#gilera

Italian marque Gilera is poised to return as a joint-venture between the brand’s owner, Piaggio, and its long-standing Chinese partner, Zongshen. We’ve uncovered evidence of Gilera’s imminent return via design filings registered in China for a rebadged version of the Aprilia Shiver labeled with the name “GLR900”.

Inside a former tool-shop located on the Piaggio facility’s grounds in Pontedera, Italy sits a treasure trove of history, a time capsule if you will, which allows visitors a look into the past of some, but not all, of the brands currently included under the Piaggio umbrella. The 32,000 sq ft Museum is located in one of the oldest parts of the Piaggio complex where, in the early 1920s after purchasing the facility, Piaggio began production of airplane engines.

In the 65-year history of motorcycle Grand Prix racing there’s been a total of 815 premier class races: 580 500cc class races and 235 MotoGP class races. Of the 16 manufacturers that have won premier-class races, the manufacturer in the #1 spot in this list has won 32% of the total 815 races. The second-place finisher has won 25% of all races, while third place has won 17%. Possibly more interesting is that the third-place finisher in this list hasn’t won a race since 1976.

Okay, we gotta admit it’s a tiny bit macabre to find a stellar group of antique, vintage and high-performance motorcycles on display at a cemetery, literally the last place a bike fan wants to visit. But, there was lively reasoning behind the appearance of 13 “celebrity” two-wheelers at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park, the 1906 historic landmark located in Glendale, CA. The museum, part of the 300 acre property since 1957, has previously offered a wide variety of exhibits as they are “committed to enriching the community through the educational and entertaining presentation of artwork that focuses on history, culture or religion.”