Moto Guzzi 150 cc Galletto scooter
Guzzi’s first “scooter” was the 150 cc Galletto (Cockerel) which appeared to much acclaim at the Geneva Motor Show in 1950.
Designed by Carlo Guzzi himself the bike was the company’s response the runaway success of the Vespa & Lambretta scooters.
The most obvious feature of the design was the use of large 17 inch wheels which set the machine apart from the horde of small-wheeled scooters hitting the market.
The increased stability gained from the larger diameter wheels together with the ease of mounting with the ‘step through’ chassis plus the torque from the horizontal single OHV 4-stroke motor (with external flywheel, so very much in the traditional Guzzi mould) made the bike much favoured by professionals such as lawyers, engineers and most famously, priests.
It was also much used by the Italian Postal Service – in fact in many respects it could be considered the earlier, Italian version of the later Honda Super Cub step through.
Although not fitted to this 1952 162 cc machine, a spare wheel was normally mounted across the front of the leg guards. All three wheels were interchangeable.
The engine size increased over the years from 150 to 162 to 175 and finally 192 cc (with electric start). Some 71,000 were built by the time production ceased in 1965.
Depending on capacity the output ranged from 6 to 7.5 hp and top speeds from 80 to 85 km/h.
An interesting (although unsubstantiated) story is that when Honda came calling at Ducati to protest the 916’s use of a single-sided swing-arm (which Honda had patented), the Ducati engineers simply wheeled out a Galletto and pointed to its single-sided swing-arm!
