The Polini 910 is a minimoto (pocket bike) from Polini Motori, the Italian company based in Alzano Lombardo near Bergamo. Polini has been making tuning parts for mopeds, scooters and motorcycles since 1945 and added minimoto to its range in the 1990s.
Polini 910 at a glance
| Maker | Polini Motori, Alzano Lombardo (BG), Italy |
|---|---|
| Company founded | 1945, by Battista Polini |
| Class | minimoto (pocket bike) |
| Ownership | the founder’s sons Carlo, Franco and Piero |
| Typical length | about 1 m (class figure) |
| Typical height | about 60 cm, seat a little over 40 cm (class figure) |
| Typical weight | just over 20 kg (class figure) |
| Engines used in the class | 39 or 50 cc two-stroke, 90 cc four-stroke |
| Cooling | air in Junior classes, liquid elsewhere |
| Typical power | 6–7 hp air-cooled, 14–15 hp liquid-cooled (Italian engines) |
| Model specifications | not published |
No published technical data for the 910 or 911 was found. The figures in the table describe the minimoto class in general, as given by the Italian Wikipedia article on minimoto; they are not claimed as the specifications of this model.
History of the Polini 910
Polini Motori was founded in 1945 in Alzano Lombardo, in the province of Bergamo, by Battista Polini, a soldier who returned from the Second World War and began building bicycles. The firm’s first logo was a ram, the coat of arms of his battalion. When the first Vespa and Lambretta scooters appeared in the late 1940s, Polini turned to making parts for them, and it has remained a specialist in tuning parts ever since.
From the 1990s the company added minimoto to its catalogue, and the 910 and 911 belong to that side of the business. A minimoto is a very small motorcycle, normally about one metre long, around sixty centimetres high and a little over twenty kilos, ridden on closed circuits and private ground rather than on the road. Most use 39 or 50 cc two-stroke engines, with four-stroke units of 90 cc also accepted in the class.
The company remains in the hands of Battista Polini’s three sons, Carlo, Franco and Piero, and sells in 64 countries. Its pocket bikes are listed with engines from 50 cc up to 15 hp, and its best-known tuning series are Evolution and Big Evolution, the second with a larger bore than the first. It also runs the single-make Polini Italian Cup and supplies exhaust systems to teams in the motorcycle world championship.
Design and features
- Pocket-bike class: a minimoto built for circuits and private ground, not for road use.
- Small two-stroke engines: the class is dominated by 39 and 50 cc two-strokes.
- Air or liquid cooling: Junior machines are air-cooled and limited in power; other classes are almost all liquid-cooled.
- Polini background: the model comes from a company whose main business is tuning parts for scooters and mopeds.
Polini 910 versions
- Polini 910: the model described on this page.
- Polini 911: a closely related designation from the same Polini minimoto range.
- Polini XP4 Street 125: the road-legal pitbike Polini homologated in 2006.
- Polini X-series: the X1, X3 and X5 pocket bikes.
Other Polini pocket bikes are the Polini X, the Polini Air and the road-legal Polini XP. More in the Polini collection.
Video: Polini 910 with fairing
Video on YouTube.
Sources
- Polini, English Wikipedia: company history, products, pocket bikes
- Polini, Italian Wikipedia: company history, minimoto production, XP4
- Minimoto, Italian Wikipedia: dimensions, engines, cooling and power
