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MOTO GUZZI
SUPERALCE
CROSS
. Un mezzomilitorerobustotrosformoto
dol moresciollo
dell'esercito
Toncorre.
Loveroontenotodellemolo do cross
diCiiln l'io Olloft
f o t oJ i l , ! o l { ' ( i t r n .
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a specirlit; del fuoristradamotociclisticoin Europahn le sueori
Ainichesip.rdonon€llanotle dei
trmpi.
Gij nel lontano1909in Cran Br€tdna
garcdr rrdolrrili c di
5i orEanizzarono
sterrntr
r cost.llatidi
ab'lltisu pcrcorsi
.sp€rit)r dirlivelli.Pri t.rdi !€nnero
introdotti sul pcrcorsoftatti speciali.
pin difficoltosi
ed imperlr,sui qu.li i
concorrcntidovevrnodar provr della
loro brnurrndi duida,ed tano un vero
e propriocolhudo p€r laffidabilitl dei
CosiquestecompetizionireSohristiche
di fuoristradn
venneroin Cranlrreta€na
ehi n1atr{are di trial chc si$nific!l€tlcralmrntr trl^'tcollaudo. E dcl l9l3
Six l)at'sTrial,
la prima lnlernntronal
garadi regolariuchesi rvols. nellarco
di scr{rcrnalesu Frcorsi accidrnlalic
resi difficili da.rp.rill naturrli. Lr
ISDTvieneregolarmente
dispubla mcor ogdi dolo oltre ott nt anni ad a diwntata la Sei Ciomi lnternazional.di
ReAolarido di Endurop.r di.h con un
terminedeinostritcmpi.
Solopii tardi, nedlianni Vanti,naaqu.
il re4olamentoinglerc del r€ro a pro'
prD lrial, pin o menocomelo int.ndiimo o(gi. M. fu ne(li anni Trenti ch. 5i
in lnghilterromin(iaronoi di3puLare
ra. ed in seguitoan€h€in ollnda, 8eld.ll.8arc
Cio.Franciae Cecoslovacchia.
di vclocilAin fuoristrrdasu percotsiin
lineao su lunghi circuiti nell ordin. di
alcunedecinedi chilometridata.cofie.
re piir lolte.
lnutilc dirc chc rl terrcnodi garaer. irlo di difficolti natur.li, con rapid€lalite
pi€lrai.,4u.di.
r discri€ mozrafiato.
iar{o c altrc dclizied.l Senere.Cli inlksi le chramnvanoCrossCountry'
(atlraverso
la rampagna)usandoinizialmenlela slcrsntrrminologiaJellegare
jppiche.
h seguitoqucstr{.rc divelo(rt} in fuo-
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& 4toklp .olbz'aai$ xt h alnz:rotp
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mhc, cori aac il rr,rburolom,dn oll'ry.
co cro invcccun SJ 32.
ln lEjso o tinlno, il k,hio d rtob noJ,f.
cob @tts''ottrr'.,b.hrhirn&
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tarac.t;ona Grzzi cooh ndlc sab ;l np.
tc,? a gli o.n'..,.r;zzowi o h;zkxl., t B
M
duo o,r/iro.litzotui id.o,Jlki
td Gilxo bsoanocrosl cd il &E
ta troln o &*o. h stosn slh r,tnati
qu.no o'bitlo/. A'zzi, d ot{',w. il t&'.
da.E cosial terminedel conalittomondiale.i fu in tutta Europaun prolif€ra(secosivo(liamo
re di competizioni
chiamarle)di vrlocit) su Dercorsi
sterrati e agresti.Questeilare,piil o meno
ufficiali,di fuoristrada
€rino moltofrequenti n€l Lazio,in Lomb.rdia.in
EmilitRomagnae soloin un t€mDo
succesrivo
anchain PiemonteEaredi
fuoristradavenncrodisDutie nei dintorni di Roma,a Frascati,a Ravenna,
Rimini,Lugodi Roma8na,
Cavihte.
Como.
Moltidei partecipanti
rima5erogli stes.
si di prima dellaguerrama ad essise
nc aglliunsriomolti allri piil (iovanie
bellicosi.E cosimentrenel Lazioritor,
nanoa gallai nomi ,ia vistie nominati
dei Milani,Ranieri,Villae frrncisci rd
! loto si aggiuns€roPassamonti,
Ser-
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drc s <o.'rr rd cirtvirf criludini.
