Gilera 150cc Sport

Brochure for the Gilera 150cc Sport model. Not so many were sold in the UK but the association with Geoff Duke would have been a strong selling point even if the humble ohv 150cc Sport was a world away from the dohc fours that Duke was racing.

I'm guessing the brochure is c1958. The rear cover is promoting the six world championship wins. The last of these was in 1957 and Gilera pulled out of GP racing along with several other manufacturers for the '58 season.

Gilera 150cc Sport brochure front cover.

Gilera 150cc Sport brochure centre fold out.

Gilera 150cc Sport brochure rear cover.

Shining up the Gilera

James' Gilera 175 Sport is getting an outing to the Bristol show over the weekend so time for a little love and attention. The bike is for sure never going to be a concourse winner but all the same out came the wax and polish.

I've been running it on a horrible looking modern battery for a while so it seemed like a nice idea to get something tidier looking. Italian batteries come in different sizes from British ones and any period correct ones I could find in the right sizes were very pricey. In the end I had the brainwave of searching scooter shops for Lambretta / Vespa batteries in the hope that they would be of the same size and came across Blitz batteries. They are a German brand and come in a range of sizes for continental machines; the batteries are gel type, finished on black and come with a hard rubber look lid. There's a few folks selling them on fleabay and, though not cheap pur se, they are a lot better priced than the alternatives. Job done.

Must get out on this bike more when summer comes around...

Gilera 175 Sport 1957. 

Handsome from either side.

Blitz battery does the job nicely. Camera angle
exposes that I didn't clean totally thoroughly...

Gilera 1958

Gilera's offerings to the UK for 1958. Gilera had a wide range of machines on sale to the Italian market but in Britain only the 175s were imported. The reputation was good and racing success brought glamour but Gileras were expensive compared to British built machines.

Gilera 1958 front cover.

Gilera 1958 page 1.

Gilera 1958 page 2.

Gilera 1958 rear cover.

Gilera 175

The UK importers brochure for the Gilera 175. I believe this dates from 1958. They might have been sweet little bikes but in the UK they were damned expensive. To put in to perspective in 1958 you could buy an AJS 18S 500 ohv single for £198 or a Gilera 175 Sports for £193. Only a few quid more and you could have a 350cc Velocette Viper (about the same price as the tuned 175 Gilera), the Gilera might have been nice but I know which I would have chosen....

Gilera 175 brochure front cover.

Gilera 175 brochure pages 2 and 3.

Gilera 175 brochure page 4.

Gilera 175 brochure page 5.

Gilera 175 brochure rear cover.

Gilera 175 Sport fettling

Some minor improvements to the usability of the Gilera of late. With the charging finally sorted out it seemed like a good idea to get a working rear light. Out went the flimsy CEV unit and in came a Wipac replica, it's a similar shape, cheap and works. I had to make up a simple bent ally bracket to fit it with the remit of not making any more holes in the frame or mudguard than are already there. The bracket is no work of art but it is discreet and works.

The original Brev Orlandi fuel taps were getting very tired and coming to the point where 'tap' was somewhat of a kind description. 'Slight Restrictors of Flow' would have been more appropriate. Being more used to old British iron and slightly unfamiliar with Italian engineering I took out a thread gauge to see what size taps I would need. The thread was 12mm, a quick check with Mr Google informed me that there is very limited choice in this size. A deeper search yielded the fact that 12mm is a size of tap also favoured for Spanish trials bikes. A trip to the bay of E found a pair of taps for a good price that are fuel tight, surprisingly well made and go through each position with a satisfying click.

In theory now ready for hundreds of trouble free miles.....

A good looking bike from any angle.

New rear light bracket.

12mm tap from a Spanish trials bike.

VMCC Stonehenge Autumn Nifty Run

The third Nifty Run that I've turned up to but previous times other commitments have meant that I could just be a spectator for the start and then have to nip back home. This time was to be different, I had the time, I had the bike. I prepped the Gilera 175 Sport and it was running sweetly. The ride over was a slog on a long straight road with a small bike but it was running like a Swiss watch. Then just before arriving I decided to take a quick stop for the call of nature, on starting again the Gilera was misfiring and refused to clear up. Pulling in at the start of the run I noticed a fairly severe fuel leak from the tank. That sealed my fate, once again I was a spectator and had to head off home straight after everyone else had set off.

The decision to ride home or call out assistance was a tricky one but in the end I cleaned out the carb and that made the bike run sweet again. The fuel leak though I trusted to the gods that I wouldn't be incinerated on the bike and decided to ride it. In the end all worked out well, the leak was at the top of the tank so the more I rode the less the leak and rider and bike arrived home unburnt.

