Australian Motorcycle News — January 30, 2018

60 amcn.com.au

HOW IT ALL STARTED
Lambretta founder Ferdinando Innocenti’s cheap
two-stroke scooters helped mobilise a nation
devastated by a world war. The financial return
from Lambretta’s massive scooter sales in the late
1940sallowedInnocentitocommissionGiuseppe
Salmaggi to design a sophisticated overhead-
camshaft four-stroke GP racer.
SalmaggiwasoneofItaly’sleadingmotorcycle
designersofthepre-warera.HisGileraSaturno
hadbecomethemostsought-afterprivateerrace
bikeofthe1930sandifhispushrodproduction-
racer Saturno was the benchmark for single-
cylinder500ccItalianracingmachinery,his
LambrettaV-twinwastoboldlygowhereno
GP designer had gone before.
Sure, there were inline four-cylinders from
Gilera,andsoonfromMVAgusta,plusa
120-degree V-twin from Moto Guzzi, but when
theLambrettawasfirstdisplayedatthe1951
MilanshowtherewasnothinglikeitonEarth.

WHAT WAS ALL THE FUSS ABOUT?
GrandPrixracingmotorcyclesofthetimeoften
lookedlikeaworkinprogress.Formfollowed
function rather than style leading the way. Not
sowiththeLambretta.Itlookedmorelikea
productionmodelthanaprototypeGPracer.A
super-clean unit-construction engine, unique
frame design and carefully contoured body work
combined in a glorious statement of Italian
innovation.
The result was described as a “masterpiece in
engineering” by a major motorcycle newspaper.
The 90-degree V-twin engine had its crankshaft

mounted along the frame, not across it. This

pushedthecylindersoutintothebreezefor

bettercooling.The54mmx54mmboreand

stroke gave a capacity of 247cc. Claimed power

outputwas21kW(29bhp)at9000rpmonpump

petrolwithatopspeedaround170km/h.

Much thought had gone into the design. Each

alloyheadcontainedtwovalves,controlled

bytriple-coilsprings(nottheusualtwo)anda

camshaftthatraninsmallballbearings(not

bushes)andwaspressure-fedoil.Thecamshaft

was driven by a shaft and bevel gears. The

bullet-shaped front of the crankcase contained

aflywheel-mountedmagnetowitharev-counter

drive above it. Behind the engine was a five-

speed gearbox with positive-stop action and a

heel-toe lever.

Strangely, rear drive was by shaft, a much

heavieroptionthanusingaconventionalchain.

1.It’s been almost 67 years

since the Italian prototype

caused a stir at the

International Milan Fair

2.Air cooling is optimised

when the cylinders are

sticking out in the wind

3.The carburettor trumpets

match the straight-through

megaphone pipes

4.Spotless and meticulously

organised, just like the

so-called prototype

5.Giuseppe Salmaggi broke

new ground with the bike’s

innovative chassis layout

Lambretta 250 GP

The frame and bodywork

combined in a glorious

statement of Italian innovation

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5

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