A motorcycle for gentlemen

Stripped of its supercharging and air cooled post-war, the Rondine, which had become part of the Gilera empire in 1935, swept all before it bringing 500cc World Championships to Umberto Masetti, Geoff Duke and Libero Liberati. But what filled Gilera’s coffers were not such race track exotica, but basic, reliable fare designed to appeal to the everyday rider

Giuseppe Gilera was just 15 years of age when he began work at the Bianchi factory in Milan, and by 22 he had started his eponymous motorcycle company at Marzo near Milan. His first design was in 1909 – essentially a bicycle