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Wednesday, 16 March 2016

A Brief History of Benelli Motorcycles

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Teresa Benelli formed the Benelli Garage in 1911 in Pesaro, Italy. She was a widow and had six sons, and started the business venture by using her family's savings. She hoped to provide a steady income and job security for her sons. The company's first model was built in 1920, and right up to the present today, its motorcycles are considered efficient and very ride-able, rather than machines to gather dust in collections. Their motorcycles are manufactured completely in-house, making them totally unique, All design, assembly and development are also done in-house.
Initially, the Benelli Garage was involved in just repairing cars and motorcycles, but, after a while, started the production of spare parts. The first Benelli engine appeared in 1920, comprising a 75cc two-stroke, single cylinder model. It adapted well to be used on a bicycle frame, and its first motorcycle was produced within a year, with a 98cc engine.
In 1923, Anotnio Benelli started his career on the race-track, and his success exhibited the potential of the Benelli Company for manufacturing high quality, reliable motorcycles. From 1927 to 1930, Antonio bagged four Italian Championships, riding a single overhead camshaft model. In 1931, he went on to win on a bike based on a double overhead camshaft. Popularly called 'Torino the Terrible, he crashed in a 1932 race, which stopped his racing career, and later he died in 1937 in a road accident.
Benelli's factory was destroyed in the Second World War, but the Benelli brothers rebuilt the business, and the bikes were soon seen back on the race track. Ted Mellors won the 1939 Tourist Trophy riding a Benelli. In 1949, one of the brothers, Giuseppe Benelli formed his own company named Motobi. The Motobi company merged with Benelli company, once the disagreement between Giuseppe Benelli and his brothers was resolved. Both the companies had 550 employees, producing 300 bikes everyday, during 1962.
However, at the close of the 1960s, the face of motorcycling was changing rapidly as the Japanese manufacturers landed in Europe. This sparked a crisis within Benelli who changed ownership, and in spite of innovations such as its famous six-cylinder engines, it kept losing market share and production was halted temporarily.
In 1980, Benelli received financial aid from a Giancarlo Selci, a Pesaro-based manufacturer, though the company's revival did not seem to work out. In 1995, led by Andrea Merloni, the company was revived, and in 2002, the super sport bike, Tornado 900 Tre bike was launched. The TNT roadster came in 2005, and the company had undergone innovation and development after its comeback, rendering it completely Italian.
Soon Benelli will celebrate its hundredth anniversary. All its products are still designed and assembled in-house, and nothing is imported. These incredible bikes are completely Italian, and in recent years, they have made a significant impact on the style of the machines in their market sector. The company is still renowned for its superior workmanship, and its bikes still continue to retain the original quality started by Teresa Benelli and the Benelli brothers.
Nigel is the author of the huge vintage motorcycles resource vintagebike.co.uk where is has collated massive libraries of classic bike pictures and sounds
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Nigel_Wynne/857582

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