I shall always be grateful to my parents for buying me a 2nd hand Gilera 50 Touring for my 16th birthday in '78. I joined the local hooligans on their FS1E's and AP50's and terrorised the roads in Somerset, sort of. It started my love of biking and Italian motorcycles. Great video, loving this series.
@@bikerdood1100 I was lucky tbh, my mum was instrumental in getting me into bikes unlike some of my mates who had to convince their parents that riding a bike wouldn't kill them in the first week.
@@alexrankin8263 I remember seeing my old bike in Glastonbury a year or so after I px it for a Suzuki X7. You didn't buy your bike from Berni Hockey did you?
I was so proud of my Fs1e.... Until my mates day bought him a malaguti for his birthday 😢... Absolutely beautiful and had a really really fantastic exhaust roar... 😊😊😊
I started out on a Puch Maxi but on starting my apprenticeship I bought a Garelli Cross. Sadly not to reliable and spares support was atrocious. I swapped the Garelli for a Fantic Chopper. It was absolutely amazing. Had some 50 bikes since and still ride. At 65, recently downsized to an Enfield Meteor. Love your videos. See so many bikes that passed through my hands.
They were produced primarily for racing and were a popular mount for racers in the 60s seeing use at the TT of course. The First Lady ever to compete at the TT did so on an Itom
@@bikerdood1100 Thanks for sharing. The bike (itom) was running up and a road nearby. Legal? Perhaps not. Can still see it in my minds eye. Love your programme ,amazing content. Cheers
@@bikerdood1100 A few months back I was watching on YT some continentals (Cloggies or Belgians) racing 50cc around an industrial park. It was fab. You could hang them on the wall as art.
Thanks. You weren't wrong. Your video brought back memories of me being envious of the guys who had the oh so stylish Italian mopeds. I went on from my FS1E DX to a Moto Morini 3½ which was the sweetest handling bike of it's time. And on Devon twisty roads would outpace any equivalent Japanese bike. They would say goodbye on the straights though!
I am really enjoying the moped series, my first bike was a Garelli Tigercross, yes it was faster than most other mopeds but only just, the speedo would nudge 55 mph with a following wind. The electrics and lighting were feeble but it got me through the winter of 1978/9 without complaining all it required was the occasional spark plug and exhaust de coke.Travelling to college one snowy morning a car pulled out on me and I had to lay it down at 20 mph. I came to a stop took a few breaths , got back on it and carried on to college, other than the odd scratch the bike was undamaged! Was life much simpler then?☺☺
loving this video and also the fact that there are so many other relics from the 70s reminiscing about the nifty fifties that we coveted and occassionally owned.
I had a Garelli Record. OHO81L. Right foot change 1 up and 3 down. The Del'Orto carb would flood the cylinder if petrol tap wasn't switched off as soon as engine was stopped. No brake light switch (I added one). When wound up was faster than my mates FS1E's with my 6.5hp as opposed to their 4 5. Funny rectangular headlight. Nipped up the piston/liner once. Had a chromed liner so it was all scrap. New piston, rings and cylinder was 16 pounds and fifty pence uk. I was only earning/ taking home 16 pounds and ten pence a week. Geez.
I am old enough to have missed the moped era and started on a 197cc Villiers powered Greeves. That said I did always think the Italian mopeds just looked so good and well built. Great video thanks.
I had a Fantic Chopper. Briefly. Me and my mate Dave rode our mopeds from London to Great Yarmouth in 75. Our camping holiday. The tent going up in his dad's car. We had a great time, but the Fantic came apart and seized on the way home. Misery. Took me months to save for another bike, and got a gold RD 200. Whoosh! I have a tear in my eye as I think of it. Mary Hopkin was right.
Lovely look back to the mopeds of my teens. I owned a Gilera 50 Touring, just like the one shown, except for the colours - mine was yellow with a blue frame. On the example in the video, the horn has been wired to the wrong button - The black plastic button is for the horn, the small brass one on the switch housing is for the engine cut - out, as no ignition switch is fitted.
There was a quirky bike shop in the area where I grew up called Downtown Motorcycles. They changed hand and became more main stream, but in the mid to late 70s they sold Garelli and Fantic Motor machines. I remember once seeing a Gitaine sports moped. It was electric blue with orange stripes and had a racing fairing, I imagine it was French. They also sold Vokshod and Cossac machines and other obscure things like the Neval Minsk 125.
Before moving on to bigger and faster stuff, I spent literally the whole of 1976 thrashing around on a Fantic GT! That was one hot, long summer. The Fantic was a really good machine and, in truth, nothing saw it off because it definitely had the edge on both acceleration, handling and top end. Great times. But, fundamentally, it all boiled down to our large pack of 30+ FS1Es, SS50s and a Fantic Super T (the one with the 98 dB pea shooter for an exhaust), spending all of its time after school, hunting for other moped packs to race and, vice versa. Fisticuffs were optional. After the moped year, around 80% went straight to cars. Whereas the maniacs, myself included, all stuck to two wheels, often one, and got to see many more nurses, and also discovered what an orthopaedic surgeon did for a living!
@@bikerdood1100 Indeed they did. The Fantic GT was a very nice looking machine, they got everything right on that one. You may be amused to hear that I did my paper round on mine, which certainly woke them all up, and made many seriously regret not giving me a fat Christmas Bonus! The main impact of that was I went through three Centre Stands, because of the number of stops I made every morning. I had to fling it onto the stand every delivery, so maybe 40-50 times a day, every day, for a whole year! Obviously, that was way more than its design limits! The metal was quite thin, and the repeated use bent the lug that kept the back wheel in the air when on the stand. Tried having one welded, but it didn't work, so found I just had to buy new ones. One fine morning, just days after my 16th Birthday, I came off it for the first time and found another issue. There was some electrical connection, I think near the horn or at least close to the exhaust, and a small bolt that held that on, would break when one came off on the port side! That broke the Earth for the electrics and ignition, so it involved a push home. After that happened, ahem, a few times, I kept a bolt with me thereafter. UPDATE: I think I've remembered what caused that, the Fantic came with a neat looking set of engine crash bars at the front, that were affixed at the top via the small bolt that held the horn on. That bolt is also an Earthing Point for the electrics. The bolt was also way too small for crash bars, so any tumble and that bolt would break, and render the electrics kaput until that Earth was fixed. So it was a 3rd Party Modification issue. I eventually dumped those bars, as they were more cosmetic than functional, and so I did not have that problem in later coming off events (there were a few)! One other fine morning, when on my paper round, I collided with a Milk Float! I delivered to some very large houses, often with two entrances, both with walls on either side. At 6am there was usually no traffic around, so I'd bomb in and out of these at max chat, as I raced between houses. I was just charging into one, as the Milk Float elected to come the other way! So, I had a rapid choice between colliding with either of two hard walls, or a softer Milk Float, so I quickly elected to ram the latter head on. Thankfully it was mostly made of plastic so, I bounced off that, and ended up in a sh1tty heap in front of it. The Milko was a fine biking chap, who found that hilarious, as it was something he didn't encounter every day. We had a nice chat about bikes, over a shared pint of Gold Top milk, mainly so I could get my wind back. The Fantic seemed fine, ramming Milk Floats was not a problem for it.
Thanks very much that was most enjoyable. My first powered two wheeler was a Vespa Ciao moped. Later on, i owned a Benelli 250 2C two stroke which was an unusual and interesting bike.
All beautiful 👌🏻😎 my nephew had a Portuguese Casal in the late 70’s , at the time it was rated as the most powerful 50cc moped you could buy, it used to fly, but seemed to require a top end rebuild every few weeks , oh and it was Ugly too 🤪
Portuguese, I was told by the local baker's son who had one, it was German. Whatever, he also said it was the fastest moped of that era, so I concur. 70mph ish apparently ?
@@bikerdood1100 defo do some more on the other "ped" makers (kriedler, zundap, mz simson etc), my mate had a BSA Beaver (restricted the unrestricted was the Brigand --- different exhaust (tho you could derestrict the beaver exhaust with a bit of work) and 19mm Dellorto as opposed to the beavers 14 mm carb), nicely styled little bike but the electrics were a nightmare (typical Italian) and the speedo needle just bounced around (typical CEV like the electrics) and yes it had the Minarelli motor (good powerful engine but fragile needing good and carefully measured 2 stroke pre-mix).
