Gilera

Gilera
	; Gilera: Born out of Desire
Type	Subsidiary
Founded	1909
Founder(s)	Giuseppe Gilera
Headquarters	Pontedera, Italy
Area served	Worldwide
Industry	Motorcycle and Scooter
Parent	Piaggio
Website	Gilera.com

Gilera is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded in Arcore in 1909 by Giuseppe Gilera. In 1969, the company was purchased by Piaggio.

History[]

In 1935, Gilera acquired rights to the Rondine four-cylinder engine. This formed the basis for Gilera' s racing machines for nearly forty years. From the mid-thirties, Gilera developed a range of four-stroke engine machines. The engines ranged from 100 to 500 cc, the most famous being the 1939 Saturno. Designed by Giuseppe Salmaggi, the Saturno was inspired by the pre-war Gilera VTEGS 500cc “Otto Bulloni” yet was quite different due to its unit construction.^[1]

In 1969, Gilera became part of the Piaggio group.

In 1992, Gilera made a return to the Grand Prix arena and Piaggio continues to produce small-displacement motorcycles with the Gilera name. The famous factory of Arcore was closed in 1993 and now the motorcycles (only scooters) bearing the name Gilera are produced by Piaggio in Pontedera.

Racing history[]

After World War II, Gilera dominated^{[citation (source) needed]} Grand Prix motorcycle racing, winning the 500 cc road racing world championship six times in eight years.^{[citation needed]} Facing a downturn in motorcycle sales due to the increase in the popularity of cars after the war, Gilera made a gentleman's agreement with the other Italian motorcycle makers to quit Grand Prix racing after the 1957 season as a cost-cutting measure.

European championships[]

Year	Class	Rider
1939	500cc	Dorino Serafini

MotoGP World Championship[]

Gilera won the following World Titles:

500 cc class; :

Year	Class	Rider
1950	500cc	Umberto Masetti
1952	500cc	Umberto Masetti
1953	500cc	Geoff Duke
1954	500cc	Geoff Duke
1955	500cc	Geoff Duke
1957	500cc	Libero Liberati

250 cc class; :

Year	Class	Rider
2008	250cc	Marco Simoncelli

125 cc class; :

Year	Class	Rider
2001	125cc	Manuel Poggiali

MotoGP World Constructors champions[]

500 cc class
- 1952, 1953, 1955, 1957

Isle of Man Tourist Trophy[]

350 cc class

Year	Champion	Class	Motorcycle
1957 Isle of Man TT	Bob McIntyre	Class 350 cc

500 cc class

Year	Champion	Class	Motorcycle
1955 Isle of Man TT	Geoff Duke	Class 500 cc
1957 Isle of Man TT	Bob McIntyre	Class 500 cc

Motorcycle models[]

Historic product[]

Saturno

Gilera B300 twin and a 150 sport (behind)

Modern product[]

Citta (moped)
Cougar
DNA
Fuoco or MP3 (a revolutionary maxi-scooter with double front wheels and innovative suspension system.)
GFR
GP800
Ice
Nexus
Nordwest
Runner
Saturno
Stalker (also known as SKP)
Storm
RCR
SMT
CX
MXR

Gilera SMT[]

The Gilera SMT is a cross moped "for the big city". It is a supermotard which means it is an offroad moped fit for the big city, but can also handle bumpy roads. It has 17-inch rims with broad tires, six gears and a 50 cc engine producing 8.5 hp (6.3 kW).

References[]

↑ James Adam Bolton (February 2011). "The Gilera Saturno". Motorcycle Classics. Retrieved on 2011-03-11.

External links[]

Template:Gilera

This page uses some content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Gilera. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Tractor & Construction Plant Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons by Attribution License and/or GNU Free Documentation License. Please check page history for when the original article was copied to Wikia

[1] James Adam Bolton (February 2011). "The Gilera Saturno". Motorcycle Classics. Retrieved on 2011-03-11.

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