FB MONDIAL - Lot 29

FB MONDIAL Motorcycle Race 175 cc 1953 -1957 Serial number : 264 The model shown was restored by our collector in the 1980s. Single-cylinder 4-stroke single overhead camshaft customer competition. A restart will be necessary. FB-Mondial (1948-1979) was a motorcycle manufacturer from Milan, Italy between 1948 and 1979, known for its success in motorcycle racing at the World Championships in the 1950s. The "F.B." in the name stood for "Fratelli Boselli", the BOSELLI brothers. At a time when MV Agusta and Ducati were producing lightweight, economical motorcycles, mopeds and 2-stroke scooters, Mondial was building a high-quality sportbike. The Mondial factory in Milan was much smaller than the larger Moto Guzzi, Gilera or Benelli companies, and was more of a specialist manufacturer of small-displacement, high-performance motorcycles. Much of the production of each engine was done by hand, which kept output low, with production figures generally varying between 1,000 and 2,000 units per year. In 1949, when MV Agusta decided to produce a 4-stroke engine, they bought a Mondial 4-stroke engine for analysis. Mondial had also prepared a motorcycle with desmodromic controls (for Ducati), but it never went into production. The youngest of the four BOSELLI brothers, Giuseppe, produced the first Mondial motorcycle. A 125 with two overhead camshafts, on September 4, 1948, which a month later set 4 world records, won the first World Championship in 1949, and again in 1950 and 1951. The 175 arrived in 1953, and finally received a telescopic fork and swingarm in 1954, enabling it to achieve the incredible absolute victory at the Milan-Tarente race that same year, beating all 250s and 500s with its 175. Or that of Provini in the Motogiro the same year. In France The young Jacky Onda in several races from 1952 onwards on his Mondial simple ACT and became French champion in 1954, 55 and 56 in the National category, then in the Inter category in 1957. Despite a production run of only a few thousand bikes, Mondial's track record included: 10 World titles (5 for the riders and 5 for the brand) 8 French Championship titles