Aermacchi Ala d'Oro 250-350
Racing Bikes Aermacchi Ala d'Oro 250-350 | |
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Aermacchi Ala d'Oro 250-350
The 1957 Ala d'Oro ("Gold Wing") 175 was derived from an
ordinary motorcycle, but it was the first of a whole series of very fast
vehicles, all having the same basic engine, that won important races throughout
the world. Its descendants were built in three different sizes250, 350, and
500.
The 1957 Ala d'Oro 175 generated 16 h.p. at 8,000 r.p.m., and
it soon became the main rival of the Morini Settebello in national,
second-category racing. In 1960 its displacement was increased to 250 cc.
The Aermacchi Ala d'Oro engine was a classic four-stroke model with an almost
horizontal cylinder and rod-and-rocker distribution, which most racing people
had considered outmoded as early as the 1920s.
Nevertheless the 250's 22 h.p., albeit inferior to that of the
best 1960 125 Grand Prix models, gave technicians reason for optimism about the
engine's performance. In 1961 the engine generated 26 h.p., and this was
increased by 2 h.p. in 1962. In 1963 the long stroke was replaced by a newer,
more powerful system.
Aermacchi's racing credit improved as well. The new vehicle
was raced by Gilberto Milani, Alberto Pagani, and Giuseppe Visenzi, and it also
attracted the private racers on the Continental Circus, whose motorcycles were
in need of technical modernization.
In 1964 Aermacchi put a 350 into the field (74 mm. x 80 mm.)
that generated 33 h.p. at 8,000 r.p.m. at once. Two years later Renzo Pasolini,
the official Aermacchi racer, rode the 350 to third place in the world
championship.
After Pasolini switched to the Benelli company, the Ala d'Oro 350 continued to
turn in fine performances. In 1968 Kel Carruthers, one of the best private
racers in the world, rode the Ala d'Oro to third place in the world
championship, behind Giacomo Agostini with an MV and Pasolini with a Benelli. In
1969 Milani, Carruthers, and the Irishman Steenson came in second at the
Spanish, British, and Yugoslavian Grand Prix.
Although the Ala d'Oro 250 won second-category races in Italy, it was
technically outmoded, as was the 350. They were not outdistanced so much by the
development of the four-stroke racing engine as by the extraordinary rise of the
two-stroke.
Motorcycle: Aermacchi Ala d'Oro 250-350
Manufacturer: Aeronautica Macchi, Va-
rese Type: Racing Year: 1970
Engine: Aermacchi single-cylinder, four-stroke, with overhead valve
distribution, rod and rocker. Displacement 248.3 cc. (72 mm. x 61 mm.250);
349.2 cc. (77 mm. x75 mm.350)
Cooling: Air
Transmission: Five-speed block
Power: 32 h.p. at 10,000 r.p.m. (250); 42 h.p. at 9,000 r.p.m. (350)
Maximum speed: Over 130 m.p.h. (250); over 135 m.p.h. (350)
Chassis: Upper bar, tubular, with stamped-plate parts, engine suspended; front
and rear, telescopic suspension
Brakes: Front, central drum, four shoes, four-cam; rear, central drum, double
cam