Motorbike manufacturers - Italy: books - history

A-Z of Italian Motorcycle Manufacturers

Italian motorcycles have a place in history - and many enthusiast's hearts - out of all proportion to the numbers that been built. If the number of motorcycles built by Italian manufacturers is small, the sheer number of Italian motorcycle factories will surprise readers.

"A-Z of Italian Motorcycle Manufacturers" is the most complete directory of Italian motorcycles available today. In addition to covering the most famous Italian factories, this is a definitive guide to the marques that have had little or no coverage. Some might be familiar, while others are remembered for their racing achievements, and many will never had been heard of by most readers.

This new book includes:
- entries for every marque where it was possible to establish when and where the factories were active;
- details of the most important motorcycles each manufacturer built, and the marques' greatest achievements;
- the history of the once great factories
and finally, an appendix lists the other, less well-known manufacturers.

Bologna motorcycles of the '20s / Moto bolognesi degli anni '20

Made in collaboration with the Bologna Metropolitan Museum of Industrial Patrimony the book is the first in a series of publications that will trace the history of a dynamic and modern motorcycle industry such as that of the Bologna area in Italy, land of engines par excellence.
This first title on a local two-wheel industry of the Twenties amplifies and delves deeply into the matters examined by an exhibition on the same subject held in the museum in 2004 and which was a public success.

Illustrated with a detailed collection of photographs of motorcycles, engines and other objects made available by private collectors, the book covers the history of the small companies that helped make up the industrial fabric of the area.
Here the collector will find valuable information and pictures of motorbike brands including ABRA, Aquila, Beyer, Diana, Augusta-Fiab, Dall'Oglio, De Togni, G.D., M.B.R., R.A., Villani and others. The bi-lingual text in Italian and English is blended with a wealth of illustrations of both the period concerned and especially commissioned modern studio photographs.

Bologna Motorcycles 1930-45 / Moto bolognesi 1930-1945

This second volume on the history of the Bolognese motorcycle industry has been written and illustrated once more with the collaboration of the Museo del Patrimonio del Comune di Bologna (the Patrimony Museum of the Bologna City Council) to coincide with an exhibition on the subject.

The book documents the difficult moments the companies and small local constructors faced, among them the financial straits of the market and the constraints imposed by the autonomy of those years, with doggedness, vitality and surprising inventiveness.
As well as the production of motorcycles, this is the period in which the more economical means of three-wheel transport imposed themselves on the market.

The motorbikes, three-wheeled vehicles and engines in the Bologna exhibition, which come from private collections, are presented in this book with a detailed series of photographs, while motorcycle history enthusiasts will find invaluable information and rare illustrations relative to the 16 marques, including Augusta, FIAB, CM, DEMM-SCMERA, FB, GD, MM, Moto Morini and others.

The text is bi-lingual, precise and interesting and is published together with a wealth of documentation plus 200 pictures of the period.

Bologna Postwar Motorcycles / Moto bolognese del dopoguerra

Following the Second World War, Italy was faced with the enormous challenge of reconstructing the nation's social, political and economic fabric. One of the most remarkable success stories was seen in the field of miniature internal combustion engines to be fitted to bicycles or in dedicated frames. Low prices guaranteed their immediate success and Bologna played a full part in the phenomenon: Ducati, for example, launched the Cucciolo, one of the artificers of the "motorization" of the Italian people.
However, there were no less than 49 Bologna-based firms active in that period, in many cases "shooting stars" soon destined to disappear. Among the motorcycle constructors were M.M. and C.M. which had a glorious history, while Moto Morini and F.B-Mondial achieved sporting success in Italy and abroad. Others such as Cimatti, Malaguti, Marzocchi, Testi and Verlicchi began to conquer a significant share of the market. Some of these marques are still successful on the global market today.

This book presents 50 biographies of the Bologna-based manufacturers, with over 300 images, many previously unpublished, as well as a major section entitled "Collecting" with photographs and technical details of all the most important bikes of the time.

Beta Motorcycles - Over a century of technology and sport

This book covers the long history, from its origins through to the present day, of the historic Italian manufacturer Beta Motorcycles, active in the two-wheeled world for over 100 years, presenting previously unpublished material.
A particularly versatile firm, over the decades Beta Motorcycles has proved capable of diversifying its products - building all kinds of motorcycle - and satisfying the mutating demands of its clientele.
The Florentine marque built its own two- and four-stroke engines in-house, but has always been open to joint ventures with other European or Japanese firms.