A bb. vE A)zzi 2fi ES mslonaa &
c.ots. h & c'a tuli/'dti ^lob'r b ^rollo onrin
o mrol/cloorornnroi,nlo.
m,..o rron'poroJ ;lporo6Ao ontdoo
condap.rte dellalu€rra adottd,€ fu la
primaal mondola forcellateleicopica,
cosiddetla
tcleidr.ulic..
C) pneumaticilassellati5tradalida
3.25lf,,50
ossiaa profiloscolpito
D) serbatoio€ parafanEha
in lamiera
d acciaio
E)Cruppotermicoin Ehisa
F) pesom.dio oltrei 160kE
Il pataomacchinenel nostrcpaesee.a
compo3to
oltrechedallegiJ menzionate ilatchlesse ftiumph militari provenienti dai camDiARARanchedalleitalianeMotoCurri CTV.CileraE bulloni.
Benellia$e a cammein t€sta.S€rtum
c dalletedesche
DKWa duetempi.Anche all'€steroe specificltamente
in
Cran Eretngna,Eelgio, Olandn€ F ancia era tutto un prolif.raredi garedi
fuoristradabasatesullavelociti ma
sen?:rclolamentibenprecisi^/
La FIM comincibufficialmenle
rd inter€ssarsi
a questasp€cialiti nel 1947ed
orEanizzd
la pfima {ara internazioMle
a souadre
di tre el€menti.
ll MotnrossdelleNazioni(fu la prima
volta che venneu3atoqucatotermine
umcialmente)
si disputda Walsenaar
in
Olandanel 19,17e tu appann.tltliodell.
squadraingles. compo6tada Nicholson.
Riste Riy chebatta la squadr.belga.
NeSlianni segucntila stqr3aSarasi disputdin Eeldio,Inghilterr.c Swzia.Il
l9 rhaggiodcl l95l la FIM decis€di
proclamarccon I'inizio dcl 1952 il
carnpionitoEuropcoindividuale
di motocrossdella clase 5d). Il Drimo titolo
continentrlefu vinto dal b€l8atalova
su FN ieguito da un altro b€lta, Mintl.ls su Matchles € dall'ingl€s€Averysu
8Sn"
Neiprimicinque
annie cio.pertuttoil
periodonel qunleil qmDionato500ri'
ma5econtinental€la lotta p€r il titolo
fu comb.ttutatra piloti beldie indleli.
poi dal 1957(cnmpionato
del mondo)
nella dirputa si inserironovittoriosa.
mentei Dilotislrdeli.
Ma tomiamo ai fatti di c.s. nostra.Gli
cchi intcmazionalidel motocrorsarrivaronoanchenel nostroDaese
dove.co.
me gie abbiamodetto,c era in atlo un
fenorefuoristrddistico
non benecodificatoma molto altivo.Il Drimoad inte.
raisariial cr65 in Darticolare
fu il dolt.
FrancelcoCostadi lmola . con lui il
civ. Curli,il tecnicoCarloM.rlo e I'ing.
Ciovannino
Lurini chesottogli iuspici
dellaFMI iniziaronoa stilareun retlolamentopcr la nuovaspccialitle a ricercire localiti idoneeD€rrcalizzrrecampi di gara.La primacompetizione
di
motoaross
intemazional€
si disDutdad
InoL nel parcod.ll. AcqueMin€rili il
23 mat8io t9{8. La vittoria anddall'olmdr$ Rielmansu Matchless
3eguito
d.l b.lga Jans.n(BSA)€ da un altro
b.lla. Meunicr(lliumphl. ll milliorc
d.8li itiliani lu llalo Milani(Iliumph)
ralto cla$ificato. !,|! Nlli gara parteciparonoalt nostaiconnazionaliqurli
Moneri(Curzi),Crieco(Sertuml,Zarui
lTriumph),Eugli (DKWI , Erunori
l C u r r i ) . F a l c o n i( C u z z i ) ,L u c c h i
lltiumph),8avi.r. (Curzi)e Alb€rtarri
(&nelli). ll primo confrontotra piloli
n rionalie bclE olandesimite in tisallo l€normcdi\raioasistanle
tra le dua
r.uole.Cli italiani r.mbrdvanodci DrinciDiantia compelerecon espcriiprofastionkti. Anch€nallas€coodaEarainternazionale
svoltaliiamprca lmola nel
xttembre 1948la musicanon c.mbid.
