disc six-speeder with electronic ignition. It also features water cooling for the crankcase as well as the cylinder and cylinder head (to keep the gases fresher and thus improve volumetric efficiency) and an oil pump to lubricate the connecting rod big end. With a bore and stroke of 40mm by 39.5mm, a 16:1 compression ratio, and a 28-mm carburetor, the powerhouse revs to 17,000 rpm. The riders report it “empty” until 13,000 and really pulling from 15,000, so with the gearbox limited by FIM regulations to a maximum of six speeds, it’s difficult to ride on circuits with tight corners. Horsepower figures haven’t been disclosed, but it must develop around 15 bhp. The dry, multi-plate clutch is gear-driven on the right. Weight is 136 lb., with 2.00 by 18 front and 2.25 by 18 rear tires.
Italian Jawa importer, ex-racer and prolific Italjet boss, Leopoldo Tartarini, is planning the debut of a promising 250 road racer powered by a piston-ported, dual-ignition, water-cooled Single which the Jawa factory is building for junior races in the home country. The sturdy and simple engine, with a fiveor six-speed gearbox, features a 34-mm carburetor and is oversquare (70mm by 64mm) bore/stroke. Thirty-five bhp is claimed at a moderate 8000 rpm.
The frame follows the typical “twin” double cradle Italjet layout, with one cradle above and another under the crankcase for greater rigidity, while the rear swinging arm has a box-section design for more torsional stiffness. Suspension is, of course, by Ceriani, wheels are 18 in., and the brakes are by Italjet, the front one with two shoes and one cam on each side. Tartarini expects to build replicas of this model soon.
The latest Drixton-Honda 500 is much neater and more efficient. Both the frame and the engine of the popular Japanese Twin are prepared by specialist Othmar “Marly” Drixl, and can be ordered and obtained in a short time at a reasonable price.
The engine has been enlarged to 74mm by 58mm bore/stroke and breathes through two 38-mm Dellorto GP instruments. Power peak is at 10,000 rpm. It includes new camshafts, crankshaft and connecting rods, plus a close-ratio five-speed gearbox made to Drixl specifications by one of the leading Italian specialists. Weight is 286 lb., tires are 3.25 by 18 front and 3.50 by 18 rear.
MV 750 SPORT SOON
A few lucky guys will be seen aboard the beautiful MV 750 Sport, the sensation of the 1969 Milan Show, which will arrive just in time for the summer holidays.
The faithful fans booked the machine on the spot, but were later tortured by shocking rumors about their dream being only a showpiece attraction (MV is not new, in fact, to such cancellations). But, oh immense joy, the super-bike, created by the strong demand for something better than the ugly 600 and something nearer to the famous racers from Gallarate, has been officially confirmed as soon entering series production. Also confirmed is the price of 1,950,000 liras (some $3300) which, judging from the booking list at the factory, hasn’t been a deterrent as was feared at the time of introduction.
It is common knowledge that the mighty MV concern is reluctant to give out facts and figures and is equally reluctant to put a bike at your disposal even for a short test, so we hope you’ll appreciate the data and riding impressions that we are about to unfold before your surely eager eyes.
Bigger displacement has been obtained by enlarging the bore from 58mm of the 600 “base” to 65mm, with the stroke unaltered at 56mm, obviously to use the same expensive crankshaft-connecting rod assembly. More horses (69 at 8900 rpm vs. 50 at 8200 rpm) seem to come only from the increase in displacement, but four carburetors (still 24-mm diameter) are now used instead of two. Valve timing is as follows: inlet valve opens/closes at 68 degrees btc/40 degrees abc; exhaust valve opens/closes at 36 degrees bbc/70 degrees ate. Valve angle and diameter (40 degrees, inlet 30mm, exhaust 28.5mm) and compression ratio (9.3:1) are the same for both models.
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The light alloy cylinders, with austenitic liners, are inclined 20 degrees, and the gear drive for the twin overhead camshafts are located between the center cylinders. A large gear wheel drives both the intermediate gears for the camshafts and the primary gear to the wet, multi-plate clutch.
In car fashion, the crankshaft moves a shaft, the upper end of which actuates the automatic spark advance unit. The lower end drives the oil pump which circulates oil from the 3.2-quart finned sump.
Energy for the electric start is provided by a dynastart system (135w-12V) which is placed under the crankcase and behind the sump, and which transmits its movement to the crankshaft by a rubber belt.
The five-speed gearbox has the following ratios: 11.26:1, 8.01:1, 6.11:1, 5.17:1 and 4.74:1. According to the factory, with these ratios top speeds in the gears are 55, 79, 104, 124 and 135 mph!
The machine’s dimensions are: length, 70.3 in.; wheelbase, 55.9 in.; handlebar width, 25.2 in.; maximum height, 39.7 in.; seat height, 31.3 in.; ground clearance, 5.5 in. ; tank capacity, 5.02 U.S. gal., of which nearly one gallon is held in reserve.
The beautiful sound from the four slow-taper megaphones leaves a wonderful first impression as the revs build up very quickly. Handling at low speeds is quite good in spite of a gross weight of 520 lb. The riding position is sporty but natural and not fatiguing, thanks to the comfortable solo saddle, plus the wellpositioned and quickly reachable controls and the Ceriani suspension.
The four cam, four leading-shoe front brake is a bit abrupt at low speeds, but does an excellent job of stopping the bike from high speeds, unlike the twin mechanically-operated discs of the 600.
Sports-minded enthusiasts would probably have preferred the final drive to be by chain, but the shaft drive from the 600 has been retained. The transmission rigidity, coupled with the greater power output of the 750, makes quick shifting and acceleration a bit too violent. Factory testers suggest that one should help the gear changes (especially downward) with a little more clutch work than usual, and in fact this trick seemed to cure the trouble nearly completely.
Don’t ask us for standing onequarter-mile figures and a top speed! It is our wish that some of these lovely bikes will soon find their way to the USA where they can be tested without the watchful eye of some MV official or tester!
ARTISANAL DIRT BIKES
The Frigerio brothers from Treviglio near Bergamo, sons of the famous works Guera sidecar driver, Ercole (who died during the 1952 Swiss G.P. at Bern), are among the finest builders of artisanal dirt mounts in Italy. Since they are Güera agents, every model from their stable is Arcore-based, but immensely improved upon, not only in the finish department, but mechanically as well.
Their most recent work is a 230 which is doing very well in the Italian Championship series against the powerful foreign “strokers.” Parts made by Frigerio are the light alloy, sand cast cylinder head (with vertical 32-mm inlet and 28-mm exhaust valves), the light alloy square cylinder which is also sand cast with austenitic liner, the crankshaft/connecting rod assembly, the fivespeed gearbox and the re-enforced clutch which is driven by straight-cut primary gears.
The engine is fed by a 28-mm concentric carburetor and features dualignition and a compression ratio of 10.2:1. Twenty-one bhp is claimed at 7900 rpm and at 3400 rpm; 10 bhp is already at the rear wheel. Exceptional pulling power and resistance to fatigue are keynotes of each Frigerio-Gilera.
The side panels under the saddle support the oil tank for the rear chain on the left side, and the right side supports the tire inflator. The panels also provide excellent protection for the paper-type air filter and the two hightension coils. The quickly detachable light alloy tank holds 2.2 gallons.
A beauty to watch and to ride (even without the urge of competition) the new 230 from Frigerio weighs a mere 246 lb. —quite light for a four-stroke— and employs Ceriani damping as well as 2.75 by 21 front and 4.00 by 18 rear tires.
Replicas can be ordered at a cost of $1000.
