Gilera

Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Motorcycle and Scooter
Founded	1909
Founder	Giuseppe Gilera
Headquarters	Pontedera , Italy
Area served	Worldwide
Parent	Piaggio
Website	gilera.com

Gilera exhibit

1954 Gilera 150 Sport

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

History[edit]

In 1935, Gilera acquired rights to the Rondine four-cylinder engine. It was at that time, the worlds most powerful engine with 45 kW (60 hp). The first across-the-frame 4-cylinder motorcycle was the racer 1939 Gilera 500 Rondine. It had double-over-head camshafts, forced-inducting supercharger and was water-cooled, producing 60 kW (80 hp) @9000 and had a top speed of 140 mph (230 km/h).^[1] 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 500 cc “Otto Bulloni” yet was quite different due to its unit construction.^[2]

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[edit]

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After World War II, Gilera dominated 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 automobiles 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.

The 1957 500 cc machines on which former World Champion rider Geoff Duke had much success were resurrected in 1963, but with the benefit of newer, upgraded tyre technology of the 1960s were considered still competitive. The team was devised by Duke to challenge the domination of Mike Hailwood on the MV and had early successes with riders Derek Minter and teammate John Hartle at Silverstone, Brands Hatch and Imola, Italy.

In May 1963 Minter suffered serious injuries when racing a Norton at Brands Hatch, and his place in the team for the TT races was taken by Phil Read, who came third to second-place teammate Hartle. The team only raced for one season in selected races.

In 1966 Minter arranged to ride the Gileras at the TT in June,^[3] again without success as he crashed on a wet road surface after a rain shower at Brandish Corner during the last practice before race-week, breaking his left wrist which ended his racing for the rest of the race season. The bikes were raced at Brands Hatch later in the year.^[4]

European championships[edit]

Year	Class	Rider
1939	500 cc	Dorino Serafini

MotoGP World Championship[edit]

Gilera 5004C

Gilera won the following World Titles:

• 
  500 cc class:

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

• 
  250 cc class:

Year	Class	Rider
2008	250 cc	Marco Simoncelli

• 
  125 cc class:

Year	Class	Rider
2001	125 cc	Manuel Poggiali

MotoGP World Constructors champions[edit]

• 
  500 cc class
  
  • 1952, 1953, 1955, 1957

Isle of Man Tourist Trophy[edit]

• 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
1963 Isle of Man TT	John Hartle Second	Class 500 cc	Team Scuderia Duke Gilera
1963 Isle of Man TT	Phil Read Third	Class 500 cc	Team Scuderia Duke Gilera

Motorcycles[edit]

Historic[edit]

• 
  Marte Produced during World War II for the Italian army, the Marte was a 498 cc (30.4 cu in) OHV single with 14 bhp (10 kW). Intended for use with a sidecar, the Marte had a shaft drive and hand-operated transmission.

1947 Gilera Saturno.

• 
  Saturno Produced after World War II until 1959 as a 498 cc (30.4 cu in) OHV single with 22 bhp (16 kW) @ 5,000 rpm and swinging-arm rear suspension using parallel, twin horizontal coil springs. The racing version designated Saturno San Remo was campaigned with success in Italian national and international races but was unable to compete with the multi-cylinder and overhead camshaft opposition.^[5]

Modern[edit]

This section needs to be updated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (December 2017)

• 
  Citta (moped)


• Coguar


• DNA


• Fuoco or MP3

1989 Gilera Nuovo Saturno Bialbero

• GFR


• GP800


• Ice


• Nexus


• Nordwest


• Runner


• 
  Nuovo Saturno Produced from the late 1980s as a modern version of the historic Saturno using a 491 cc DOHC engine with 45 bhp @ 7,500 rpm^[5][6]


• 
  Stalker (also known as SKP)

1991 Gilera 125 CX

• Storm


• RCR


• SMT


• CX


• MXR


• MX1

See also[edit]

• List of Italian companies


• List of motorcycle manufacturers

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gilera motorcycles.

• Official website


• The Gilera Historical Register