Nice Greeves 20DC. I had one of these for a while. Really sweet
bike though the engine was decidedly underwhelming. I can
see why so many folks fit Triumph motors. The running gear felt
like it could take a lot more. I rate it as one of the best handling
bikes I have owned.

Ariel Arrow. One family owned until very recently. The bike is
in cracking unrestored condition and was recently featured
in The Classic MotorCycle magazine.

Here's a machine you don't see often, a British
Sun Wasp Villiers powered scooter attached to
a Watsonian Bambini sidecar. 

Detail on the Sun Wasp.

The Sun did the run with rider and passenger in the Bambini.

Villiers power in James cycle parts. They may be
derided in some quarters but the 'E' series Villiers
engines are really excellent motors. Forget power
figures these engines are one of the nicest products
of the British Motorcycle industry,

T'other side of the Villiers.

Leaky Gilera on the way home. Fingers crossed we don't end
up in a huge fireball. That petrol tank is big and full!

Slightly more baffled

The last mod to the Gilera's 'silencing' system took away perhaps 1db. I had thought that a baffle tacked on to the down pipe would be a surefire way to reduce noise but a plan b was necessary. Ever willing not to spend money a second baffle worked out a lot cheaper than a new complete silencer. This one was bought from the bay of e for a mere eight quid. The tail of the silencer is 50mm (it is basically a megaphone). The best match I could find was a 47mm baffle. This fitted with the addition of some shim and application of persuasion with a big hammer.

Finally the beast is tamed. The Gilera has been muffled down to a slightly angry roar as opposed to a full blown scream from the pits of hell. Still loud enough to annoy the haters but the volume is down enough that it hopefully won't attract unwanted attention from the fuzz...

Tinkering with the Gilera.

Been tinkering with James' Gilera the last few days. I'm looking after it for a while and it's hopefully going over to Spain for the 5000 Curves this coming October.

Took it out for the first longer test run yesterday. It's a frenetic ride, a proper racing crouch and very very noisy. I've tack welded a baffle on to the end of the down pipe but it has made virtually no difference. I've put a baffle for the tail of the silencer on order now too and hopefully that'll calm it down a bit.

As usual for a bike that has been out of service for a while all sorts of petrol leaks have sprung up. The Italian petrol taps are even nastier than their British cousins. Charging is uncertain but otherwise all is well.

Gilera Sport 175cc

1957 Gilera Sport 175cc

I'm lucky enough to have several bikes in my shed that are, in my eyes and those of other enthusiasts, desirable. To others they may just be old junk. This Gilera is a medium term resident though it does not belong to me. Any time a visitor first enters the den their eyes are drawn straight past my beloved Velo and Dominator to the little Gilera sitting in the corner. There is something compelling about it, maybe it's the extravagantly large and red tank makes it stand out amongst the more sober British metal. Maybe it is because it looks like a baby version of the mighty Gilera four racers of the fifties.

The Gilera is the property of good friend James Forrester aka Paris Patois, Patois de Blanc, the Blues Shadow, bon viveur and polymath. It bears the scars of several Moto Giro d'Italias and much enthusiastic use. The bike was built up in Italy, resided in France, and then moved to England where it currently resides before heading over to the States to rejoin its owner.

By no means original it is none-the less a pretty special piece of kit. The builder must have had shares in vintage italian bike spares supplier Menani as it carries a good number of their definitely not cheap goodies. The dry clutch set up is original but forks, tank, front wheel and rev counter are all modifications. The front brake is a rather vicious double sided Grimeca set up that needs to be treated with extreme caution. Forks are Cerriani and the rev counter is a pretty white faced Veglia item.

Though nowhere near the most exotic engine format of period italian lightweights, the Gilera motor is the engine of choice for the knowledgable italophile seeking the best compromise of performance and reliability for long distance street racing. It's wet sump with a decent oil capacity and though styled as several other small italians of the time to ape the clean lines of a two stroke motor it is an ohv. Unusual only in that the two valves are parallel.

The Gilera has been undeservedly neglected for too long. It sat a good year in another friend's shed near Brighton where it became coated with a strange brown mold. Then it moved over to my shed where it was cleaned up, oiled and then sat again for another year. Finally last month it came out of hibernation, received a check over, oil change, fresh fuel, carb clean and new battery. Bump start only it cracked into life very readily with a more than healthy bark. Definitely one to annoy the neighbours with!

Soon it will be cleaned up more, back on the road for a season's riding and then packed off to rejoin James in the US. Riding impressions to follow.....