I'in!. il b.lga J sen (BSAIdavantialI'inlles€Lines(Ariel,. al b€lgaMeunicr(lYiumph).Tuttigli italiari si piarraronoalle loro s0allea cominciareda
ihni (1"),Cenoni(5'), Montanari
6")
. Xnllai17"'t,
Perlr prin|a volt! apgarw la 3oipcnsionelcrterioreelasti.. sullaAriel di Lin s. Anchenelh gara inteanazionale
di
lmoladell'annoreguenl€(12 ,iugno
l9{9) rirnar€s€ ibil. ildiltaccodeipi.
loti italianidai fuoricl.r$ ltnni.ri. I
primi 3 clas.ilicltifuronoi $liti Lines
(GB)tu Aricl,l-ad€lwze
e Meuniet,nel.
I'ordin€lclluiti a dktanzad.i norlri Albert rri, Verrecchia.
Milani.Bu,li, villa, Cervoni.Franrrni e zaro,
Quilche progre$o fu f.tto dai piloti di
cala tna molto ancorarc3tavada fara.
Per la prim! lolta in un Earainlcrla,ional. scesein liz?. I'itiliano Filippo
lbncorre di Bari e r.ridcnte a Roma,
m!.esciallodell'esercitoed istruttore
delcorpodci ber.glieri. nonpiit Siovanissimoc caratterizzatoda un fuico dacillm€nte maggioralo.Era in scllaa
(Droprio
una Moto Curri Superalce
quella pres€ntatain quastos€wizio)da
lui dsso modili.ata e pr.Fnta. Elimi
natoI'impiantoelett.icoe tuni gli altri
inutili orDelli,fu rinforato il tahio,allunlht lc ro6p.nsioni,roctituito il rn nubrio cd .nche i panh{hi, iirobu3tite lc pedan€e piazratoun cuscinoimhtito rul par.tanlo posteriore.
d€l grido di
Non siamoa aonolcanza
prepararion€del motorc rrb si mormor. chela tertae le cnmmefos.leroqucllc
tlplo roto du rcqi & sA
gd'ru/i.t
E'
h UOt 29 & &'di. C6a r,b h d,
ott'
5lfi l#''.NE0qqetaL
dtqt troadrtrodidqpktlrritr..It
hb eo ligkb F*btn*t|'
dcl Condor,c6l comcil catbut torc.
Il bathsimo mn fu d.i piil fortunati ed
il noctro arca fu co3trettoal tiro durdnte h priru b{teda pct guasti meccanici.
Nalloltclso anno,e J€mplead lmola, il
l8 sattembrefu orgtnirzatoun motocrc3r a caiattarenitzionale.Non 63endoci i mostri 5acriesteria fare da tamponc, i piloti Ddrtraniper una volta ebL
\ss
6e-
E' *rnprc ;l nnre:cnllo di hro loncone.
questorols in ,alh olo r'bthbs' G 80
nelGran *mb d ltolio o lnoh I |asiu.
gno dal 1953 S,e'5oot$,9/,o'p',{r e !€n-
:tc}JLiDAYieb.!0iiA
sln8l /ltxG
llotorG monocilindrico
oritrontrh I
a t.mpi concrrkr motor in |cgi l{F
&n ? gruppottrmico in lhlr." Dr.r
vrh^ol. in tertr i|tclir|.tc richianuta
d. coDDiG
di rlollc I rpillo chcbvor|.
m dlo scoo.rto.
lrbtr0ldoc! d |tt3 c bil.r|cicti rul
hto dglro
ALoa,b . .or.r 88r &l nn
Cllla&rlr toldr l9&f qf
t{porto d co!0.tabas 8 : I
|bt!'r| 26CV! 5.500,i.ihin
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CrtorriorG D.ll'Orto SS3a (!6tituito con29)
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ncupcmr Drlcttc
C||!Db! in bloccord il{ra||.cgi rcmprc in pr.ra | | retorti concorDndoa ped.l.
lllr!brh,!.
FlEd.! | intnn{ti
llicoidalitull. liniltn
ftldol|: r ditchi multipli iD b.gno
d'olio
fthh r &gDi! qlh in tubic bmi.r.