@@andrewdking my nephew reckoned he had seen 70 waving around on the speedo (i didn’t believe him then, but I was probably just jealous) he was nearly a third lighter than me, but it did fly, it reminded me of a motocross level of tune, a far cry from my SS50 ZB although it never had a spanner near it,except oil and plug changes
Having grown up in Italy the variety of 50cc bikes was huge and most did not have pedals, and to us kids were real motorcycles. I had a Motom 50 Cross with a 4 stroke engine and 3 on the bars, a very odd machine. Then I rode a Malaguti Roncobilaccio cross bike which seemed quite inferior to the bikes my mates were riding. Even the Vespa 50 was much faster. The Gilera and Fantic models were far superior. The government tried to limit performance by restricting stock carbs to 14mm, in most cases these were quickly replaced by 19 or even 21 mm carbs usually del’orto units. Anyway those years were a blast. Keep up the great vids.
Well yeh calling em mopeds was just a technicality of law really Some comments get bey hot under the collar about this for some reason, but it’s simply how UK law described them
Glad you covered the Caballero. I am in the middle of building two. A 50 and a 125 both belonging to my daughter . She is only 11 so I have plenty of time.
I remember in the late 70’s / early 80’s there was a popular funfair / arcade ride where they had a coin operated Gilera 50 in a cage and you could ride it. The engine did not run, instead it was on electric rollers and would thrash from side to side in the cage when you rode it. Does anyone else remember this? One of my friends had a Gilera and we all called it the cage bike.
I remember seeing a Malaguti Monte on one of these seaside rides. I was always curious to know if they were potential runners as I was regularly on the hunt for pistons, needle roller small ends and/barrels for mine!
@@bikerdood1100 Indeed, classic lines and the 1-2 exhaust was stunning. Add to that the fantastic engine and you have a real lightweight racer. Loved my V4 even though every cop was checking it out for „performance improvements“.
Italy was the best in small size motorbike in the 70s the famous 50cc which you could drive if you were 14 years old without helmet and without licence ,Malanca,Cimatti Aspes etc etc ..so many to mention
YaY! A Gilera 50 Trail! My first bike! Hehe, everyone called it the Trial 50, me included. I knew nothing about bikes, but already had a car license. This machine looked bigger than the sum of it's parts. A cop even stopped me once when I was giving my bro a lift while I still had "L" plates on! He assumed it was a 100cc, just because of its overall appearance.
I remember my first machine was a Puch M50 sport, obviously not featured here but I also remember my local petrol station had a hand operated two stroke oil pump on the forecourt, 50p a GALLON! Of petrol and 50p for two shots of oil.
Love the sounds , the Tiger cross takes me right back to the mid seventies , I read ever write up going from 73 on , nearly went for a Fantic Ti but went Honda instead . Some great little bikes 👍
@@robinbowler2955 And I don't remember him having a Puch of any kind, only an NSU Quickly. Basically, they were all old 2nd hand and knackered, so don't think he ever made it out onto the road for real. That's odd because his Dad was an RAC recovery man, so should have bought him something much more reliable 🤷
Brilliant video. I know someone who has still got a fantic chopper all original my cousin used to have a fantic motor and think he paid £350.00 but can't be sure as was only young at the time lol looking forward to more videos stay safe 🇬🇧👍
In 1978 i was 16 bought a year old Malaguti Olympiqe cafe racer . Little did i know just what an astonishing little bike it was ? Sadly i wrecked it , but not before fs1e riders got shown their fastest bike was completly trashed with me only in 3rd . About the same speed as a Honda 125 . If only i knew then what i know now , bought for £200 sold as a wreck a year later for £5 . But have the memories .
Definitely no slouch then Just think it’s value if you hadn’t wrecked it and stored it away somewhere Wish I’d looked after my ap and my c70 better now
When reminiscing these great days does anybody else start singining "Funky moped" by Jasper Carrot ?? I remember some older lads taking the piss asking if I'd had 39mph yet out of my SS50.
I had a malaguti olympique in red with drop handlebars and a small headlight fairing. Great little bike and so fast for a 50cc. Always used to jump out of first gear, so had to pull away in second, but when it got going, it would pee all over the fs1e and ap 50s. 7 bhp and fitted with a quite small rear sprocket. Only problem, as you say, was seizing, it used to do it at least every 2-3 months, so I learnt fast how to repair myself. Simple on a two stroke.
Fabulous video mate! There were several Garelli Tiger Crosses and a Fantic chopper, and possibly a Gilera where I lived as a 16 year old, but alas no Malaguttis.
@@bikerdood1100 Especially when you add it to 3 or 4 Casals - including 2 fabled Phantom 5 with rev counter and big bike looks, 2 Puch Grand Prix and 2 Kreidler Florets. Add to that only 3 Honda SS50s and a couple of AP50s and the rest were Fizzies - too many to count. And that was just at school before I got to Tech College. 😁
The one no one seems to remember is the simson 50, which was actually a MZ I think. I only knew one lad that had one and we all used to take the piss but it was actually a bloody good ped, faster than any of the APs or fizzies that most of our group rode and it was super reliable aswell.
@@bikerdood1100 yep, you're right, after I posted that comment I googled simson and there's no mention of MZ, when I was 16 and still at school there was a teacher who had a MZ 250, looking back they were phenomenal bikes but very odd looking. We used to take the piss out of that teacher every chance we got and when this lad turned up on his brand new simson I guess someone must've said it was actually a MZ 50, but yeah, like you said, no connection👍
Ah more memories I had Garelli moped I think it was a Tiger cross but early 80's model which like you say was a screamer but a restricted model not that it stopped us from tinkering, I also had an AJW Greyhound which had the Marelli 50cc 6 speed engine which was another little screamer & a guy who lived a couple of miles away had the AJW Wolfhound which looked similar but had a 3 speed hand gear change. I've seen a a Greyhound on Ebay once many years ago come up for sale but that's the only time since owning one, I still remember the numberplate LBD 84P but sadly long gone now.
I had a Honda ss50 as my parents thought it more safe, man it was slow, my friend Joe had a Fantic motor GT and joined the army as a cadet, he came home on leave. Took it out one night and stuck his knee into a cars rear wing, ruined his knee and career in the army. His dad gave it to me and after fixing the broken gear selector fork when hit the car, i had a much faster moped. As the guy mentioned poor oil quality in garages mine seized up one day and was left in my parents shed to rot, along with the SS50 back in 1977. If only i had known. Went from that to a Honda 125J then a year later in 78 got a 400N super dream. Fond memories often wonder how my mate Joe got on after his terrible accident.
My dad wouldn't sign for an FS1E because it was a 2 stroke so I ended up with a blue SS50 which I loved anyway. 2 months later I ran into the back of a Vauxhall Viva and buggered my knee up too.😢
In 1981 I had a Garelli Tiger, learned all about threadlock, and yes, it was quick enough to keep up with cars out of town. Moved to an RD250E when I turned 17.
That brings back memories. Probably around 1978, I had a Malaguti Olympique and my brother had a Malaguti Cavalcone. The olympique was rough and ready but really quick, and I used to slipstream cars on the A3 going to Kingston college. Parts were no problem as the importers used to be in Ripley, so when we needed pistons and rings, which was quite often, we could pop down the road an grab them. I am going to hope my memory is good and say mine was SPJ958R ….
At the tender age of 14 in 1975 I reseached (no internet of course) the fastest moped available, and chose an AJW greyhound with a P6 minarelli engine. It looked fantastic in a beautiful deep red with clip on bars and sports seat. Once I got to 16 and could ride it, it always failed to meet my high hopes, topped out at just under 50mph,, same as a fizzy. Had a few seizures. But then, I found someone who had the top end form a Fantic Chopper. Put this top end on my AJW, fitted an expansion chamber, and whooppee - it flew. A mate older than me bought a Yam RS100, but my little AJW could stay alongside him, must have been revving to over 10,000 rpm and doing about 63mph.
AJW are a very old British company who built JAP engines bikes of all sizes before the war. In the 1960s they imported a range on Italian 50s, can’t remember who was the constructor but it kept them going as a company for some years. They were properly pretty bits of kit
Would have been good to see a standing quarter mile race between these mopeds + Japanese FSIE AP50 etc, as it would be fun to know which was the quickest
The Japanese bikes were much heavier and 2hp less powerful, so it isn't even close. The Fantic TI and Super T were the quickest and were probably the reason mopeds were restricted
Loving this mate 👍 I had the gold predecessor to the FSIE the SS which I believe stood for sixteener special ? Mine was 1974 m reg, I was the oldest of my mates so on the road first, then they started getting there’s one had a Suzuki AP 50 one had a Garelli tiger cross, and the other won had a Fantic cabalero (which was a lot faster but kept burning holes in the piston ) we used to go everywhere together brilliant times, still riding with 2 of them today 👍
Probably not the meaning the company meant In the 60s Matchless released the CSR sort model Everyone called it the coffee shop racer well apart from Matchless of course
Hey there , i had an ap50 and my mate had a fs1e , another had the Honda ss50 but he usually got left in the distance ha ha . Good times but unfortunately i see none of them any more . Its good you still go out together 👍
@@josephsoap2698 my SS50 never got left behind, I sneaked a C70 top end and carb on it! Even my mates garelli rekord couldn't keep up with it and I never let on to any of my mates until about 20 years later!
