Wednesday 31 August 2016

They didn't? They did!

FB Mondial were one of the great names of the immediate post-war grand prix racing scene. Owned by a couple of counts (no spelling mistake), the Fratelli Boselli (the brother Boselli and the FB in the name) inspired both MV Agusta and Soichiro Honda. Famously, Mr Honda approached FB Mondial to buy their 1957 world championship winning 125. Instead, he was given it and used it as the standard by which all Hondas would be made.

An Italian business tycoon made a disastrous effort to bring the name back in the late-90s with the Piega 1000, using Honda's RC51 engine. The story is yet more proof of the old adage, 'How do you made a small fortune from manufacturing motorcycles?' Start with a large one.

But Mondial are back, kind of. And they called their bike a what now?

'Hipster, for FB Mondial, represents its own comeback to the top, closed to the “hipster generation”, that born as Mondial in the 40’s and is coming back fashionable again in the last years. A word that always means a “way of being”, a “lifestyle” that wants to go over institutional standards of its times anticipating the future ones.'

Despite the name, the bike has some nice touches. I saw it some time ago at EICMA, and don't know if it's actually out there, but if it is and it is floating your barca, then get your Hipster here. G

No comments: