SOLD

• Engine: 123cc 2-stroke single cylinder

• Transmission: 3 Speed manual

• Year: 1956

• Frame #: A6024

• Engine #: A5868

• Registration: 609 XUK

• Mileage:

• Exterior colour: Red

• Interior colour and material:

VIEWING BY APPOINTMENT ONLY PLEASE.

Vehicle history
We purchased this lovely and rare Maserati motorcycle in December 2007 from a classic car dealer in Hamburg, Germany.  It was sadly sold in February 2014 due to our purchase of another Maserati motorcycle.

According to the original Certificate of Origin from Maserati that we have, this Maserati motorcycle was sold new in Milan on July 26th 1956 and licensed as MI-253056. The purchaser was Signore Alfonso Villa from the town of Lesmo, just north of Monza, and he enjoyed his rare motorcycle until December 1982 when he cancelled its registration and placed it in storage.

In July 1992 Signore Villa sold the Maserati to a Giuseppe Genazzini of central Milan. It is not known how long Signore Genazzini retained the Maserati for but in October 2002 it was registered for road use in Hamburg, Germany. The registered owner was a Volker Weber who had purchased the motorcycle from a friend of his. We contacted Mr Weber in December 2013 and he informed us that the motorcycle had been acquired by a friend of his "in a package of parts for old Alfa Romeo in Italy."

The Maserati was road registered in the UK by us in January 2008.

It is unknown when this motorcycle was restored although it would have been some time ago.  The condition is very good, and in some places it has the appearance of being wonderfully original, with just a few minor marks present in a some places.  We have enjoyed riding this Maserati on several occasions during our six years of ownership and it has always started and run extremely well.

This is a very rare and special motorcycle that is fortunate to still possess its original certificate of manufacture from Maserati along with its original chassis plate, Italian registration book, and licence plate. Rarely do Maserati motorcycles come to the market, and rarely are they so original.

A brief history of Maserati motorcycles
The sight of a Maserati badge on a classic motorcycle often surprises people, even those most familiar to the exotic Italian marque.

Wealthy industrialist Adolfo Orsi from Modena purchased the ailing Maserati company from its founding brothers in 1937, and by then Maserati was producing spark plugs and machine tools as well as racing cars. In 1939 Adolfo relocated Maserati to Modena and expanded the company to produce batteries and bulbs too, a diversification that proved very successful during the war years. The car and parts companies were separated in 1947 and Fabbrica Candele e Accumulatori Maserati (FCAM) was formed.

After business difficulties in 1953 Adolfo decided to divide his remaining companies amongst his siblings, resulting in Adolfo retaining the car manufacturing division and his sister Ida taking control of FCAM.

Even FIAT cars were financially out of reach for most people after the war so motorcycles and scooters became extremely popular as relatively cheap modes of transport.  Many companies diversified or were founded to produce two wheeled motorised transport and Ida Orsi wanted to be involved in this swiftly developing market, so to save money on development costs she purchased an existing company in 1953, Italmoto of Bologna. After relocating Italmoto and the production of its 160cc motorcycle to her own factory in Modena, she simply had the Italmoto badges replaced with Maserati ones and launched the model as the 160/T4. The four-stroke engine produced 7.5hp and had a four-speed gearbox.

Ida then instructed the design department to come up with a whole new range of motorcycles, the first of which was launched in 1954.  The new machine was a 4.8hp 123cc two-stroke (with a three-speed gearbox) known as the 125/T2 which became a successful model for the company.

At the 1955 Milan Motorcycle Fair Maserati displayed not only their two-stroke 125 and four-stroke 160 machines, but also 175 (175/T4/S) and 250cc (250/T4/GT) motorcycles, both of which had four-stroke engines boasting twin-spark plug ignition, plus four-speed gearboxes.  The 125 and 160 were now also available in Turismo Lusso specification.

In 1956 a range of two-stroke 50cc motorcycles were introduced which featured several different styles of frames suitable for men (50/T2/U and 50/T2/S), women (50/T2/D), and racing (50/T2/SS).  All models had a three-speed gearbox and performance for a 50cc was fantastic, especially on the SS whose little 49.6cc engine produced 2.82hp at 6,700rpm (maximum revs being 7,300rpm). A weight of only 49kg resulted in a top speed of 70 to 75kph.  Less sporting but a lot more practical however, was the 50/T2/MT which was a three-wheeled pick-up style machine featuring a 2hp engine and three-speed gearbox.

1956 also saw the launch of the T.V. 125/T2 (Turismo Veloce) which sported a higher state of tune (6hp) than the regular 125 but importantly had a 4-speed gearbox, the gears of which were notoriously fragile due to the factory squeezing a fourth gear within the standard three-speed engine casings.

Having learnt some lessons with the TV’s transmission, the 125/GT/Super (GTS) was launched in 1957 featuring a 7hp two-stroke engine but with a more robust four-speed gearbox within newly designed engine side covers.

The L. 75/T2 model was also launched in 1957 and was very similar in design to the 50/T2/U, but featured a 74cc 4.5hp two-stroke engine and a three-speed gearbox.

Unfortunately, after 1957 the company experienced financial struggles and FCAM was finally closed in 1960. The Maserati trident would only then be seen on four wheeled vehicles, back where it all began.

Despite being sensibly priced in their day Maserati motorcycles sold in very small numbers compared to their competitors resulting in all models being extremely rare, with some being rarer than others.  Today, the 125 T2 and Turismo Lusso variants are the most common with the 160 not far behind.  The 125 TV and GTS models appear extremely rarely and all 50cc and 75cc models are very rare.  It is believed that despite adverts appearing at the time launching the 175 model it never progressed from prototype stage and as far as the 250 is concerned, only about twenty are thought to have ever been made.