These Italian peds are beautiful. Everyone seemed to go for the Honda SS, Yamaha FSIE or the Suzuki AP 50. Only one of our 'Ped Squad' had a Garelli 50 and no one really seemed interested in it!
Another great video, showing some rarities (from a UK perspective). Back in 1977/78 when I rode a Puch Grand Prix (well, a Monza actually, but only a colour scheme difference - £289 new in 77) every 16 year old had a moped; amongst the crowd of about 20 of my mates talk was often of the 'exotica' like those shown. Generally, the fastest mopeds were considered to be the 6 speed Fantic GT, and the Garelli Tiger Cross - unfortunately in the hands of the average testosterone-fuelled 16 year old they were far more fragile than the more solid FS1E / AP50. One guy said he'd seen, raced and got resoundedly beaten by a kid on a Giulietta Greyhound, but I never saw it. Oh and thank you for NOT calling it a 'Caba-yairo' ! We all know that's how it should be pronounced - but back in the 70s everyone called it the Caba-Lairo and that's what it will always be..
Well teens were never great at mechanical sympathy Such a shame when my son started on his ped A combination of modern people being brought up risk averse And the terrible 30 mph limit. How to make a small bike even more dangerous 🙄
Would love a video of the 70s trial bikes I had as a teenager.. Honda tl250... bultaco sherpa 250... Yamaha ty250... and my dream bike but never had was the stunningly beautiful montessa cota350..
I've never see a single one of these understandably because I live in the states . Although they were all beautiful machines . In my early teens in Texas there was a guy down the road with a 50cc factory chopper . I can't recall the make of it . The only chopper I've ever owned was a handmade ghetto bicycle from the 70s when you could hacksaw the forks at the top and simply slide them onto your existing forks . The double fork was common but if you had a triple fork ( where the middle one was upside down ) that baby would ride a 2 inch wheelie , any more height then it would flip . Such a shame for all of those screamers to be restricted to 30 mph . Downright criminal .
Worked for 2 years in part time jobs to get my Malaguti Oiymoique when I was 16 didnt help that Im dyslexic not a hope in hell of spelling it right even to this day! Brilliant machines they never blew up, it was a Morini engine and surprisingly strong mid range. Mate had Fantic chopper nearly as fast despite hauling round that big back wheel but new rings every 2 months. Garelli Super Cross was the fastest much as it greats me to say it and despite sit up and beg riding position but no such thing as a free lunch, bang that will be another piston but once a year. All brilliant fun nachines.
Bravo! I seem to recall there being a genital welfare worry about the strangely crafted metalwork between the handlebars of the Fantic Chopper, I only ever saw 1 of those back in the 70s parked at Cambridge CCAT (Tech), it did look nice though.
Weren’t too common. They had a habit of putting things on bikes that posted a serious threat to a man’s bits Check out the luggage tank rack fitted to some 60s Triumphs Only a women could have designed something like that
I had an fissile whilst my mate bought a malagutti moped that looked like a scrambler. Don’t know name. Think they were on a par on road but off road and yes I did take mine off road, his was superb
A Malaguti had a starring role on one of the great films of the early 1980s: Diva by Jean-Jacques Beineix. Worth a look, whether you like French cars and Italian mopeds or not.
Hmm Vespa brought out the original pedals 50cc smallframe scooter, the very popular 50 Special and the very popular PK50 which with a quite cheap 135cc cylinder kit turned it from a slowish moped into an absolute beast. Lambretta also produced the J range in 50cc form, as well as the Cometa and Vega in 50cc form. Vespa also produced an oddity called the PX80, it was a full size full blooded PX frame but with a 80cc engine that I seem to remember was a bit faster than the 30mph limit of a moped but petered out around the 40 mark. Most 80's were converted to 125cc or 150cc using the original block for cheaper insurance and tax.
You missed the Gilera 50 Enduro. Nice looking thing. I had the Gilera 50 Trial (all red frame). I forgot about the fully road going version with the chrome mudguards. Trials one was slow at about 45mph max. May have been geared differently to the road going version. My subsequent Suzuki AP50 did have 12V electrics, indicators, autolube and could do 50+mph. And it started first kick. So much more sophisticated.
@@josephsoap2698 Well I got my Gilera brand new on the 1st August 1975 for the new Registration letter as one did in those days. I couldn't ride it legally on the road until my 16th birthday in October. So mates and I used to push it up the old brickpits to try some trials. Nearly got stuck at the bottom of a pit once. You forgot it's only a weedy 4+ bhp. Also pushed it up to the old airfield to ride up and down the runways. Only one MoD caretaker security guy on a push bike, so easy to avoid him 😄
@@andrewdking Ha ha sounds like fun days . Before i was 16 i managed to buy a honda plac 50 which was still roadworthy , lights and indicators and even a mirror , i used to go out with my mate on his fizzy he was 2 years older . My mate would windme up when i had the plac coz it was slow , we used to race everywhere once i got the ap, great fun . Im a bit younger than you , 16 in 77.
@@josephsoap2698 I have no idea what a Honda PLAC 50 is. Nothing on Google. My mate Robin who is also mixed up in these comments somewhere got a very old Honda C50 Cub back in 74 or 75. We all cut our teeth on it up the airfield and the roads around the old WWII American base. Yes, great times. Also great places for bird nesting, all us country boys did back then.
2 of the best looking sports mopeds of all time are here. An apprentice at work had one of those red Gileras and it was beautiful. And a lad i knocked round with had the Malagutti with a 1 into 2 exhaust system.Sat aboard it looked like a tiny Moto Morini 3 1/2. The only downside to these exotic mopeds beside the price was the 6 volt electrics which was primitive even for then.
Basically said this for the 5 Japanese/non-Italian moped list, but there I was, July 73, in Cuwsorths, Doncaster. Rekord £172, SS50 £165, FS1E £159, IIRC! Went for the ss50. Prob best practical choice. Maybe not best for a 16 yo trying to impress.
Bought a Garelli kl5v cross new in 1978. Nice bike but restricted and slow would not climb hills easily even in lower gears. Very stylish though but on balance an Fs1e Yam was a better bet IMO.
In the mid seventies , me and my mates all had garellis records and tiger crosses, they were the fastest moped of them all if not a little fragile if thrashed constantly, then came the fantic GT, that was faster and sixteener proof lol !
I wouldn’t touch any motorcycle or scooter that didn’t have a Japanese brand name on it . I remember people that bought the fancy Italian sports mopeds ,found they handled good & went fast ,but had loads of reliability issues . I made the mistake of splashing out on a Malaguti 125 maxi styled CVT Twist & Go scooter in 2000 , as it had a Yamaha engine . The scooter handled like a Ducati & did 75 on clock 2 up on a good day . The engine was a Yam / Mirineli & bullet proof same as used on Yamaha Majesty 125 ,the problem was the woeful thin Italian wiring & electrical components & Malaguti ‘s attitude towards its U.K. customers . They kept falling out & switching U.K. importers ,because they refused to listen to U.K. customers & importers feed back . In the end they ceased imports of anything larger than 50 cc into the U.K.& left their customers of their larger machines without a parts supply . I could only get parts for the Yamaha engine from Yamaha . Malagutis reasoning was ,that they hadn’t sold enough of their high priced machines above 50 cc ,& not worth the bother of caring for U.K. customers ,who had bought their products in good faith . A while ago I noticed some new machines made in China being rebadged with the Malaguti logo ,& some other Italian names . If it’s the same old Malaguti firm I wouldn’t trust them ,their after sales customer care stinks . If I had been younger & 16 when the sports mopeds came out , i would of chosen a Fizzy ,Suzi AP 50 .Honda SS 50 ,& maybe the Puch Grand Prix job . No matter how much money I had ,I wouldn’t have give garage space to those Italian sports peds ,I like to know i have a good chance of not breaking down ,when I ride my motorcycles & I can get parts when & if needed .