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nllalogramnraaonrmmortiraatoriI
fririonc
SoaDardolaDordortr torellora
clcilhnta conrmmortirrrtorl idnulici ch. hrnno rortituito il dttctn
Gurri coomoll. I fri?ioo.
lrott! . n3di coo ccrchiin rccldo
datg polltci
h.o! t tmburo h&nh
Pnrlor$clr 3.50r 19" mt c aolt
scolpiti
S|'t rob dirlrr!..
12,5libi
s.rt|ffihhffcrobzSff
h.|G ll55 rnm
btro la possihilit:r
di d.re sfogoal loro chioottrn€ndoscmpreoncslipiazza.
entusiasmo
e dr mrsurarsi
tra bro alla menti.Ma i tcmpi e le moto st.vano
pari (...oquasil.lr littoriaanddal prir cambiando
allafinedeglianni {0. Ed il
fort€pikrtaitillianodel momcntoiil ro- mutamcnloarri\'.. Lomcal solitodaol.
manoltalo !lilnni tTriumph350)ssgui' tre Manica.Le lrandi cnsemotocrclisti350).Fenocchio cheinglesiinturronoimmediaiamente
to d. Zanzi(Tyiomph
{llatchless
:}50).Ciufffedi(Matchless chr neSlianni segucntiil fuoristrad!
divrnlatomolto popolirrrn€lle
:150)c buon quinb il nostroThncorr€ sarebbe
d(l cross,trial a
spccialche
si mis€ suedirersespecialitir
sullasuaSuperalcr...
modellistual|t $pallcBulli IDKW350),Ilillenotti rcgolnritaedapprontarono
b€nch€di diretta
(Cuz?i25ll)rd un certoCristo,Upiin diati appositamente
dallaseriestradal€e !eloci"
sellna unaDKIV125chelui stessouti- derivazione
8SA.
\'.locette,AJS.Matchpista.
stica.
Cosi
liza\" anch€in lara su
limkan€
miscroin lenditr
giornalmente
per
less.
Ari€l
c
Norton
recarsi
al
lavoro.
e
l'ilippoTancorrrsullasua Superalce p€r icorndori privatr,ma utilizzarono
per i loro piloti ufliciali,mo'
parlecipdnel 1949!d altreEnredi mo- essestesse
deslinate
a rinnovate
nd esempio
Gavirate
c Collsc- lo da motocross
tocross,
l
ln oho.n do di loncorn w Gilarc. E' il
nmttilin.oi
U tq@.& di Pl'r.olo. ro $rr
di guido no,' i &; pin orbdolt'.
N a nto. filip tort<lrrr, o &oU(lrro il
2a gugro 1956,i in db o uno Gib|rro.
h 6Et',, l'inw,'t,1b cotproturo d.l .,ottto..d . eli drc'.ni 6'l]lli toiatvdn in di.
&am o&oiran;ozrcrr dcth go.o di tul
diswo dC 21 giryp 19:'6.
:::4!
I intero Darcomacchineed a sednare
una svoltadecisivanel s€ltoremoiocrossistico.
lr moto inglcaipir) indovi.
nate e compelitivedi euestasecond!
furonola GoldStatZB del4enerazionc
la BSAe la CEodellaMatchless.
In ltaliaa queit€mpinonc'eraI importatoredellaBSAmentrecra moltoattiva la dittaGa\onidi MilanoimDorbtrili co'
ceosclusiva
dellemotoMatchlcss.
5i ipiloti ndtrani Dii in vistadel momentoacquistaronoimmediatamente
le G 80,motopiir potantie nello3tesso
dellc
lempopiir le&{€ree maneggeloli
cavalcature
di trovenienzamilitate o
portatoin [hra fistradale
chr avevano
noa qu€lmomento.
Nelleclassifiche
delletarc di trofeomotocross(chadiventdcampion.toitali.no a partiredal 1953)della.la3s€500i
Milani.€d il'nostro'
frilotiMartinelli,
lbncorreappnNoroin sellarlle MatchlessmentreGalbiati€ Albertarzigareggiavano
conle Goldstar ZBc Buglicon
€ le Diaaze
la Norton.Tutti i successi
d'onoredeclianni50/51e 52 and.rono
r buon diritto a moto orodottein Inghilterta.
Poiper4 inni . e cioafinorl 1957lc re'
gine del molocrorsilalianofurcno le
Cilcra Saturnoche conDoteniissime
quirtaronoil titoli cons€culivi,3per
oparadi DomenicoFenocchioe con
Vinc.nroSoletti.
superrnag.
