Moto Morini 125 - 175 Rebello - 250 GP
Racing Bikes Moto Morini 125 - 175 Rebello - 250 GP | |
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Moto Morini Racers
Moto Morini 125 1952
In 1948, two years after the first Moto Morini was built, the
Italian speed championship for light two-wheelers was inaugurated. A two-stroke
Morini 125 won the title, coming in first in four out of five races.
The world championship was to begin in 1949. Alfonso Morini designed and built a
new 125-cc. engine for the purpose, with a four-stroke cycle and an overhead
chain-operated camshaft. The motorcycle was very light and powerful (12 h.p.).
It won the Italian championship again that year.
But in the 1949 and 1950 world championships, it was the
Mondial motorcycle that led the field. The official Morini racers, Masetti and
Magi, never managed to beat the Mondial. But the Morini was in no way inferior
to its rival. Indeed, taking into consideration that the Mondial had full
fairing and the Morini had none, the Morini was probably the more powerful of
the two vehicles.
Motorcycle: Moto Morini 125 Single-shaft
The 1951 Morini team, consisting of Zinzani, Zanzi, and
Mendogni, was outstanding in world championship racing. Luigi Zinzani came in
second at Assen and third at Monza. But not until 1952, when its engine power
was increased to 16 h.p., did the Moto Morini 125 prove its worth. It won two
world championship races and lost a third one by a nose. Despite this impressive
record, Emilio Mendogni failed to win the title.
Manufacturer: Moto Morini, Bologna Type: Racing Year: 1952
Engine: Morini single-cylinder, four-stroke, with chain-driven single-shaft
overhead distribution. Displacement 123.1 cc. (52 mm. x 58 mm.)
Cooling: Air
Transmission: Four-speed block Power: 16 h.p. at 9,500 r.p.m. Maximum speed: 100
m.p.h. Chassis: Tubular, open, single cradle.
Front, parallelogram suspension; rear,
elastic
Brakes: Front and rear, side drum
Moto Morini 175 Rebello 1956
In the mid-1950s the Italian Tour and the
Milan-Taranto races were very popular. Most if not all of the Italian
manufacturers sent tough teams and finely tuned racing motorcycles to them.
One of the brands that won the most prestige from these two important Italian
speed and endurance races was Moto Morini. First the company entered its
Settebello 175 model, which was closely derived from production sports models
sold by the thousands; and then it put its Rebello 175 into the field, which had
technical features quite different from those of normal motorcycles.
The Rebello was probably the most up-to-date racing motorcycle
of its day. Its look and its technical features were in perfect harmony, an
achievement that is not easy even in the 1970s, and the vehicle incorporated all
the latest features.
The Morini Rebello 175 won the
1955 Milan-Taranto and the 1955 and
1956 editions of the Italian Tour. The best rider was Walter Tassi-
nari, who rode it to other wins as well.
With a slight increase in displacement and with two-shaft distribution instead
of split single-shaft, the Rebello racer laid the groundwork for the marvelous
250.
Motorcycle: Moto Morini Rebello 175 Manufacturer: Moto Morini,
Bologna Type: Endurance racing Year: 1956
Engine: Morini single-cylinder, four-stroke, chain-driven single split-shaft
distribution. Displacement 172.4 cc. (60 mm. x 61 mm.)
Cooling: Air
Transmission: Five-speed block Power: 22 h.p. at 9,000 r.p.m. Maximum speed:
About 105 m.p.h. Chassis: Single cradle, open, tubular.
Front and rear, telescopic suspension Brakes: Front, central drum, four shoes;
rear, central drum
Moto Morini 250 Gran Premio 1964
The Morini 250 single-cylinder Gran Premio was known as the
"queen of the single-cylinders." The Italians were proud of it, the British
admired it openly, and the Japanese were afraid of it. Built with passion and
developed with ability, the motorcycle remained unchanged for years.
Alfonso Morini, owner and founder of the Morini company and a
racer in his youth, had been impressed with the performance of his Rebello 175
at the Italian Tour and the Milan-Taranto. Consequently he decided to try to
develop a 250 from the 175.
The first step Moto Morini took toward developing the new model was to test an
enlarged 175 in 1956. Then the dimensions of the cylinder were changed to
achieve full displacement (69 mm. x 66 mm. = 246.7 cc). This first Rebello 250
generated 29 h.p. at 10,000 r.p.m., which was sufficient to make it one of the
fastest 250s in the world.
But the real career of the Morini 250 began late in 1958 at
the Italian Grand Prix. Two Morini 250sno longer the Rebello type but with a
new enginewere ridden at Monza by Emilio Mendogni and Giampiero Zubani. They
outdistanced Carlo Ub-biali, who was riding the MV Agusta that had just won the
world title.
The new Morini engine was once again a single-cylinder, four-stroke one. But,
unlike that of the Rebello, it had two-shaft overhead geared distribution that
was housed on the right side. Its power was up to 32 h.p. at 10,500 r.p.m. In
1959 the Morini 250 won two Italian races, one at Modena and one at Imola. Then
problems developed and the Morini won no more races for a while. Nothing in
particular had gone wrong. It was simply that the age of the single-cylinder
engine had ended in the 250 class. Technology now required at least two
cylinders, as in the MV, the Ducati, and the MZ, or even four cylinders, as in
the newly arrived Honda and the latest Benelli.
From 1959 to 1961 the Morini 250 stood in- the wings watching
the others compete. Tarquinio Provini rode it in a few world championship races.
Although the motorcycle was outstanding for a single-cylinder, it did not
perform on a par with the multicylinder contenders.
In 1962 the official Morini racers, Provini and Walter
Tassinari, added spice to the races held on the Adriatic coast, where all the
world championship teams met. The Moto Morini 250 generated 35 h.p. at 10,500
r.p.m., while the finest four-cylinder motorcycles, the Honda and the Benelli,
generated more than 40 h.p. Provini won the Italian 250 championship that year,
overtaking his teammate Tassinari at the last race, San-remo. Tarquinio
Provini's win came as a shock to the Honda people, who were not happy to undergo
the humiliation of losing to a single-cylinder. At the 250 Spanish Grand Prix
the following year, the first championship race of the season, Provini came in
first after beating reigning champion Jim Redman, who was riding the Honda
four-cylinder. The same thing happened at the German Grand Prix in Hockenheim.
Provini won that race at record speed.
Moto Morini did not enter the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy, for
economic reasons, and travel troubles put it out of the East German Grand Prix.
At the Japanese Grand Prix, Provini with his Morini 250leading the world
championship classification at this pointwas beaten by a coalition °f Japanese
teams. He missed winning the title by a bare two points.
But the Morini 250 won the Italian championship. It won in 1963 with Tarquinio
Provini, in 1964 with Gia-como Agostini, and in 1967 with An-gelo Bergamonti.
The motorcycle chalked up both national and international titles for nine years.
Then the Moto Morini company decided to retire from
Motorcycle: Moto Morini 250 Gran Premio
Manufacturer: Moto Morini, Bologna Type: Racing Year: 1964
Engine: Morini single-cylinder, four-stroke, with two-shaft overhead geared
distribution. Displacement 248.3 cc. (72 mm. x 61 mm.)
Cooling: Air
Transmission: Six-speed block
Power: 36 h.p. at 11,000 r.p.m.
Maximum speed: About 140 m.p.h.
Chassis: Double cradle, continuous, tubular. Front and rear, telescopic
suspension
Brakes: Front, central drum, double cam; rear, central drum