Well as some one who has owned mostly larger machines I have found major reliability problems about the same level between Japanese and European brands I’ve had some absolute stinkers of jap bikes and some very good The Italian bikes I’ve owned have always been far more enjoyable to ride than the Japanese bikes And I’ve had machines from pretty much everywhere in my time so I can see avoiding anything non Japanese is just plain stupid
@@bikerdood1100 I have never once had any Japanese logo motorcycle small ,medium or large capacity no matter where produced ever break down., only ever had the odd puncture which I fix at roadside . Every time I have took s chance on other. brands I have always had nightmare issues of one description or another . The Italian bikes are no doubt fun to ride while they are running ,but I would not stake my life on one getting me home without breaking down ,nor would I trust any Italian to paint or chrome any parts or produce auto electrical parts ,wiring or contacts . The Chinese make far more reliable bikes now & that’s why the Italians & the other big companies have a lot of their parts ,engines & even full machines produced in China ,that’s the only reason Italian bikes are not as bad as the unreliable crap they used to produce . A couple of my bikes are Chinese made Suzuki & Thai built Honda both of them just as reliable as the Japanese built bikes I also owned that never let me down even after 20 years of ownership in one case . The longest I have owned an Italian machine without an issue is a couple of weeks from brand new . If you suffered any real issues with Japanese made bikes ,they were either the odd lemon ,or poorly serviced by a crap dealer or persons owning them or abused & neglected by same . No one I know of has had to replace anything bar normal wear & tear cycle or high mileage engine parts on a Japanese logo motorcycle & only ever broke down with a puncture ,or lack of fuel in their tanks . I had a mate who was mad on Italian bikes & he spent more time using his Robin reliant to fetch parts to fix his unreliable crocks of sh💩t . Like all fans of italian machinery he was a masochist with some obvious desire to punish himself .
@@maskedavenger2578 if you have never broken down then your either Unbelievable luck and I do mean Unbelievable Or you don5 ride much I’ve ridden all over Europe and have never broken down on an Italian bike. Why comment when you don’t have a clue what your talking about Just embarrassing You must gain you knowledge from pub talk Aka bullshit 😂😂😂😂😂
An Italy sports moped few have heard of is the Cimatti Sagittario P6 speed. This was basically a 50cc race bike with the minimum bits added to make it road legal it was claimed to have 9.5bhp 75mph top speed (in road tune higher in full race tune and gearing) and 0-40 in 4.3 sec what the reality of this was I don't know but if memory serves me right it was one of the mopeds that was named as the reason the UK needed to limit the speed of mopeds. Just to put that 0-40 time (if true) in perspective, that would put it about on par with an E-Type Jag to 40
Well 9.5hp is a lot for a 50 But not a lot I doubt acceleration would be all that good to be honest To get 75 from so little umph would probably need quite tall gearing
@@joelmclamore1898 not a name I’m familiar with, the Japanese companies liked to name their bikes in the US market but use number designations in Europe
UK must have had the weirdest rules for mopeds with the pedal 'must' Which seems far more dangerous than allowing to use pegs. Especially so if they had more or less unrestricted bhp for these 50cc? Winding those pedals backwards at say 40-50mph couldnt have shortened the braking distance!
I don't remember seeing any of these bikes in the U.K in the 70's probably because there were much cheaper alternatives. I started riding on a Raleigh Runabout then soon after got a one year old Honda 50 for 60 quid.
None were as popular as Japanese supermopeds, but they were around. Garelli were reasonably common, as were Gilera and both predated the FS1e on British roads. Malagutti were rare, only recall seeing one Olympique and one Fantic chopper on the road. A lot of European manufacturers decided to cash in on the supermoped boom by putting a motorcycle style petrol tank on an otherwise unremarkable moped, to appeal to teenagers. One dealer claimed to get 50% of all supermopeds back for repairs within 2 weeks of sale by youngsters who had crashed them! People who had a Garelli tended to be apprentices who were already working or rich kids, because a year later you could buy any bike up to 250cc including 100mph +/- bikes like the RD250 or Kawasaki triple.
The Italian's always had/have a flare for motorcycle design. Nearly always sporty to look at even though their small engines betrayed them.. My very first motorcycle was Bianchi 75...L think it was called a Gardena, it wasn't a moped in the classic 'peddle' sense however it looked sporty even though its performance wasn't anything to write home about...that was 62 years ago.. Much later l owned a Moto Guzzi LeMans 850..now there was a beautiful Bike..
Авто/Мото
Italian beauties! Gorgeous bikes.
Italian manufacturers can make beautiful bikes of all sizes
Fsntastic- bring a teenager in the 70's it brings back memories.
It’s all a surprisingly long time ago
Where did the time go
@@bikerdood1100 Indeed-
I shall always be grateful to my parents for buying me a 2nd hand Gilera 50 Touring for my 16th birthday in '78. I joined the local hooligans on their FS1E's and AP50's and terrorised the roads in Somerset, sort of. It started my love of biking and Italian motorcycles. Great video, loving this series.
Lucky you
@@bikerdood1100 I was lucky tbh, my mum was instrumental in getting me into bikes unlike some of my mates who had to convince their parents that riding a bike wouldn't kill them in the first week.
I had a Gilera too and was tearing around the one way ‘bike circuit’ in Wells town centre. Great times in 1979 😃
@@alexrankin8263 I remember seeing my old bike in Glastonbury a year or so after I px it for a Suzuki X7. You didn't buy your bike from Berni Hockey did you?
I was so proud of my Fs1e.... Until my mates day bought him a malaguti for his birthday 😢... Absolutely beautiful and had a really really fantastic exhaust roar... 😊😊😊
They do and they are
OMG, they are all stunningly beautiful, Italian motorcycle styling at its pinnacle. Thanks for posting. Malcolm.
You have to give to tie Italians they know how to do styling
Shame about the build quality though 🤨🇬🇧
@@AJ-qn6gd to be fair they weren't really built for the British climate.
I started out on a Puch Maxi but on starting my apprenticeship I bought a Garelli Cross. Sadly not to reliable and spares support was atrocious. I swapped the Garelli for a Fantic Chopper. It was absolutely amazing.
Had some 50 bikes since and still ride. At 65, recently downsized to an Enfield Meteor.
Love your videos. See so many bikes that passed through my hands.
Glad you enjoyed it
Never seen a Fantic chopper in the flesh but seen few pics, i assume same motor as other super mopeds
@@MrSlaphead1960 certainly seems to be
@@MrSlaphead1960 6 speed Minerelli, totally unrestricted
I had a 1976 Malaguti Monte and rode it to school when I was 16. Wonderful memories and what a fantastic moped.
Oh those Italian bikes
So pretty, so pricey
I've just subscribed to your fab channel.....love your voice and relaxed delivery.... great memories!!!
Thank you from Ireland, 🇮🇪
Thanks for the feedback and welcome
Thanks great video. I remember a small red 50cc machine in the 60s called an Itom.
They were produced primarily for racing and were a popular mount for racers in the 60s seeing use at the TT of course.
The First Lady ever to compete at the TT did so on an Itom
@@bikerdood1100 Thanks for sharing. The bike (itom) was running up and a road nearby. Legal? Perhaps not. Can still see it in my minds eye. Love your programme ,amazing content. Cheers
They are all exquisite.
They are real pretty
@@bikerdood1100 A few months back I was watching on YT some continentals (Cloggies or Belgians) racing 50cc around an industrial park. It was fab. You could hang them on the wall as art.
Thanks. You weren't wrong.
Your video brought back memories of me being envious of the guys who had the oh so stylish Italian mopeds.
I went on from my FS1E DX to a Moto Morini 3½ which was the sweetest handling bike of it's time. And on Devon twisty roads would outpace any equivalent Japanese bike. They would say goodbye on the straights though!
Glad you enjoyed it
That’s why we make em
Loved my Gilera Enduro. Seeing the headlight get brighter (relatively speaking) as the engine was revved reminded me of the 6v electrics!
6v lighting have it on my old BSA. Ok on its own but with modern vehicles around it gets completely overwhelmed
I am really enjoying the moped series, my first bike was a Garelli Tigercross, yes it was faster than most other mopeds but only just, the speedo would nudge 55 mph with a following wind. The electrics and lighting were feeble but it got me through the winter of 1978/9 without complaining all it required was the occasional spark plug and exhaust de coke.Travelling to college one snowy morning a car pulled out on me and I had to lay it down at 20 mph. I came to a stop took a few breaths , got back on it and carried on to college, other than the odd scratch the bike was undamaged! Was life much simpler then?☺☺
Will likely make some more but it pays to take a break from a subject
loving this video and also the fact that there are so many other relics from the 70s reminiscing about the nifty fifties that we coveted and occassionally owned.
Some of these very occasionally
Bit on the pricey side
I have a Fantic GT and am really enjoying feeling 16 again 😁
Well we can never be 16 again sadly so enjoy the feel while you can
I had a orange fantic ti,six speed gearbox,crash bars and a long back rest......oh wot fun we had in the 70s.
Crash gears ?
