Motom 1956

1956 Motom S48 motorcycle. 4-stroke, one cylinder air-cooled engine 48cc. Motorcycle was known for reliability, good performance and low fuel consumption (75 km with one liter of gasoline, top speed exceeding 50 kph). Motom Italiana Spa began producing OHV 49cc clip-on bicycle motors in 1947, and in mid-50s they were the third-biggest motorcycle manufacturer in Italy after Moto Guzzi and Garelli.

"Motoms had only come into existence in 1947, when the Lancia factory engineer Battista Falchetto saw the success of Ducati's Cucciolo 48cc four-stroke auxiliary motor, and envisaged a complete motorcycle with a similar engine. Lancia's access to the pressed-steel specialists Farina, plus funding from the factory- owner Ernesto Frua soon led to a model called the Motomic, and – despite early problems with reliability – derivative models were soon selling. The fledgling company was further boosted in 1953, when it temporarily recruited Gilera's celebrated designer – Piero Remor. Styling and mechanical details were revised to make the little bike more purposeful, and while the engine still only had 48cc, it put out over two horsepower, and gave the sort of performance that contemporary British motorcyclists expected from a much larger machine..." from www.independent.co.uk