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Latest revision as of 21:46, 23 November 2019
Racing Bikes M | |
Class | Racing |
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Weight | |
Manuals | Service Manual |
Photos[edit | edit source]
Overview[edit | edit source]
FB Mondial 125 - 250 1966
Gilera entrusted its four-cylinder motorcycles to the Duke
team, and Mondial followed suit at the end of 1963. In 1957 the companies had
signed a treaty of abstention from racing. That was the year when Mondial's
two-shaft single-cylinders with full fairing had dominated the 125 and the 250
classes.
In 1963 Mondial decided on a two-stroke engine with rotating-disk distribution,
a further interpretation of the MZ idea. The cylinder was water-cooled and the
head was air-cooled. The gear shift had eight ratios. T
he total weight of the vehicle was under 190 pounds.
The Villa brothers, who had participated in its development, raced it in
1964. Giuseppe Mandolini also raced it. Its 24 h.p. at 11,000 r.p.m. made it a
powerful motorcycle, and it proved itself at once. In Italy the new Mondial had
an easy time of it against the older two-shaft, four-stroke rivals. It won at
Milano Marittima, Imola, and Cesenatico, but it was beaten roundly at Monza by
the Japanese.
The main defect that emerged during this first racing season
was the complexity of riding the Mondial. Its rider continually had to work the
counterweight button and a hand pump for supplementary lubrication. In 1965
Mondial decided not to try to make minor modifications in the old engine but to
make radical changes instead. The Villa brothers prepared
Mondial 250 Two-cylinder another engine. It was still a two-stroke rotating-disk
model, but it had a vertical cylinder and air cooling.
The 1965 Mondial 125 engine generated only 23 h.p. at 11,500 r.p.m., but all
riding problems were eliminated. It was mounted on a specially designed chassis
and weighed barely 150 pounds.
That year Francesco Villa, Mandolini, and Giuseppe Visenzi
took the first three places in the Italian championship. The Mondial was beaten
again by Suzuki and Honda, but it remained the finest European 125 in the field.
It performed as well as the MZ and better than the Bultaco.
Late in 1965, at the Italian championship race at Sanremo,
Mondial introduced a two-cylinder 250 with mixed cooling and double
rotating-disk distribution. The 250 was improved for the 1966 season and a
similar two-cylinder 125 model was also prepared, albeit with air cooling.
At this point Mondial had problems. Francesco Villa left the company and built
his own two-stroke 125, the Bec-caccino. Walter Villa went back to the earlier
type of Mondial single-cylinder and won the Italian championship in 1966 and
1967.
Motorcycle: Mondial 125 Two-stroke Manufacturer: F. B. Mondial, Milan Type: Racing Year: 1966 Engine: Mondial two-cylinder, two-stroke, with double rotating-disk distribution. Displacement 124.88 cc. (43 mm. x 43 mm.) Cooling: Air Transmission: Eight-speed block Power: 30 h.p. at 14,000 r.p.m. Maximum speed: 130 m.p.h. (not tried) Chassis: Double cradle, continuous, tubular. Front and rear, telescopic suspension Brakes: Front, central drum, double cam; rear, central drum