I had a Garelli Record. OHO81L.
Right foot change 1 up and 3 down. The Del'Orto carb would flood the cylinder if petrol tap wasn't switched off as soon as engine was stopped. No brake light switch (I added one). When wound up was faster than my mates FS1E's with my 6.5hp as opposed to their 4 5. Funny rectangular headlight.
Nipped up the piston/liner once. Had a chromed liner so it was all scrap. New piston, rings and cylinder was 16 pounds and fifty pence uk.
I was only earning/ taking home 16 pounds and ten pence a week. Geez.
Bikes can be money pits
I am old enough to have missed the moped era and started on a 197cc Villiers powered Greeves. That said I did always think the Italian mopeds just looked so good and well built. Great video thanks.
They do do styling well over there
I had a Fantic Chopper. Briefly. Me and my mate Dave rode our mopeds from London to Great Yarmouth in 75. Our camping holiday. The tent going up in his dad's car. We had a great time, but the Fantic came apart and seized on the way home. Misery. Took me months to save for another bike, and got a gold RD 200. Whoosh! I have a tear in my eye as I think of it. Mary Hopkin was right.
Well those were the days
See I got it
I think a lot seizures relate to crappy oil and on premix getting it just right wasn’t always easy
Frank certainly does have some fine looking machines in his shop... Almost like stepping into a time machine...
Dangerous places dealers
You go in just for a look and leave with a much lighter wallet
Thank you for this. I had a loveaffair with the Minarelli P4 and P6 back then, so nice to se (and hear) them again. ;o)
Glad you enjoyed it
Lovely look back to the mopeds of my teens. I owned a Gilera 50 Touring, just like the one shown, except for the colours - mine was yellow with a blue frame.
On the example in the video, the horn has been wired to the wrong button - The black plastic button is for the horn, the small brass one on the switch housing is for the engine cut - out, as no ignition switch is fitted.
Well either the company changed it or it’s been rewired I suppose
Well either the company changed it or it’s been rewired I suppose
Nice one...! Happy now...Cheers Bud.
Well we try
There was a quirky bike shop in the area where I grew up called Downtown Motorcycles. They changed hand and became more main stream, but in the mid to late 70s they sold Garelli and Fantic Motor machines. I remember once seeing a Gitaine sports moped. It was electric blue with orange stripes and had a racing fairing, I imagine it was French. They also sold Vokshod and Cossac machines and other obscure things like the Neval Minsk 125.
Ah the Minsk
Yet another bike based on the DKW RT125 dot the BSA bantam, Harley Hummer, MZ and Yamaha’s first bike and more besides
Before moving on to bigger and faster stuff, I spent literally the whole of 1976 thrashing around on a Fantic GT! That was one hot, long summer. The Fantic was a really good machine and, in truth, nothing saw it off because it definitely had the edge on both acceleration, handling and top end. Great times. But, fundamentally, it all boiled down to our large pack of 30+ FS1Es, SS50s and a Fantic Super T (the one with the 98 dB pea shooter for an exhaust), spending all of its time after school, hunting for other moped packs to race and, vice versa. Fisticuffs were optional. After the moped year, around 80% went straight to cars. Whereas the maniacs, myself included, all stuck to two wheels, often one, and got to see many more nurses, and also discovered what an orthopaedic surgeon did for a living!
Italians made em lookers too
@@bikerdood1100 Indeed they did. The Fantic GT was a very nice looking machine, they got everything right on that one. You may be amused to hear that I did my paper round on mine, which certainly woke them all up, and made many seriously regret not giving me a fat Christmas Bonus! The main impact of that was I went through three Centre Stands, because of the number of stops I made every morning. I had to fling it onto the stand every delivery, so maybe 40-50 times a day, every day, for a whole year! Obviously, that was way more than its design limits! The metal was quite thin, and the repeated use bent the lug that kept the back wheel in the air when on the stand. Tried having one welded, but it didn't work, so found I just had to buy new ones.
One fine morning, just days after my 16th Birthday, I came off it for the first time and found another issue. There was some electrical connection, I think near the horn or at least close to the exhaust, and a small bolt that held that on, would break when one came off on the port side! That broke the Earth for the electrics and ignition, so it involved a push home. After that happened, ahem, a few times, I kept a bolt with me thereafter.
UPDATE: I think I've remembered what caused that, the Fantic came with a neat looking set of engine crash bars at the front, that were affixed at the top via the small bolt that held the horn on. That bolt is also an Earthing Point for the electrics. The bolt was also way too small for crash bars, so any tumble and that bolt would break, and render the electrics kaput until that Earth was fixed. So it was a 3rd Party Modification issue. I eventually dumped those bars, as they were more cosmetic than functional, and so I did not have that problem in later coming off events (there were a few)!
One other fine morning, when on my paper round, I collided with a Milk Float! I delivered to some very large houses, often with two entrances, both with walls on either side. At 6am there was usually no traffic around, so I'd bomb in and out of these at max chat, as I raced between houses. I was just charging into one, as the Milk Float elected to come the other way! So, I had a rapid choice between colliding with either of two hard walls, or a softer Milk Float, so I quickly elected to ram the latter head on.
Thankfully it was mostly made of plastic so, I bounced off that, and ended up in a sh1tty heap in front of it. The Milko was a fine biking chap, who found that hilarious, as it was something he didn't encounter every day. We had a nice chat about bikes, over a shared pint of Gold Top milk, mainly so I could get my wind back. The Fantic seemed fine, ramming Milk Floats was not a problem for it.
@@keithharrison1453 nice memories, thanks for sharing.
Thanks very much that was most enjoyable. My first powered two wheeler was a Vespa Ciao moped. Later on, i owned a Benelli 250 2C two stroke which was an unusual and interesting bike.
I pretty bike those Benelli twins
All beautiful 👌🏻😎 my nephew had a Portuguese Casal in the late 70’s , at the time it was rated as the most powerful 50cc moped you could buy, it used to fly, but seemed to require a top end rebuild every few weeks , oh and it was Ugly too 🤪
If this video proves popular I intend to do a third with other European mopeds not yet mentioned
Casal , Puch etc
Portuguese, I was told by the local baker's son who had one, it was German. Whatever, he also said it was the fastest moped of that era, so I concur. 70mph ish apparently ?
@@bikerdood1100 defo do some more on the other "ped" makers (kriedler, zundap, mz simson etc), my mate had a BSA Beaver (restricted the unrestricted was the Brigand --- different exhaust (tho you could derestrict the beaver exhaust with a bit of work) and 19mm Dellorto as opposed to the beavers 14 mm carb), nicely styled little bike but the electrics were a nightmare (typical Italian) and the speedo needle just bounced around (typical CEV like the electrics) and yes it had the Minarelli motor (good powerful engine but fragile needing good and carefully measured 2 stroke pre-mix).
@@andrewdking my nephew reckoned he had seen 70 waving around on the speedo (i didn’t believe him then, but I was probably just jealous) he was nearly a third lighter than me, but it did fly, it reminded me of a motocross level of tune, a far cry from my SS50 ZB although it never had a spanner near it,except oil and plug changes
Having grown up in Italy the variety of 50cc bikes was huge and most did not have pedals, and to us kids were real motorcycles. I had a Motom 50 Cross with a 4 stroke engine and 3 on the bars, a very odd machine. Then I rode a Malaguti Roncobilaccio cross bike which seemed quite inferior to the bikes my mates were riding. Even the Vespa 50 was much faster. The Gilera and Fantic models were far superior. The government tried to limit performance by restricting stock carbs to 14mm, in most cases these were quickly replaced by 19 or even 21 mm carbs usually del’orto units. Anyway those years were a blast. Keep up the great vids.
Well yeh calling em mopeds was just a technicality of law really
Some comments get bey hot under the collar about this for some reason, but it’s simply how UK law described them
Glad you covered the Caballero. I am in the middle of building two. A 50 and a 125 both belonging to my daughter . She is only 11 so I have plenty of time.
Well no rush
Which is good , plenty of time to get it right
super ,merci !!! moi en 1975 j'ai eu ,paloma cross et gitane testi champion ✌
Peut-etre la prochaine video
I remember in the late 70’s / early 80’s there was a popular funfair / arcade ride where they had a coin operated Gilera 50 in a cage and you could ride it. The engine did not run, instead it was on electric rollers and would thrash from side to side in the cage when you rode it. Does anyone else remember this? One of my friends had a Gilera and we all called it the cage bike.
True
I always wondered if Gilera sold them bikes with no internals
I remember seeing a Malaguti Monte on one of these seaside rides. I was always curious to know if they were potential runners as I was regularly on the hunt for pistons, needle roller small ends and/barrels for mine!
