Long-term lightweight
On my way to examine Adrian Coole’s unmolested-looking Bianchi Gardena 75, I once again ask myself a question that always stumps me when I go and report on a sub-125cc motorcycle from the past. What is it that’s changed so much over the decades that small capacity, lightweight motorcycles have so dropped out of favour with motorcycle manufacturers? Is it simply because there are no willing paying customers for them? Or is it because the amount of traffic on our roads nowadays simply prohibits the use of motorcycles with a reasonably low top speed and less than rapid acceleration?
Whatever the reason might be, it’s a shame, because lots of fun can be had in small packages, and the Italians in particular were experts in putting together an attractive, well-built ‘motociclo leggero.’ I’ve been lucky enough to have ridden many classic Italian lightweights over the years, and most of them were stunning – the Maserati SS50 ‘Rospo’ and Mondial 50 Sport come straight to mind, but the Bianchi Gardena is just as handsome, with just the right amount of exotic Latin flair.
Adrian, a 76-year-old retired electronics engineer and now furniture restorer, is the owner of this 1959 version, and is in complete agreement – the fact he’s owned it for 56 years is proof surely that these little jewels of engineering and style can definitely get under your skin. In fact,
