Gilera 1937 VTE Quattro Bulloni 499 cc 1 cyl ohv 3601

Gilera 1937 VTE “Quattro Bulloni” 499 cc ohv single frame # 102595 engine #12176

Founded by 22-year-old engineer, Giuseppe Gilera in 1909, this Italian manufacturer first sprang to international prominence in the late 1930s when its supercharged four-cylinder racers heavily defeated BMW in Grands Prix and snatched the world speed record away from the German marque. Throughout the early 1950s it was the racers which again grabbed the headlines, the Arcore marque’s fours taking five manufacturer’s titles and six individual world championships in the hands of riders such as Geoff Duke, Libero Liberati and Umberto Masetti. Although racing generated valuable publicity, it was sales of road bikes that paid the bills.
The first 500 cc models were side valves, but in the course of the thirties the development of 500 cc ohv models was taken in hand. This resulted in 1935 in the presentation of the “VT” series, in which the VT stood for “Valvole in Testo”, or overhead valves.
These ‘VT’ overhead-valve 500cc singles were among the best fast touring bikes that money could buy. They are commonly known as either ‘Quattro Bulloni’ or ‘Otto Bulloni’ (4 bolt or 8 bolt) depending on the engine’s top-end fixing arrangements. Power outputs for the roadster models ranged from 20 to 24bhp, with more available in race tune; indeed, a Gran Sport version won the 1939 Milan-Taranto race. The VT series paved the way for the legendary Saturno, Gilera’s best known model, which arrived in 1940 and would last until 1959. The machine we present here is a VTE, the “E” standing for “Elastico”, that refers to the rear suspension.
This construction was designed by Guiseppe Gilera in 1934 and it comprised vertical levers compressing horizontal springs enclosed in aluminium tubes integrated in the frame. The back of these tubes had another set of springs for rebound damping. A set of adjustable friction dampers was connected between the rear fork end and the back of the tubes containing the springs. This was quite a sophisticated design since most of the motorcycles of the time had no rear suspension whatsoever.
The well-designed VTE has bore x stroke dimensions of 84 x 90 mm, battery and coil ignition and carries the oil in the sump. The former owner enlarged the oil pump output because the original system could not cope very well with prolonged rides at speed; the 1930s roads didn’t permit that but the double output it gives now keeps the engine healthy on modern roads. The well- restored machine we offer comes with a certificate of Authenticity of the Automotoclub Storico Italiano and a digital copy of an instruction book in Italian.