I had the Gilera and a Fantic Cab. They were both quick for the time. The Gilera was tough but the Fantic was fragile.
Did they use the same engine, I can’t remember
@@bikerdood1100 I can't remember to be honest but the Fantic had a chrome bore.
I had a blue metallic Malaguti V4 between 1980 and 1982. Loved that bike!
They did make a pretty bike didn’t they
@@bikerdood1100 Indeed, classic lines and the 1-2 exhaust was stunning. Add to that the fantastic engine and you have a real lightweight racer. Loved my V4 even though every cop was checking it out for „performance improvements“.
Italy was the best in small size motorbike in the 70s the famous 50cc which you could drive if you were 14 years old without helmet and without licence ,Malanca,Cimatti Aspes etc etc ..so many to mention
I’m sure many would disagree
But as a life time Guzzi man
Of course
YaY! A Gilera 50 Trail! My first bike! Hehe, everyone called it the Trial 50, me included. I knew nothing about bikes, but already had a car license. This machine looked bigger than the sum of it's parts. A cop even stopped me once when I was giving my bro a lift while I still had "L" plates on! He assumed it was a 100cc, just because of its overall appearance.
Glad it brought some good memories back
I remember my first machine was a Puch M50 sport, obviously not featured here but I also remember my local petrol station had a hand operated two stroke oil pump on the forecourt, 50p a GALLON! Of petrol and 50p for two shots of oil.
I will get round to it of course
My cousin had a Puch M50 Gran Prix Special. Black and Gold just like the F1 cars. Beautiful.
Makes you wish you could go back and be a teen again.
@@dereksmith6126 well maybe not teens
All that anxiety and spots
@@bikerdood1100 I never had spots as a teen and just paying bills now makes me much more anxious 😂😂
Love the sounds , the Tiger cross takes me right back to the mid seventies , I read ever write up going from 73 on , nearly went for a Fantic Ti but went Honda instead . Some great little bikes 👍
Nothing like the sound of a 2 stroke
If you remember Rob, Graham O had a blue Fantic Ti. Bloody thing would never start, so lucky you went for the yellow 5 speed SS50
@@andrewdking I only remember his Puch 2 or 3 speed .
@@robinbowler2955 And I don't remember him having a Puch of any kind, only an NSU Quickly. Basically, they were all old 2nd hand and knackered, so don't think he ever made it out onto the road for real. That's odd because his Dad was an RAC recovery man, so should have bought him something much more reliable 🤷
@@andrewdking you’re right it was a NSU Quickly ( slowly ) , my old Post Office Telegram moped was a Puch with twist gears , I was mixing them up .
Brilliant video. I know someone who has still got a fantic chopper all original my cousin used to have a fantic motor and think he paid £350.00 but can't be sure as was only young at the time lol looking forward to more videos stay safe 🇬🇧👍
Bit rich for most 16 year olds back then
In 1978 i was 16 bought a year old Malaguti Olympiqe cafe racer . Little did i know just what an astonishing little bike it was ? Sadly i wrecked it , but not before fs1e riders got shown their fastest bike was completly trashed with me only in 3rd . About the same speed as a Honda 125 .
If only i knew then what i know now , bought for £200 sold as a wreck a year later for £5 . But have the memories .
Definitely no slouch then
Just think it’s value if you hadn’t wrecked it and stored it away somewhere
Wish I’d looked after my ap and my c70 better now
When reminiscing these great days does anybody else start singining "Funky moped" by Jasper Carrot ??
I remember some older lads taking the piss asking if I'd had 39mph yet out of my SS50.
Well I did hum it while editing the video to be honest
I had a malaguti olympique in red with drop handlebars and a small headlight fairing. Great little bike and so fast for a 50cc. Always used to jump out of first gear, so had to pull away in second, but when it got going, it would pee all over the fs1e and ap 50s. 7 bhp and fitted with a quite small rear sprocket. Only problem, as you say, was seizing, it used to do it at least every 2-3 months, so I learnt fast how to repair myself. Simple on a two stroke.
Difficult to get lubrication right with premix
Fabulous video mate! There were several Garelli Tiger Crosses and a Fantic chopper, and possibly a Gilera where I lived as a 16 year old, but alas no Malaguttis.
Good mix all the same
@@bikerdood1100 Especially when you add it to 3 or 4 Casals - including 2 fabled Phantom 5 with rev counter and big bike looks, 2 Puch Grand Prix and 2 Kreidler Florets. Add to that only 3 Honda SS50s and a couple of AP50s and the rest were Fizzies - too many to count. And that was just at school before I got to Tech College. 😁
The one no one seems to remember is the simson 50, which was actually a MZ I think. I only knew one lad that had one and we all used to take the piss but it was actually a bloody good ped, faster than any of the APs or fizzies that most of our group rode and it was super reliable aswell.
I do a local dealer sold them in the 80s, quite a lot of RUclips on the Simson
I don’t believe they were actually built by MZ
@@bikerdood1100 yep, you're right, after I posted that comment I googled simson and there's no mention of MZ, when I was 16 and still at school there was a teacher who had a MZ 250, looking back they were phenomenal bikes but very odd looking. We used to take the piss out of that teacher every chance we got and when this lad turned up on his brand new simson I guess someone must've said it was actually a MZ 50, but yeah, like you said, no connection👍
Ah more memories I had Garelli moped I think it was a Tiger cross but early 80's model which like you say was a screamer but a restricted model not that it stopped us from tinkering, I also had an AJW Greyhound which had the Marelli 50cc 6 speed engine which was another little screamer & a guy who lived a couple of miles away had the AJW Wolfhound which looked similar but had a 3 speed hand gear change. I've seen a a Greyhound on Ebay once many years ago come up for sale but that's the only time since owning one, I still remember the numberplate LBD 84P but sadly long gone now.
Glad it Brough back some memories
Did for me too
Ages since I made that one 😂
I had a Honda ss50 as my parents thought it more safe, man it was slow, my friend Joe had a Fantic motor GT and joined the army as a cadet, he came home on leave. Took it out one night and stuck his knee into a cars rear wing, ruined his knee and career in the army. His dad gave it to me and after fixing the broken gear selector fork when hit the car, i had a much faster moped. As the guy mentioned poor oil quality in garages mine seized up one day and was left in my parents shed to rot, along with the SS50 back in 1977. If only i had known. Went from that to a Honda 125J then a year later in 78 got a 400N super dream. Fond memories often wonder how my mate Joe got on after his terrible accident.
Ahh parents
They always think slower = safer
Er no it most certainly does not
Rode a restricted 50 one time, terrifying
My dad wouldn't sign for an FS1E because it was a 2 stroke so I ended up with a blue SS50 which I loved anyway.
2 months later I ran into the back of a Vauxhall Viva and buggered my knee up too.😢
In 1981 I had a Garelli Tiger, learned all about threadlock, and yes, it was quick enough to keep up with cars out of town.
Moved to an RD250E when I turned 17.
That would have been quite a bit quicker
That brings back memories. Probably around 1978, I had a Malaguti Olympique and my brother had a Malaguti Cavalcone. The olympique was rough and ready but really quick, and I used to slipstream cars on the A3 going to Kingston college. Parts were no problem as the importers used to be in Ripley, so when we needed pistons and rings, which was quite often, we could pop down the road an grab them. I am going to hope my memory is good and say mine was SPJ958R ….
Thanks for sharing your memories
I had a Monte, SPJ 855R!
At the tender age of 14 in 1975 I reseached (no internet of course) the fastest moped available, and chose an AJW greyhound with a P6 minarelli engine. It looked fantastic in a beautiful deep red with clip on bars and sports seat. Once I got to 16 and could ride it, it always failed to meet my high hopes, topped out at just under 50mph,, same as a fizzy. Had a few seizures. But then, I found someone who had the top end form a Fantic Chopper. Put this top end on my AJW, fitted an expansion chamber, and whooppee - it flew. A mate older than me bought a Yam RS100, but my little AJW could stay alongside him, must have been revving to over 10,000 rpm and doing about 63mph.