Founded as a bicycle manufacturer, Beta Motorcycles moved into the moped market in the 1960s, off-road motorcycles in the late 1970s, enduro models in the following decade and then scooters, for over 20 years, not to mention the Trial sector in which it conquered eight World Championship titles.
In more recent years the company has returned to the "classic" Motocross and Enduro categories and in 2016 collected a further two world titles, including the Constructors' Championship.
The book features a comprehensive catalogue of every model and every engine produced by Beta Motorcycles during the course of over a century.

Le moto della Bianchi

This comprehensive publication offers an intricate exploration of the esteemed lineage of Italian Bianchi motorcycles, spanning from their inception in 1902 to their evolution up to the mid-1960s.
In this meticulously researched volume, readers will find a wealth of historical insights, archival imagery, and in-depth analysis that chronicles the evolution and achievements of these iconic machines. This book delves into the intricacies of technological advancements, design aesthetics, and the cultural significance of Bianchi motorcycles, providing a profound understanding of their enduring legacy.

Moto bolognesi CM - Trent'anni memorabili 1929-1959

The Moto Bolognese project with which the Museo del Patrimonio Industriale di Bologna studied the history of the town's motorcycle production of the '20s- '50s is enriched by a new chapter devoted to C.M, a marque that was in production from 1929 until 1959.
Authors Enrico Ruffini and Antonio Campigotto reconstruct the production aspects of all C.M models, outlining the protagonists, starting with founder Mario Cavedagna and his technical head, Renato Sceti. Both of them had previously worked at G.D.
Their collaborators, like Ditte Drusiani and Laurenti, were listed in a roll of honour in which are recorded the racing successes scored by competing with determination in important events like the Milan-Taranto, Motogiro, 12 Hours of Imola, 6 Giorni Internazionale di Regolarita', Campionato Juniores e della Montagna with riders who were both famous and others who were less well known.

With a highly competent technical management of limited resources and just a few shop floor workers, C.M won its place among the Bolognese marques and was highly thought of nationally. They were able to meet the demands of the market with excellent machines for touring, sports and commercial use. C.M offered models of all engine capacities with all possible variants, but always with adequate constructional criteria, carefully finished and elegance.

Text in Italian.

Moto Rumi - The Complete Story

n the Fifties, many motorcycle manufacturers like Piaggio, MV Agusta and Morini joined famous brands in the marketplace such as Motor Guzzi and Gilera. Rumi earned itself a prominent position among the newcomers.
From the moment its earliest bikes first appeared, the Italian factory distinguished itself for the refinement and quality of its machines. Rumi climbed to the absolute summit in the 125 category, with its Gobbetto, Scoiattolo and junior 125 touring and sports models as well as in racing, especially in regularity events.

Riccardo Crippa, who promotes the Rumi Historic Register, recounts the long and detailed story of the manufacturer with the help of over 300 pictures in colour and black and white, technical drawings and a complete list of all the models, each fully described by an exhaustive technical specification.

Moto Sertum

Established in Milan in 1922, Sertum was one of the most dynamic and important Italian motorcycle manufacturers of its day. Fausto Alberti decided to add the even more demanding design and construction of motorbikes to his existing production of precision mechanics, which had been his business for some time.

The notoriety of Sertums grew rapidly in the early Thirties, due to the Batua, 175 Utilitaria and 250 models, as well as the production three-wheel goods and other vehicles. Sertum soon achieved success in sport, too, especially in regularity events.
Two years before the company closed in 1952, it developed an innovative 125 cc light motorcycle, but the machine went not into production.

The prestigious author Mario Colombo put his beloved Guzzi to the side in order to write his passionate, short but intense story of Sertum bikes, based on his careful reconstruction of the facts and systematic cataloguing of the various models, supported by rare illustrations of the period.
The book also offers useful advice on the restoration of the machines.

Text in Italian.

TGM - La storia, i modelli, le vittorie

From the neighbourhood garage to the heights of the world championship. This, in extreme synthesis, is the TGM story, a constructor born almost on a whim, out of the passion of three very young friends and which in just a few years became the bête noir of the Japanese majors who participated in the World Motocross Championship.
An all-Italian "miracle", an unrepeatable "blend" of motorcycle, team and rider. The rider: Michele Rinaldi, a 14-year-old kid who grew up alongside the company, becoming the first Italian to win a World Championship Grand Prix on an Italian bike and to come within a whisker of the championship title, which was then "gifted" to the Japanese competitor by the powers that be.

TGM was however, a business that produced over 40 different models for a total of over 9, 000 examples. The Parma-based firm was, in short, a phenomenon that attracted for all these motives, the interest, love and affection of the motocross fans, sentiments still evident today during the TGM Days organized annually by the marque's historical register.
This is the first book dedicated entirely to the historic Italian marque, its bikes and its successes.