Gilera

Gilera is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer responsible for contributing heavily to the economy and industry of the Lombardy region. In 1909, the company was founded by mechanic and engineer Giuseppe Gilera.

Guiseppe started his career as an apprentice, working for 12 years in the motorcycle division of Bianchi before moving to Bucher motors and finally Moto Rêve. At 22, he built his first motorcycle around an engine of his own design. Within two years, he had begun building commercial bikes with his brother Luigi in a workshop in Milan. Because the brothers handled all the repair work on their models, it became important to create motorcycles that were reliable and easy to maintain.

As World War I began, the shop moved to the relative safety of Arcore, a small village far from Milan’s city center but with easy access to shipping routes. Arcore offered physical space for the company to grow, and in 1923 Gilera had settled on a site that would remain as the company’s main production facility for 70 years.

Gilera also began making headlines in the racing world during this time period. The company built engines that won competitions in 1930 and 1931, and in 1935 Giuseppe’s team remodeled a Quattro Cilindri Rondine that would go on to win speed records for the next two decades.

The company enjoyed prosperity after World War II, creating new 500cc, 250cc and 125cc bikes. The increased product line generated enough income to open a second factory in Argentina.

However, in 1956 Guiseppe’s son Ferruccio died, and with his loss the company took a turn for the worse. The Italian motorcycle market had fallen on hard times and without proper management, Gilera began to flounder. Although the company was at the top of the Grand Prix racing circuit, Gilera and its Italian competitors collectively decided to bow out of the competition after 1957 to save money for their commercial product lines.

Cutting corners didn’t help, and in 1969 Gilera became part of the Piaggio scooter and motorcycle group. This gave them the chance to recover the company’s glory days, but it was a slow road. Gilera began a foray into the off-road market, with about equal successes and failures for its different models.

In 1993, the Arcore plant was closed and moved closer to Piaggio’s home base in Pontedera, Today, the company produces a small line of high-end scooters, including a unique three-wheeled model called the Fuoco.

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