AJW are a very old British company who built JAP engines bikes of all sizes before the war. In the 1960s they imported a range on Italian 50s, can’t remember who was the constructor but it kept them going as a company for some years. They were properly pretty bits of kit
Would have been good to see a standing quarter mile race between these mopeds + Japanese FSIE AP50 etc, as it would be fun to know which was the quickest
It would take bloody ages
I had a Fantic GT never got beaten by any Japanese ped
The Japanese bikes were much heavier and 2hp less powerful, so it isn't even close. The Fantic TI and Super T were the quickest and were probably the reason mopeds were restricted
Loving this mate 👍 I had the gold predecessor to the FSIE the SS which I believe stood for sixteener special ? Mine was 1974 m reg, I was the oldest of my mates so on the road first, then they started getting there’s one had a Suzuki AP 50 one had a Garelli tiger cross, and the other won had a Fantic cabalero (which was a lot faster but kept burning holes in the piston ) we used to go everywhere together brilliant times, still riding with 2 of them today 👍
Probably not the meaning the company meant
In the 60s Matchless released the CSR sort model
Everyone called it the coffee shop racer well apart from Matchless of course
Hey there , i had an ap50 and my mate had a fs1e , another had the Honda ss50 but he usually got left in the distance ha ha . Good times but unfortunately i see none of them any more . Its good you still go out together 👍
@@josephsoap2698 we all grew up together in the same village and all met at the primary school at 5 years old and still friends now 😆
@@bikerdood1100 🤣🤣 When I was younger my brother had a 250 twin Francis Barnett and apparently everyone called them Fanny Bs.
@@josephsoap2698 my SS50 never got left behind, I sneaked a C70 top end and carb on it! Even my mates garelli rekord couldn't keep up with it and I never let on to any of my mates until about 20 years later!
I had a Gilera similar to the one here, I loved it but on a quiet day you could hear it rusting!
That’s the1979s for you
Everything rusted
Cars especially
Hahahaha they were a beautiful little bike but the electrics weren't up to it and the pedals were being the Japanese.
I had a 1964 Garelli Junior. Bored it out to 98c.c. and used to thrash all the Hondas and Zundapps!
Well you were cheating 😂
@@bikerdood1100 I know, but they never knew!
These Italian peds are beautiful. Everyone seemed to go for the Honda SS, Yamaha FSIE or the Suzuki AP 50. Only one of our 'Ped Squad' had a Garelli 50 and no one really seemed interested in it!
They should have been
Fast and expensive
What is not to love
Another great video, showing some rarities (from a UK perspective). Back in 1977/78 when I rode a Puch Grand Prix (well, a Monza actually, but only a colour scheme difference - £289 new in 77) every 16 year old had a moped; amongst the crowd of about 20 of my mates talk was often of the 'exotica' like those shown. Generally, the fastest mopeds were considered to be the 6 speed Fantic GT, and the Garelli Tiger Cross - unfortunately in the hands of the average testosterone-fuelled 16 year old they were far more fragile than the more solid FS1E / AP50. One guy said he'd seen, raced and got resoundedly beaten by a kid on a Giulietta Greyhound, but I never saw it.
Oh and thank you for NOT calling it a 'Caba-yairo' ! We all know that's how it should be pronounced - but back in the 70s everyone called it the Caba-Lairo and that's what it will always be..
Well teens were never great at mechanical sympathy
Such a shame when my son started on his ped
A combination of modern people being brought up risk averse
And the terrible 30 mph limit. How to make a small bike even more dangerous 🙄
Would love a video of the 70s trial bikes I had as a teenager.. Honda tl250... bultaco sherpa 250... Yamaha ty250... and my dream bike but never had was the stunningly beautiful montessa cota350..
Interesting idea 🤔
I've never see a single one of these understandably because I live in the states . Although they were all beautiful machines . In my early teens in Texas there was a guy down the road with a 50cc factory chopper . I can't recall the make of it . The only chopper I've ever owned was a handmade ghetto bicycle from the 70s when you could hacksaw the forks at the top and simply slide them onto your existing forks . The double fork was common but if you had a triple fork ( where the middle one was upside down ) that baby would ride a 2 inch wheelie , any more height then it would flip .
Such a shame for all of those screamers to be restricted to 30 mph . Downright criminal .
30 was too slow to be safe, before 77 they were left to do the worst however
Worked for 2 years in part time jobs to get my Malaguti Oiymoique when I was 16 didnt help that Im dyslexic not a hope in hell of spelling it right even to this day! Brilliant machines they never blew up, it was a Morini engine and surprisingly strong mid range. Mate had Fantic chopper nearly as fast despite hauling round that big back wheel but new rings every 2 months. Garelli Super Cross was the fastest much as it greats me to say it and despite sit up and beg riding position but no such thing as a free lunch, bang that will be another piston but once a year. All brilliant fun nachines.
Sounds like you had some good times
Bravo! I seem to recall there being a genital welfare worry about the strangely crafted metalwork between the handlebars of the Fantic Chopper, I only ever saw 1 of those back in the 70s parked at Cambridge CCAT (Tech), it did look nice though.
Weren’t too common.
They had a habit of putting things on bikes that posted a serious threat to a man’s bits
Check out the luggage tank rack fitted to some 60s Triumphs
Only a women could have designed something like that
I went to college in 78-79 with a bloke who had a Caballero chopper moped, sounded like a wasp in a jam jar but looked pretty cool 😊
It was a truly wired device
Verdomd mooie brommers.
👍🏻
I had an fissile whilst my mate bought a malagutti moped that looked like a scrambler. Don’t know name. Think they were on a par on road but off road and yes I did take mine off road, his was superb
Off road is where these bike’s belong 😂
A Malaguti had a starring role on one of the great films of the early 1980s: Diva by Jean-Jacques Beineix.
Worth a look, whether you like French cars and Italian mopeds or not.
Who doesn’t like a classic French car
DS was an amazing piece of engineering and beautiful too
Is it me, or has the Garelli at 9:38 got it's cylinder head on backwards?
Hmm 🤔
Possibly
Hmm Vespa brought out the original pedals 50cc smallframe scooter, the very popular 50 Special and the very popular PK50 which with a quite cheap 135cc cylinder kit turned it from a slowish moped into an absolute beast. Lambretta also produced the J range in 50cc form, as well as the Cometa and Vega in 50cc form. Vespa also produced an oddity called the PX80, it was a full size full blooded PX frame but with a 80cc engine that I seem to remember was a bit faster than the 30mph limit of a moped but petered out around the 40 mark. Most 80's were converted to 125cc or 150cc using the original block for cheaper insurance and tax.
This video is very much about sports mopeds, scooters really would deserve a video of their own being very different machines
I had a 75cc Mondial (Italian) 1961 do you have any info on it?
I expect the bike was a Scugnizzo 75. It used a two stroke engine and looked very sporty, pretty thing
You missed the Gilera 50 Enduro. Nice looking thing. I had the Gilera 50 Trial (all red frame). I forgot about the fully road going version with the chrome mudguards. Trials one was slow at about 45mph max. May have been geared differently to the road going version. My subsequent Suzuki AP50 did have 12V electrics, indicators, autolube and could do 50+mph. And it started first kick. So much more sophisticated.
No generally trying to do one bike per make as a rule
Can’t fit em all in after all
I rode a garrelli off road from about 15 , I too picked the Ap50 ,at 16 thought it was the dogs bollocks at the time ha ha .
@@josephsoap2698 Well I got my Gilera brand new on the 1st August 1975 for the new Registration letter as one did in those days. I couldn't ride it legally on the road until my 16th birthday in October. So mates and I used to push it up the old brickpits to try some trials. Nearly got stuck at the bottom of a pit once. You forgot it's only a weedy 4+ bhp. Also pushed it up to the old airfield to ride up and down the runways. Only one MoD caretaker security guy on a push bike, so easy to avoid him 😄
@@andrewdking Ha ha sounds like fun days . Before i was 16 i managed to buy a honda plac 50 which was still roadworthy , lights and indicators and even a mirror , i used to go out with my mate on his fizzy he was 2 years older . My mate would windme up when i had the plac coz it was slow , we used to race everywhere once i got the ap, great fun . Im a bit younger than you , 16 in 77.
@@josephsoap2698 I have no idea what a Honda PLAC 50 is. Nothing on Google.
My mate Robin who is also mixed up in these comments somewhere got a very old Honda C50 Cub back in 74 or 75. We all cut our teeth on it up the airfield and the roads around the old WWII American base. Yes, great times. Also great places for bird nesting, all us country boys did back then.
2 of the best looking sports mopeds of all time are here.
An apprentice at work had one of those red Gileras and it was beautiful.
And a lad i knocked round with had the Malagutti with a 1 into 2 exhaust system.Sat aboard it looked like a tiny Moto Morini 3 1/2.
The only downside to these exotic mopeds beside the price was the 6 volt electrics which was primitive even for then.
Those Italians do have an artistic flare
i had a garelli in the 70s. cost 50p. a brilliant bike and i really wish i still had it. you could pull away in 4th!
Wait 50p ?
I always thought the best looking mopeds were Garelli tiger & record and the Fantic GT.
Well having looked at the videos it’s hard to disagree, those Italians have a good eye for styling
never ever saw a motto guzzi 50 cc. see all the others and afew you missed.. like the puch grand prix for example. very popular bike.
