Bianchi 1948ca Stelvio 248 cc 1 cyl OHV 3603

Bianchi 1948ca “Stelvio” 248 cc OHV frame & engine # 85178

video: https://youtu.be/LLMrY9nWOeQ
The history of Bianchi begins in 1885, when Edoardo Bianchi opens his first shop in the Via Nirone in Milan and starts to construct bicycles. In 1888 he’s the first in Italy to move from solid tyres to the Dunlop-patent air chamber type. From 1897 till 1902 tricycles and quadricycles are produced and in 1902 comes the first motorcycle, fitted with a De Dion-Bouton engine. Car manufacture starts in 1908. Most models from the teens and twenties are side valve singles but in 1925 a 348 cc overhead valve (OHV) single is introduced. There’s also a 348 cc dual overhead cam (DOHC) works racer, designed by Albino Baldi, Bianchi’s chief engineer and these Bianchis will become the most successful Italian racing bikes for the next five years, ridden by famous racing men such as Tazio Nuvolari and Mario Ghersi. In the 1930s Baldi designs another racing bike, a 498cc ohc single. 1938 sees the introduction of a supercharged four cylinder 498 cc DOHC racer, but this model will never fully developed. During the second world war the factory gets severely damaged but after the war the company manages, with the help of state funding and bank loans, to get production going again. The fist models are 125 cc two stroke machines, after that a 248 cc four stroke ohv machine is brought out, the “Stelvio” named after the famous mountain pass in northern Italy bordering Switzerland. The Stelvio, produced between 1947 and 1952, is available in Turismo and Gran Turismo versions and has bore x stroke dimensions of 63 x 80 mm. Weight is around 150 kg, top speed around 95 km/h and the ignition is provided by a battery and coil system. The model has a 4-speed gearbox and plunger rear suspension. The oil is carried in an extension of the crankcase and the lighting is provided by a Magneto Marelli dynamo.
This nice older restoration machine comes with sporty alu Akront wheel rims.