1953 MONDIAL 200CC ROAD RACER

COPYRIGHT - Words by Adam Bolton. Photography by Sara Zinelli

I'm as patriotic as the next man, and I love British motorcycles in all shapes and forms, but some reason which I can't explain, I have always been drawn ever so slightly more to Italian bikes, and that was even before I'd ever ridden one, owned one, stepped foot in Italy or probably eaten pasta in any shape or form. Maybe they just seemed more exotic. Anyway, I was extremely gladdened like many others to follow the recent rebirth of the glorious FB Mondial name over the past few years.

Mondial was never a huge name like Gilera or Moto Guzzi in terms of production of units of motorcycles, but successful enough to be around for several decades. It was world championship racing success in the early 1950s that really established Mondial as a leading Italian motorcycle producer, and the marque also had a hand in changing the face of motorcycle's balance of power, as it was a Mondial machine that Honda's engineers first looked at for the inspiration to build the first Honda race bikes. A gentleman’s' agreement saw a 125 GP bike being lent to Honda to study. How the tables then quickly turned. By 1961 Honda had already started winning major competitions, and Mondial had pulled out from racing altogether in 1957. However Honda never forgot the favour, and in an extremely unusual move, the huge Japanese manufacturer recently supplied their 1000cc SP-1 motors for the reborn Mondial Piega model. An honour indeed but deserved by a name as charismatic as Mondial.

I was to get a flavour of what a Mondial motorcycle represented in the 1950s when invited to try out a friend's beautifully restored 200 in Italy this year. Mondials always fascinated me as they seemed so detailed and exotic. Even the little 125cc roadsters that came out of the Bologna based factory boasted intricate and beautiful fork shrouds, headlamp brackets and rocker covers all expensively cast with the elegantly scripted Mondial logo. Decals of chequered flags and winners laurel wreaths decorated paintwork. The bikes just looked, well, classy, of quality build, and sporty. Racing success breeds confidence in a factory and it shows in their bikes. I finally meet the owner of the Mondial 200 that I will ride. Filippo D'Annibale, nicknamed amongst friends as Baffo (Italian for moustache, and his is a fine example) is a master builder, and passionate collector of motorcycles. His collection includes amongst others an MV 175 SS 'Disco Volante', an MV Raid 250, Parilla 175, Lambretta 150D, Benelli Leoncino 125, and an ex military Triumph 350. "All bikes I wanted to own when I was young but had no money", he laughs. The Mondial 200 was a surprise, and possibly impulsive addition to the collection. "We were at Imola in 2002 and I was interested in buying a bike to restore". Imola is the name for the biggest classic bike jumble that takes place in Italy at the end of September, and is held actually on the tarmac of the famous race circuit. "There were a couple of guys from the South of Italy who had a few interesting bikes, all of which seemed to be racers of some kind. I was drawn to this Mondial because it had clearly been modified to race, not in recent years, but back in the 1950s. The modifications all involved genuine or correct parts from the era. It was clearly not a factory racer, but something that intrigued me, so I bought it".

The production model that Filippo's bike was based on was a 1953 Mondial 200cc Turismo, a finely designed model which bridged the gap between utility go-to-work models such as the Mondial 125 or the Gilera 125 of the time, and the larger capacity bikes available from Guzzi or Gilera that were aimed at tourers and 'serious' motorcyclists. The 200 Mondial was in fact just a bored out version of their 125 model that was available between 1949 and 1953, but was met with acclaim for its power and tractability on its launch in 1951. The Mondial could be ridden to work during the week, and then enjoyed as a 'sports' tourer on weekends, and this is what Mondial had desired. The PR slogan ran "The FB Mondial costs the same to run as a 125 but with the power of a 250". The Italian 'Motociclismo' magazine decided that the 200 'created its own class', and in fact, production of the 125 was terminated by 1953 to concentrate on production and development of the 200cc. The motor was of an overhead cam pushrod design, pushing out approximately 15bhp at 6000rpm, and giving a top speed of around 70mph. Plunger rear suspension and pressed steel girder forks were used initially on the first 200 models, but by 1953 were already fairly archaic suspension systems compared to the telescopic systems already featured on motorcycles. However, the Mondial 200 was an attractive and reliable motorcycle and it sold well. It also grabbed the attention of privateer racers, already impressed by Mondial's racing success in previous years, and many 200s were adapted to race in events such as the Milano-Taranto and Moto Giro, and on many of the town centre circuits that were everywhere in Italy in the early part of the 1950s. Tarquinio Provini won the 1954 Moto Giro on a works Mondial, as well as the Italian Championship that same year, so a Mondial really was the name of the bike on everyone's lips at the time.

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