Letter From Japan
LETTER FROM JAPAN
ROUNDUP
Sushi pasta: The Hagiwara/Gilera connection
Gilera Saturno Bialbero—that’s a mouthful of a name. But the story behind this Italian-made Single is even longer than that title.
It began in Japan, with a young enthusiast named Hagiwara. Fascinated by classical roadracing four-stroke Singles. Hagiwara designed his own around a Yamaha SR500 engine. He gave it a unique, straight-tube, well-triangulated frame of minimal size and weight. Aluminum plates attached to the back of the engine carried the swingarm. and rose upward to lock engine and frame together in a rigid assembly. The entire bike weighed only 232 pounds, ready to race, and was reasonably successful in the annual Japanese Sound of Singles Race.
At this point, the plot thickens. Many Japanese motorcyclists share Hagiwara's enthusiasm for Singles; both the Yamaha SR400/500 and SRX400/600 series sell well in Japan. Also, there's a fascination with Italian motorcycles in Japan, which is Ducati's largest export market, as well as Bimota's.
Hagiwara was convinced that a Single using his chassis design with an Italian engine and components could be sold in large numbers in Japan.
But such a motorcvcle might have remained a dream if Hagiwara hadn't found an ally in C. Itoh, Japan’s largest trading and deal-making company. Itoh was convinced that Hagiwara was on to something exciting, so approached Italy’s Gilera with an interesting proposition: Build a motorcycle to Flagiwara's design, with the features we think are important for the Japanese market, using your new 350 and 500cc enduro engine, and we’ll distribute them by the thousands in Japan.
Gilera was convinced, and soon Hagiw ara was off to Gitera’s Arcore plant, just outside of Milan, to help design the new motorcycle. Called the Gilera Saturno Bialbero, it debuted at the Milan show this past November.
The Saturno, which will sell for around $7500 in Japan, makes use of the best of Italian componentry. Marvic-style wheels (3.50 x 17 and 4.25 x 17 sizes) carry wide Pirelli radial tires, and Brembo brakes supply the stopping power. The Gilera engine is a liquidcooled, dohc, four-valve design that debuted only two years ago; the 500cc version makes more than 41 horsepower in a mild state of tune. Powering a bike that weighs only 300 pounds (with electric starter), the Gilera engine should provide betterthan-SRX600 performance.
And C. Itoh believes this is only the beginning. The company is convinced that 10 percent of the Japanese domestic motorcycle market could be taken by imported motorcycles, instead of the low single-digit share they now hold. C. Itoh is looking for other partners besides Gilera for other projects; a 900cc sporting V-Twin might be next.
Perhaps the best news is the last: If these projects are successful, you may soon see the results not just in a Letter From Japan,, but also in motorcycle dealerships in the United States.
Kengo Yagawa
