Moto Guzzi Zigolo

In 1953 the gap between 65 cc, also known as Guzzino, and the Galletto comes overwhelmed from the Zigolo, the first Guzzi with a partial enclosure.

It will be in production at the Guzzi factory from 1953, first with an engine of 98 cc. and then, from 1960, with 110 cc. There were various models. The production ended in 1966.

It was designed, like for the Guzzino, by Ing. Antonio Micucci, who joined Moto Guzzi in winter 1942, due the war, coming from from Ivrea where worked to Olivetti.

For the Zigolo Moto Guzzi tries to contain the selling price. Therefore the first produced model, in 1953, is finished in the color gray, completely without any chrome plate. The rear (friction type) damps and the exhaust pipe are burnished.
The chassis is constituted from a central tube and partially auto carrying body, that it constitutes the characteristic more obvious than this model.

The motor resumes some characteristics used in 1950 in a record version of the Guzzino, with which the Moto Guzzi, in the automobile race track of Montlery, succeded to conquer various supremacies.

As the Guzzino, it is a two strokes motor, two travasi, fed through the motor tree from one rotary valve. The cylinder, a difference from Guzzino, is now horizontal.
The head of the cylinder is in light alloy. It measures 50 X 50 milimeter and provides a capacity of 98 cc; with a compression ratio of 1:6, the Zigolo develops one power of 4 horses (to 5200 turns).

The carburetor, Dell'Orto MAF 15B1, is mounted on the right side and is hidden from the cap oval in aluminum. The starter is regulated from leverage on the right of the handle-bar.

The front suspension is trough telescopic undamped forks, while the posterior one is by a rubber elastic element. The posterior shocks-absorber are to calipers and work for friction through cork discs of. Such shocks-absorber could be regulated screwing or unscrewing the appropriate key " butterfly-type". The Zigolo is the last model of Moto Guzzi to use this type of shock-absorber, in use from the time of the " Norge ". From 1960, with Zigolo 110 cc., they adopted rear telescopic shocks-absorber.

The gear-box has three speeds with gears always in taken to frontal graft. The gear leverage , a balance one, is , as usual in this period, in the right site. The clutch to multiple discs in oil bath is placed in the motor box on the left side. The commando of the clutch is to lever, on the left on the handle-bar.

The brakes are to drum in light alloy; the front one is commant from a lever to the right site on the handle-bar and the rear one from the pedal on the left, as in use to the age.

The performances indicated from the house are: the superskillful maximum slope in 1° is of 24% and the maximum speed in third ca. 76 km/h.
In the tests of Motor Cycling of the 25 september of 1955 the maximum speed is higher than declared from factory (51 mph rather than 47, ca. 82 km/h), being the fastest motorcycle of the time under 100 cc, between those tried from the prestigious English review. The same review praises particularly the motor of the Zigolo: " Almost without vibrations... top gear could be held down to 10 mph (ca. 16 km/h)... "

The versions of the Zigolo :

Carl Morino

Online translated from Italian, sorry for the mistaces

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