The Gilera brand has entered the history of two wheels, but now we hear little about it. Here’s what happened to him.
Italy is a country rich in history when it comes to the world of two and four wheels, and today we will tell you about one of the most famous and forgotten brands of modern times. We are talking about Gilera, founded in 1909 by Giuseppe Gellerawith the first workshop that was opened in the city of Milan.
After a few years, the entire production center was moved to Arcore, a few kilometers from Monza, in Via Casati, at number 17 today. The movements, however, were not over, as, some time later, we moved again, to Via Cesare Battistialso in Arcore, which later remained the historic headquarters of this brand.
Gilera’s business was excellent despite the two world warswith products that were appreciated both in Italy and abroad, but sooner or later, the time comes for everyone to deal with a period of difficulty.
Well, in 1969 there was the first negative turn, with the economic losses that led it to be purchased by the group Piaggio, but the factories all remained in Arcore. There were significant investments, created to expand the range and offer customers greater opportunitiesa way to relaunch the brand and try to bring it back to the splendor of the past.
Entirely new models were introduced, such as mopeds and off-road vehicles, with the 50 Trial 5v being one of the biggest successes. Its secret was the fact that it could be driven even by those who didn’t have a license, and as you can imagine, it sold like hot cakes at the time. Shortly thereafter, however, things would change, up to the present day when the fate of the Gilera is now sealed.
Gilera, here’s what happened
The group Piaggio decided to put the company out of business Gilera as a brand in its own right, and transformed it into a brand in its own motorcycle sector. Unfortunately, since 2020 it has completely fallen into disuse and models with the coat of arms of the Lombard company are no longer producedwhich ended up among those brands that Piaggio decided to put aside, in the hope that sooner or later things could change.
The last scooter to be produced is the Runner 5, which however was no longer sold in Europe due to the Euro 5 regulation, and is now sold in an increasingly smaller number of countries abroad. For all these reasons, the history of Gilera is now over, after a large number of successes also achieved in the racing worldand we want to remember one in particular.
We like to mention, with affection and a hint of sadness, the world title won in 2008 by Marco Simoncelli on Gilera in the 250 class, a combination that dominated the scene and launched the crystal-clear talent of the rider from Romagna. Unfortunately, both the SIC and the brand that made it great have had a fate they did not deserve.