Didn’t miss out Puch
Check the title
Puch are Austrian 🇦🇹
The built of Gizzs sales in the 60s came from small stuff in reality
Basically said this for the 5 Japanese/non-Italian moped list, but there I was, July 73, in Cuwsorths, Doncaster. Rekord £172, SS50 £165, FS1E £159, IIRC! Went for the ss50. Prob best practical choice. Maybe not best for a 16 yo trying to impress.
If you want show and go in a small engine it’s two strokes every time
Bought a Garelli kl5v cross new in 1978. Nice bike but restricted and slow would not climb hills easily even in lower gears. Very stylish though but on balance an Fs1e Yam was a better bet IMO.
The restricted bikes are dangerous in my opinion
In the mid seventies , me and my mates all had garellis records and tiger crosses, they were the fastest moped of them all if not a little fragile if thrashed constantly, then came the fantic GT, that was faster and sixteener proof lol !
Is anything teen proof I wonder ?
You have fogot about the malagutti 50 on off road trial bike i owned one it was so much fun only 50cc trial bike you could ajust its ride hight
No but I try to make it one biker per company per video
What happened to cimatti?
🤷🏼
Italia was a leader on that time
Still are
MotoGP
@@bikerdood1100 yes they are but i meant italia had so many trade marks
@@besnikillyrian8520 oh
Well not as many today unfortunately
I wouldn’t touch any motorcycle or scooter that didn’t have a Japanese brand name on it . I remember people that bought the fancy Italian sports mopeds ,found they handled good & went fast ,but had loads of reliability issues . I made the mistake of splashing out on a Malaguti 125 maxi styled CVT Twist & Go scooter in 2000 , as it had a Yamaha engine . The scooter handled like a Ducati & did 75 on clock 2 up on a good day . The engine was a Yam / Mirineli & bullet proof same as used on Yamaha Majesty 125 ,the problem was the woeful thin Italian wiring & electrical components & Malaguti ‘s attitude towards its U.K. customers . They kept falling out & switching U.K. importers ,because they refused to listen to U.K. customers & importers feed back . In the end they ceased imports of anything larger than 50 cc into the U.K.& left their customers of their larger machines without a parts supply . I could only get parts for the Yamaha engine from Yamaha . Malagutis reasoning was ,that they hadn’t sold enough of their high priced machines above 50 cc ,& not worth the bother of caring for U.K. customers ,who had bought their products in good faith . A while ago I noticed some new machines made in China being rebadged with the Malaguti logo ,& some other Italian names . If it’s the same old Malaguti firm I wouldn’t trust them ,their after sales customer care stinks . If I had been younger & 16 when the sports mopeds came out , i would of chosen a Fizzy ,Suzi AP 50 .Honda SS 50 ,& maybe the Puch Grand Prix job . No matter how much money I had ,I wouldn’t have give garage space to those Italian sports peds ,I like to know i have a good chance of not breaking down ,when I ride my motorcycles & I can get parts when & if needed .
Well as some one who has owned mostly larger machines
I have found major reliability problems about the same level between Japanese and European brands
I’ve had some absolute stinkers of jap bikes and some very good
The Italian bikes I’ve owned have always been far more enjoyable to ride than the Japanese bikes
And I’ve had machines from pretty much everywhere in my time so I can see avoiding anything non Japanese is just plain stupid
@@bikerdood1100 I have never once had any Japanese logo motorcycle small ,medium or large capacity no matter where produced ever break down., only ever had the odd puncture which I fix at roadside . Every time I have took s chance on other. brands I have always had nightmare issues of one description or another . The Italian bikes are no doubt fun to ride while they are running ,but I would not stake my life on one getting me home without breaking down ,nor would I trust any Italian to paint or chrome any parts or produce auto electrical parts ,wiring or contacts . The Chinese make far more reliable bikes now & that’s why the Italians & the other big companies have a lot of their parts ,engines & even full machines produced in China ,that’s the only reason Italian bikes are not as bad as the unreliable crap they used to produce . A couple of my bikes are Chinese made Suzuki & Thai built Honda both of them just as reliable as the Japanese built bikes I also owned that never let me down even after 20 years of ownership in one case . The longest I have owned an Italian machine without an issue is a couple of weeks from brand new . If you suffered any real issues with Japanese made bikes ,they were either the odd lemon ,or poorly serviced by a crap dealer or persons owning them or abused & neglected by same . No one I know of has had to replace anything bar normal wear & tear cycle or high mileage engine parts on a Japanese logo motorcycle & only ever broke down with a puncture ,or lack of fuel in their tanks . I had a mate who was mad on Italian bikes & he spent more time using his Robin reliant to fetch parts to fix his unreliable crocks of sh💩t . Like all fans of italian machinery he was a masochist with some obvious desire to punish himself .
@@maskedavenger2578 if you have never broken down then your either Unbelievable luck and I do mean Unbelievable
Or you don5 ride much
I’ve ridden all over Europe and have never broken down on an Italian bike.
Why comment when you don’t have a clue what your talking about
Just embarrassing
You must gain you knowledge from pub talk
Aka bullshit 😂😂😂😂😂
An Italy sports moped few have heard of is the Cimatti Sagittario P6 speed. This was basically a 50cc race bike with the minimum bits added to make it road legal it was claimed to have 9.5bhp 75mph top speed (in road tune higher in full race tune and gearing) and 0-40 in 4.3 sec what the reality of this was I don't know but if memory serves me right it was one of the mopeds that was named as the reason the UK needed to limit the speed of mopeds. Just to put that 0-40 time (if true) in perspective, that would put it about on par with an E-Type Jag to 40
Well 9.5hp is a lot for a 50
But not a lot
I doubt acceleration would be all that good to be honest
To get 75 from so little umph would probably need quite tall gearing
@@bikerdood1100 I guess with 6 gears to play with it could have 4 low for acceleration then 2 high for speed
I rode a cimatti 50 In the early 70,s,it was zippy.
The Suzuki gaucho was fast for a 50 cc.
@@joelmclamore1898 not a name I’m familiar with, the Japanese companies liked to name their bikes in the US market but use number designations in Europe
UK must have had the weirdest rules for mopeds with the pedal 'must' Which seems far more dangerous than allowing to use pegs. Especially so if they had more or less unrestricted bhp for these 50cc? Winding those pedals backwards at say 40-50mph couldnt have shortened the braking distance!
Indeed it did and does
Like to see testi 50 cc, thanks
It’s in another video on European mopeds
I don't remember seeing any of these bikes in the U.K in the 70's probably because there were much cheaper alternatives. I started riding on a Raleigh Runabout then soon after got a one year old Honda 50 for 60 quid.
Well some were expensive it’s true but oh how pretty they are
None were as popular as Japanese supermopeds, but they were around. Garelli were reasonably common, as were Gilera and both predated the FS1e on British roads. Malagutti were rare, only recall seeing one Olympique and one Fantic chopper on the road. A lot of European manufacturers decided to cash in on the supermoped boom by putting a motorcycle style petrol tank on an otherwise unremarkable moped, to appeal to teenagers. One dealer claimed to get 50% of all supermopeds back for repairs within 2 weeks of sale by youngsters who had crashed them! People who had a Garelli tended to be apprentices who were already working or rich kids, because a year later you could buy any bike up to 250cc including 100mph +/- bikes like the RD250 or Kawasaki triple.
@@borderlands6606 well they wouldn’t be as popular given their relative expense
The Italian's always had/have a flare for motorcycle design. Nearly always sporty to look at even though their small engines betrayed them.. My very first motorcycle was Bianchi 75...L think it was called a Gardena, it wasn't a moped in the classic 'peddle' sense however it looked sporty even though its performance wasn't anything to write home about...that was 62 years ago.. Much later l owned a Moto Guzzi LeMans 850..now there was a beautiful Bike..
Le Mans 850 remains my all time favourite
Hello, the first motorcycles were mopeds. 🤗
No shit
Please put a headset on and try to listen to your voice. You produce great streams but i cant watch them .Sorry mate .
Please learn to understand haw English people actually speak
And or buy better ear phones
piaggio ciao left the chat
I didn’t mention the Piaggio Ciao it’s true
Why?
thanks i enjoyed the vid but fantic caballero is from spain not from italy
Might want to check on that
My research says Italy 🇮🇹
Remember a triumph Dolomite was still built n Coventry
In contrast, I started off with a Puch MS50D. Possibly the ugliest thing on two wheels!
I bet you loved it all the same
I rode a 50cc mini trail bike called an italjet in the late 70s.
Italjet were very well known for there trials machines and in the 90s for scooters