Thursday 23 February 2017

Gilera Saturno Sport (1950) HD Pics, Maximum Power, Top speed

Posted By: ygshhd 12:49 Leave a Reply

Gilera Saturno Sport

This 1950 model Saturno Sport handled well, thanks partly to its light weight and rigid frame, but shortly afterwards Gilera uprated the model’s chassis with telescopic forks and twin rear shocks.

Simple styling and Italian racing red paintwork make the Sport a very attractive roadster. Removing lights and other unnecessary accessories converted it into a usefid racebike with minimal effort and expense.

Lean, simple and finished in Italian Racing Red. the Saturno Sport was the HHfl high-performance model of the Milan- based firm’s range of 500cc single-cylinder roadsters, which also included the softer Turismo model plus a police bike and a military machine.

Gilera’s four-cylinder factory racers earned the company most of its fame by winning six world titles during the 1950s. But the Saturno was also an impressive performer on both road and track. Many owners simply removed the Sport’s roadgoing parts such as lights and battery, then competed on Italian street circuits with considerable success.

For all its racy reputation, the Saturno was a simple machine. It was designed by Giuseppe Salmaggi, and was a development of the so-called ‘eight-bolt’ (Otto Bulloni) single that had been Gilera’s main 500cc machine in the late 1930s. The first few Saturnos, introduced in 1940, were racing bikes. Gilera tester Massimo Masserini gave the model a good start when he won the prestigious Targa Florio road race, a test of endurance as well as speed, before production was interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War.

Gilera began full-scale Saturno production in 1946. Its engine remained an air-cooled, vertical single, with long-stroke dimensions of 84 x 90mm - unchanged even on the racing versions - giving capacity of 499cc. It had pushrod-operated valves closed by hairpin springs, and a four-speed gearbox. The Sport had an aluminium cylinder head. 6:1 compression ratio, and produced 22bhp at 5000rpm. That gave it an advantage over the Touring model, with its iron head, lower compression and softer camshaft.

Patented suspension system

Chassis layout of a 1950 Sport was mostly conventional, with a simple steel frame and girder forks, but rear suspension was by Gilera’s unique patented system. An oval-section swingarm transmitted rear wheel movement, via two upright steel arms, to horizontal springs mounted in boxes above the swingarm. Each box contained a main spring to deal with bumps, plus a smaller rebound spring. Damping was provided by scissors-type friction units.

The Sport’s performance did not approach that of Gilera’s fiery, llOmph (177km/h) Sanremo competition single but, with plenty of low-rev torque and a top speed of about 85mph (137km/h), it was very lively. It also handled well in its original form, although by 1952 Gilera had updated the chassis with telescopic forks and twin rear shock absorbers.

Demand for the Saturno faded in the mid-

1950s, and production fell until it ended in 1959. when a total of almost 6500 had been built. By this time Gilera’s management was more interested in the annual production of over 20,000 lightweight bikes with engines from 98 to 175cc. And crucially, the Sport’s price of half a million lire would also buy a Fiat 500 car. That was one battle that even the Saturno Sport, with all its speed and spirit, could never win.

Gilera's Fabulous Fours

Gilera was founded in 1909 when Giuseppe Gellera, a young mechanic and hillclimber, produced a 317cc single-cylinder bike in his workshop near Milan. Gellera changed his name to Gilera, which he thought a better identity for his motorbike firm, and it quickly grew into one of Italy's most successful. Many Gileras were raced with good results in that period but the real glory came after Giuseppe Gilera bought the CNA Rondine (Swallow) bikes - supercharged 250cc fours that had won many races under previous ownership.

The marque's most glorious era was the 1950s, when its four-cylinder machines, designed by Piero Remor, dominated the 500cc world championship. Umberto Masetti won the title in 1950 and 1952, before Geoff Duke took over with a hat-trick for the Arcore factory. Libero Liberati added a sixth championship in 1957 before Gilera withdrew from racing, leaving the field open for MV Agusta to begin an even longer period of domination.

Gilera's powerful dohc four-cylinder grand prix bikes won six 500cc world titles, and led to many more because designer Piero Remor left to work for MV Agusta.

Saturno's crankcase is stamped with the name Arcore, the town near Milan where Gilera’s factory was located before being closed in 1993.

Gilera’s patented rear suspension system used vertical steel arms to transfer wheel movement to springs that were mounted inside boxes above the swingarm. Damping was by scissors- type friction units to the rear.

Specification Gilera Saturno Sport (1950)