The Bianchi Visconteo is one of the light singles produced by F.I.V. Edoardo Bianchi of Milan, a company that made motorcycles from 1897 until 1967. Detailed factory documentation of the model is scarce; this page sets it in the history of the marque that built it.
Bianchi Visconteo at a glance
| Maker | F.I.V. Edoardo Bianchi S.p.A., Milan |
|---|---|
| Motorcycles built | 1897–1967 |
| Founder | Edoardo Bianchi, bicycles from 1885 |
| First motorised bicycle | 1897 |
| Cars | also produced 1900–1939 |
| Racing peak | 1925–1930 |
| Chief engineer | Albino Baldi |
| Post-war singles | 123 cc and 248 cc overhead-cam racers |
| Post-war twins | 248 cc and 348 cc double-overhead-cam, late 1950s |
| Rights after 1967 | passed to Innocenti |
No Wikipedia article exists for this model and little model-specific documentation survives, so the page is based on the English article on the Bianchi marque (one source).
History of the Bianchi Visconteo
Edoardo Bianchi started building bicycles in a small shop on Milan’s Via Nirone in 1885. He built a motorised bicycle in 1897 and a car in 1900, and in 1903 he was fitting engines into strengthened bicycle frames; by 1905 the machines also had Truffault leading-link forks. A 498 cc single of 1910 was very successful and established the Bianchi motorcycle name, while a 650 cc V-twin of 1916 grew to 741 cc in 1920. The 1920s brought a 598 cc V-twin, a new 498 cc single with all-chain drive, a 348 cc side-valve single for 1923 and, in 1924, a 173 cc overhead-valve single.
Racing made the marque famous. A 348 cc overhead-valve single appeared in 1925, and Albino Baldi, Bianchi’s chief engineer, designed a 348 cc double-overhead-cam works racer that was the most successful Italian racing bike for the next five years. Its riders included Tazio Nuvolari, Amilcare Moretti, Mario Ghersi, Karl Kodric, Gino Zanchetta and Luigi Arcangeli. In the 1930s Baldi designed a 498 cc overhead-cam single racer ridden by Giordano Aldrighetti, Aldo Pigarini, Terzo Bandini, Dorino Serafini, Guido Cerato and Alberto Ascari, and in 1938 the firm built a supercharged four-cylinder 498 cc double-overhead-cam racer that was never fully developed.
After the Second World War Bianchi produced 123 cc and 248 cc overhead-cam single racers, and in the late 1950s released 248 cc and 348 cc double-overhead-cam twins designed by Colombo and Lino Tonti; a few 348 cc engines were over-bored to 498 cc for 500 cc class racing. Edoardo Bianchi died in 1946 and control passed to his son Giuseppe. The road range of those years included 49 cc models, the 75 Gardena, 122 and 173 cc two-strokes, the four-stroke 125 cc Bernina LV and the Tonale, a 173 cc chain-driven overhead-cam single, while some 49 cc two-stroke engines were built under Puch licence for the pressed-steel Falco moped. In 1961 Bob McIntyre rode a Bianchi 350 cc in the Motorcycle Grand Prix World Championships. Production ceased in 1967, when the rights passed to Innocenti; Bianchi mopeds were also sold in the United States by Montgomery Ward under its Riverside brand.
Design and features
- A long pedigree: a Milan firm that began with bicycles in 1885 and built motorcycles until 1967.
- Racing engineering: overhead-cam and double-overhead-cam designs from Albino Baldi’s workshop.
- Star riders: works machines were raced by Nuvolari, Ascari and McIntyre among others.
- Post-war light singles: the class of 123 cc and 248 cc overhead-cam machines to which the road models belonged.
Bianchi Visconteo versions
- Pre-war singles: 348 cc side-valve and overhead-valve, 498 cc and 173 cc overhead-valve models.
- Works racers: 348 cc double-overhead-cam of 1925 and the 498 cc overhead-cam of the 1930s.
- Post-war racers: 123 cc and 248 cc overhead-cam singles, later 248 cc and 348 cc twins.
- Road models: 49 cc mopeds and light singles such as the Bernina LV and Tonale.
The marque’s better-documented 250 is described in the article on the Bianchi Freccia. More machines are in the Bianchi collection.
Video: Bianchi Visconteo 55T by Giuliano Bologna
Video on YouTube.
Sources
- Bianchi (motorcycles), English Wikipedia: company history, racing, post-war models
- F.I.V. Edoardo Bianchi, Italian Wikipedia: company background