Ancheil nostrobersaaliere
gioraloFilippollncorr€ .cquistd una
Saturnoe continuba lottarealla n.ri
coni piarforti piloli dellaprinragensra'
zionedi cro$istiitaliani.
I
.!-
MOTO STORICHE & d'EPOCA
MARCH 1999
VintageMotocross
MOTO GUZZI
SUPERALCECROSS
A RobustMilitary TranspodTramformedby Ma$hal Tancorre. The Tme Ancestorof
Motocross.
By Gian Pio Ottone Photosby PaoloGrana
As translatedby Dorien Beneletti
Thc origins ofoff-road riding in Europ€go backa long way.
In 1909in GreatBritain off-road motorcyclerunswer€bing organized,onen on sp€cial
sectionspreparedspocificallyfor this purpose,The pupose being to showcaseboth the
motorcycle'srsliebility and the drivefs skills.
In I 9 I 3 the first Six Dry Trial wasorganiz€dover a roughand ruggedcourse,The ISDT
is still run today 8fter somc80 years.Todaythc word Enduo hasbeenaddedand it is an
inkmational event. ln the 20'sthe first nrles,as we know them today were written in
Englandand in the 30'sactualraceswere run in England,Holland, Belgium and
Czechoslovakia.
In Englandthey werecall€dCmss-Countryandthey followed I coutsevery much as in a
C.oss{ounEy horserace. lat€r they werc calledScrambles.
Theseraceswcrc beingorganizedin ltaly in the later 30,saroundRom€and Mil8n. They
often usedtheir regularroad bikessuahas EnoreVilla andhis Gilera 8 Bulloni, Bruno
Francisciwith a Guzzi Condor,Italo Milani and UmbertoRanieri with a B€nelli siqle
cam. With the War all thes€eventscamelo a stop. Howcver it was in fact the military
ncedsthat helpedimprove the designof off-road motorcyclesandthe dders driving
abilities. At the end of the war in all of Europewe find an increasingnumberof off-road
events. Theseevents,more or lessomcial, wer€ popularin the lazio arpA Lombardyard
Ernilia Romagnaand later in Piedmont
Many ofthe participantswere the riders ftom beforethe war, but soonothersjoined in
suchas Passarnonti,Senantoni,Cervoni,Valdinoci, Montanari,Pasoliniand Griecoand
many morc.
The motorcyclesusedwereoften prewarroad going bikes (no valuableracingmachines)
or mititary bikes. Th€ most popula!b€ing British bikes,speciallyMatchlessand Triumph
350 andthesebecausethey were overheadvalve andwith benertuning opportunities.
Most of the eventbikes had similar characteristics.Solid rearandgirder front forks with
the exceptionofthe Matchelessthat wasthew fint bike in the world to havetelescopic
dampers. Early style knobbytir€s 3,2513,50and gastank and fendersin ste€landan
averageweigbt over 350 lbs.
In our countryin addition to the alreadymentioDedMatchlessandTriumphs, we had
Moto Guzzi CTV, Gilera 8 bulloni, Benelli ov€rh€adcam, Sertumand Ceman 2 sfoke
DKW. Even abroadin Creat Britain, France,Belgium and Holland,lhere were many
eventsbas€don speadbut with no clear anddefinitive rules. The FIM got officially
involved in 1947and organizedthe first Internationalevent8nd it wascalled th€
MotocrossofNations andtook placein Wass€naarin Holland, The Bitish teamwirh
Nicholson,Rist, and Ray b€atthe Belgianieam. In subsequent
yearsthe sameeventtook
placein Belgium, England,and Sweden.
On May I gth I 95t the FIM decidedto startthe next yearwith a new European500cc
class. The first eventwaswon by Lelovq a Belgianon an FN, followed by anotner
Belgian,Mingels, on a Malchl€ssandan Englishman,Avery, on a BSA. Du ng the first
five yearsthe challengenwete Belgianand British andthen after I 957 the Swedesjoined
ll1.
