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 250s—no longer the Rebello type but with a new engine—were 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 250—leading the world championship classification at this point—was 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