SIMPLEX

500 Ala d'Oro - 1936

An Italian bike with German style

The Simplex marque, founded in Turin in 1922 by Pellini and Ferraris, initially just built small clip-on engines for bicycles. It was only after the departure of the Ferraris in 1924 that the firm began building complete lightweight motorcycles with 125cc horzontal two-stroke engines, which were first marketed in 1926.

Enter the Ala d'Oro

The following year the company built a 150cc four-stroke, followed in 1930 by a rather more mature 175 with enclosed valves and a three-speed transmission in unit with the engine. The layout of this "Ala d'Oro" ("Gold Wings") was adopted in 1931 for a 500 using the same name. The following year it acquired a four-speed gearbox. In 1936, there were two models in the range, a luxury line and a sports version with enhanced performance. A 250 with unorthodox rear suspension came along in 1937, as did a side-valve 500 utility model.

German Influence

The final evolution of the 500, in 1938, used the same rear suspension as the 250, but rigid-frame models were still available. Relatively expensive – at the end of its production run, the Simplex 500 cost around 17,000 lire, equivalent to ten months of a factory hand’s wage or the price of a modern 1000cc sports bike – the Simplex enjoyed only limited sales. Technically advanced but heavily built, it combined contemporary Italian technology and Germanic styling. Simplex closed down in 1940, when Italy entered the war, but a few machines were assembled after the conflict ended, from the existing stock of spare parts.

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 499cc (84x90 mm) air-cooled single-cylinder four-stroke

Valves: overhead

Transmission: 4-speed; chain final drive

Suspension: girder forks (from); rigid (rear)

Brakes: drum (front & rear)

Wheels: 3.50x19 inch

Maximum Speed! 80 mph

A typical single-cylinder Italian bike of the Thirties, the Simplex was rather more severe in styling than many of its contemporaries.