In ltaly motocrosswasbecomingintercstingand Dr. Fr"nc€scoCostafrom tmol4 with
Curli, Carlo Melo, and Count Lurani underthe auspicesofth€ FMI, b€ganto outline the
new competitionrulesand look for suitableeventvenues.The first eventtook placeat
Imola the 23rd of May 1948. The Dutchman,Reitrnannwon on a Matchlessfollowed by
the Bclgian, Jansenon a BSA ard anotherBelgian,Meunieron a Triumph. The best
Italian wasltalo Milani oll a Triumph. Otherltalians in artendanc€includedMonari with
(Guzzi) Grieco ( Senum),Zanzi ( Triumph), Bugli (DKW) Bruror€, Falconi,and Baviera
with Guzzi and Lucchi with Triumph and Albertrzzi with Benelli. The first racebetween
Belgian/Dutchriderssnd the ltalians showeda greatdisparity asthe ltalians were
definitely amateus. Even the secondIntemationaleventat Imola in 1948nothing
chsnged.The eve wasoneby the Belgian,Jansen(BSA) aheadof the British rider lines
(Ariel) and B€lgianMeunier( Triumph). The ltalians followed with Milani 4th, Ccrvoni
5th. Montamd 6th andZanzi 7th.
For the Iirst time we sawrcar suspemiol on Lines Ariel. The following yearwas no
different with the foreignerswinning. Lines,Laldeveze,and Meunier. Someprogrcss
wasmadeby the ltalians but therewas still someway to go, For the first time in an
Internationalevelt we find Filippo Tanconefiom Bari but living in Rome. Marshalin
the Army and instuctor for the Bermglieri he wss not a young mananddecidedlyheavily
built. He lode a SuperAlc.e(the sameas in this article) modified andpr€paredpersonally.
He eliminatedall electricsandaccessories,
strengthenedth€ fiarne, lengthenedthe
suspensiontravel, chang€dthe handlebarsand fendersandwith a cushionon the rear
fender. We don't havedefinitive enginesp€cs,but it wasnrmoredto havethe headand
cam from the Condoras well asthe carb. This first eventdid not co well and the bike
had mechanicalissues.
That yearet Imola therewasa National eventso that no foreigne$ would be arormdand
the ltalians could raceeachother. Irali Mllani on a Triurnph 350 wotl this event followed
by Zanzi alsoon Triumph 350 andCiufr€di Matchless350 and in 5th plac€Tancone.
Tancorr€continued!o run in 1949doing well, but times were changing. The British bike
manufacturersbeganbuilding bikesspeciallymadefor thes€events. BSA ,velocette ,
AJS, Matchless,Ariel andNorton hadsp€ciallybuilt factory teambikes signalinga new
way in eventriding. The most successfulwasthe BSA GoldstarZB and the Metchless
G80. In thosedaystherewas no BSA dealerin Italy but therewasfor Matchl$s. ltalian
riders soonstaftd csmpaigningwith the new C80 far lighter andb€tterthan what was
availablein ltaly at the time. Martinelli, Milani 8ndTancorreshowedup on Matchless
G80swhile Galbiati 8nd Alb€rtazzirode BSA GoldstarZB andBugli on Norton. During
theperiod1950to l95l, all victorieswer€on Britishbikes, Thenfor 4 yearsthequeenof
Motocrosswasthe Gilera Saturnoandevcn our friend Tancor€ endedup riding a
Satumo.
CAPTIONS TOR THE IMAGES
Psge60 - Title Page
Vitltage Motocross
Moio Guzzi Sup€rAlaeMotoCross
A strongmilitary transpodvehicletransfomed by the practicesof MarshalTancorre.
The tlue ancestorof the motocrossmotorcycle.
By Cian Pio Ottone
Photosby PaoloGrana
Page62
but
Above,Tancorrebrings his Guzzi up-to{ate in the frameand in the suspensions,
althoughimproved,his motorbikewasnot morecompetitiveagainstthe new Mstchless,
BSA andGilera Satumowhich hadappearedin the meantime. Side,the ftont fork is
telescopic,to r€placethe origina.lparallelogram;the brakehasstaysdth€ same.
Page63
Above, despitethe massivestuctur€ ofthe motorbikc,they hadalso tried lightening, see
the supportsfor the fipnt mudguard.Below, the fuel tank remainedunahanged,except
for trro notchesto eliminateinterferencewith the forks.
Page64
Above, over time the framewas improved,but the motor wo$ened,b€causein the p€riod
when Tanconeran, his Guzzi wasequippedwith the specialcylinder and headofthe the
racing Dondolino, Thes€padshavebeentakenby c{lleclors for usein reproductions.
