Gilera Gets Going

GILERA GETS GOING

First a Suzuki-engined repli-racer, now a new V-Twin! Piaggio is obviously serious about reviving grand old Gilera. Based on the sohc, liquid-cooled Single that powers Piaggio’s X9 scoot er, the 90-degree, four-valve-per-cylinder, 840cc V-motor is said to make 85 horsepower at 8000 rpm and 61 footpounds of torque at 6500 rpm. Fed by Magneti-Marelli fuel-injection using 45mm throttle bodies, the V-Twin sports a six-speed gearbox and a solid crankshaft turning on plain bearings at the main ends, with plain bearings also for the automotive-type connecting rods. Initial plans called for a dohc one-liter design capable of spawning a t World Superbike contender, but Chief Engineer Lucio Masut decided Güera would be better served with a lower-profile, more affordable product. For the time being, then, Gilera’s return to racing will have to wait.

Bruno de Prato