1966 MOTO MORINI 250 GI SETTEBELLO

COPYRIGHT - Words by Adam Bolton. Photography by Sara Zinelli

If you were an impressionable teenage bike fan in Italy in those golden years between 1955 and 1965, the motorcycle that most likely topped your wanted list was a Morini 175 Settebello. The strong single cylinder Morini was a sensational bike straight from the box, was king of its capacity, and could take on larger capacity bikes with aplomb. Low, lean and fast, and with an excellent power to weight ratio, it was quickly taken up by privateers for production racing and hill climbs, and it excelled on the twisty circuits that typified the Italian national racing scene in the mid to late 1950s. In fact, so successful as a racer was the 175 Settebello, Morini also produced a limited race version of the Settebello, the 'aste corte' or short push rod version, producing 23bhp at 10,500 rpm, and a top speed of more than 120mph. This was a bike that went on to win the Bol d'Or in 1958 and 1959, and was victor in its last Italian hill climb race an incredible fourteen years later, in 1973. It was Giacomo Agostini the legendary Italian racer who was to cement the Settebello forever in racing history, as he began his career winning on a converted road 175 Settebello, then on a factory 175 'aste corte'.

Of course, fast and beautiful motorcycles never come cheap. Like many young men of his generation growing through the 'economic miracle' that had occurred in Italy in the 1950s, Alfonso Zinelli also ached after a Settebello, but couldn't afford one. He did as second best manage to eventually purchase a 175 Super Sport, a Morini model that appeared in the range from 1956 onwards. The Super Sport visually satisfied with its clip ons and air scoop in the front brake, but it just didn't have that all-important detail on its side panel that made all the difference, and not just inside the motor - the decal of the Settebello, or the 'Seven of Diamonds'.

“I enjoyed the Super Sport as a motorcycle, and I soon forgot about wanting to own a Settebello that cost so much more”, explains Alfonso. Evocative photos from the early 1960s show Alfonso as a young man and his then fiancée Maura posing on his Morini. A later photo shows his daughter Sara on the seat in 1972 (Sara took the photos for this feature, so the Morini theme in the family has come full circle). When the 175 was finally sold on in 1972 after many years in Alfonso's posession, work, family and a procession of various multi cylinder Japanese bikes meant that Alfonso forgot about Morinis.

The name 'Settebello' was to come back into Alfonso's motorcycling consciousness in 2004. Retired, and with an interest in motorcycling as strong as ever, he decided to sell his modern Kawasaki and tinker with some old bikes.
“I had a chance conversation with someone in my village, which then led me to Ivo.” Ivo was now in his eighties and had run a garage for many years specialising in agricultural machinery, but had also held franchises for selling and servicing many different makes of motorcycles, including MV Agusta, Mondial and Moto Morini. One bike he had sold to a local back in 1966 was a Morini 250 GI Settebello, and it had ended up back in his lockup with many other bikes that had either broken down, been abandoned or had their owners' interest dwell in the face of supersize and savage Italian possession taxes in the 1980s. Alfonso discovered that the Morini had all its documents present (vitally important in Italy) and had not been used since possibly the mid 1970s, and needed some work. However, it was in a completely original and preserved condition, and Ivo would sell it for 800 euro. A few days later and the deal was done. A Morini Settebello finally sat in Alfonso's garage, 40 years late. OK, it wasn't the 175cc desired so much back then, but Alfonso admits his back wouldn't appreciate the cafe racer stance of the smaller bike nowadays. But the decal of the 'Seven of Diamonds' on the 250's toolbox still gave some satisfaction, and invoked a curiosity that had never truly disappeared for good.

The invention of the Moto Morini GI 250 Settebello had its reason in economic necessity and the persuasive forces of the Yankee dollar. A small European manufacturer like Moto Morini had to try hard to compete and be pragmatic in the fast-changing world of motorcycle development and sales in the 1960s. It wasn't enough to have a fantastic array of motorcycles all based around a 175cc single cylinder motor, and in fact by 1964, Morini had pensioned off the configuration with sales of the last remaining Tresette 175 models. Competitors already had 175cc and 250cc models with five gears available, and the Morini motor looked old fashioned. Morini came under pressure from the American importer John Berti to include something bigger than their successful 125/150cc Corsaro, but more up-to-date than the 175. Honda's new-fangled Dream 250 models were gaining a foothold for the Japanese giant in the US, so Berti convinced Morini to introduce a 250 into the range, with a promise that he could shift 700 bikes a year.

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