Center,the flywheel is from the Guzzi Sup€rAlce,as likc thc carbur€tor,which at the
time ofracing was insteadan SS32. Below Left, the rearframe hasbeenmodified
eliminating the classicGuzzi suspensionwith springsunderthe motor and friction
dampers,by adoptingtwo hydrauliashockabsorbersaDdswingarm(from the Gilera
Satumocrcss). Below RighL rhe substitutionofa big saddleto h8ndlethe rcbust pilot.
Page65
Above lefr, the front pan ofthe fiame is modified doublecradle,with a pmiseworthyjob.
Above right, rearview ofthe saddleandmudguardin the style ofthe Guzzi Gambalunga!
The motorbikeis painteda beautifuldark greenby brush,to r€memb€rthe military
origins ofthe motorbikeand ofthe military serviceofMarshsl Phillip Tancone. Below,
the handlebaris reinforcedwith platesof sheetmetal, snd for lightening: in order to
completethejob Tanconewasalso requiredto submit to a diet, b€causeat the time he
weighedmor€than 265 pounds!
Page66
In th€ big photo,our Marshalin a curveat lmola. The physiqueis imposingbut tbe
motorbikehasb€enabundandystrengthencd.Above, othercurvesat the National
Motocrossat Imola, SepiemberI 8, I 949. Also the clothesate mor€ for tench work than
for racing. The Famehasbeendrilled and lighlenedwhcr€verpossiblc. Cenler,the style
of riding do€snt s€€mvery exasperating.And why is he on this stonebasetrack working
with a liont ribbed tirc, advisableonly for asphalt.
Page68
(they were later
Above leff , Tancorrepr€p&Edfor depanure.Notice the hefty suspenders
forbiddenin 1969)Phillip ran without glass€sandwithout gloves. Who knows ifanyone
from our times still doesthis. Above right, Christo Alpi in the saddleto his DKW 125.
The samelight motorbikewith licenseplateattd tail light was usedeveryday to go to
work, and sometimesalsoto run aroundthe city. CenterSid€,a Cuzzi 250 PES
transformcdfor motoaross.In the saddlcis Millenotti. Notice the parallelogramfront
fork madeof stampedshe€tmetal andrhe front cut doummudguard.
Pag€69
A rare2-shokefrom the Germanschoolis the DKW 250 of Bugli. Like Lll the 2-strokes
ofcermany and WestemEruopethis bike is alsoequippedwith doubleexhaust.The
fiame wasrigid r€arwise.
Page'10
As alwaysthe lron MarshslTancon€,lhis time on a Matchl$s C80 in the ltalial CP at
lmola June I 4, I 953. Sameclolhesand wilhout gogglesor gloves.
TechnicalSpecifications
SuperAlce
Engine:horizontalsinglecylinder 4-strokewith light alloy crankcaseandcastiron lop
end. Two valvesin a tilted headrerlvery ftom two exposedsprings.
Valve timing: by pushrod on the right sideandrccker anns.
Bore and shoke:88 X 82 mm,
Total displacemenl:498.4 cc
Compression
Ralio:8:l.
Power:26 hp at 5,500rpm.
Ignition: MagnetiMarclli
Carburation: From D€ll'Odo SS 32 (replacinga 29)
Lubrication: &y sumpwith gearcddelivery pump and vaJredrecoverypump.
Gearchange:constantmesh4 ratioswith pedalcontrol.
Tra$mission:primaryhelicalgearson theleft.
Clurch: multiplediscsin oil bath.
Frame;doublecradleof tubingandshe€tmetal.
Fmntsu$pension:
telescopicfork whichrcplacedoriginalgirderwith fiiction dampers.
Rearsuspension:
oscillatingswingalm with hydraulicdampenthathavereplacedthe
Guzzisystemwith sub-engine
springsandftictiondamp€rs.
Wh€els:spokedsteelrims 19itches,
Brakes:hubsidedrum.
Tir€s: 3.50x 19' ftont andrear,knobbytresd.
FuelTank:l2,5liters.
Wheelbsse
length:1555mm.
Page7l
Above,ajump by Tancorreon a Gilera. And thc finishstaight ofPincrolo(ne8rTudn).
Thestyleof drivingis notyeryorthodox.Center,Phillip Tancorre,
at Baldiss€ro(near
Turin)June24, 1956,andin thesaddleofa ciler& Below,thc imposingbuild ofour
hero8ndtheenormowdloopingmustache
in evidenceat thepriz€celebration
oftbe
competitionet Baldiss€ro
June24, 1956.