Zanella

I have been putting off this post for a long time, but I finally gave up on learning much more about this rare brand of tiddler than I already had surmised from this 1964 Cycle World ad. I have at least one additional ad from CW, and certain information from that one will be included here. This particular ad shows all three of the Zanella models clearly, and that is the main reason for this selection. You can click on the graphic to enlarge the pictures, but you still may not be able to clearly read the text. You can see a photo of a red model here (more on this later).

Zanella is not an Italian brand, as I immediately assumed when I first heard of the company. Zanellas were (are?) built in Argentina under license from what were originally Italian designs. According to Wikipedia, the company was founded in 1948 and is still producing small bikes. However, as with most of the non-Japanese brands displayed on this site, I doubt that Zanellas were imported into the U.S. outside of a few years at most during the mid-Sixties. The three models included a 50cc step-through, a 100cc sport model, and a 125cc offered in both sport and touring styles. All three were simple piston-port two-strokes, and as far as I can ascertain, all Zanellas were red. The shifters were on the right and the kickstarters on the left. Unusual among the numerous tiddler brands of the '60's, Zanellas were imported into Miami, and the quoted prices were F.O.B. Miami, although as you can see in this ad, there was a California distributor, too.

The 50cc Bambina is the snoozer of the bunch. For its type, style, and price of $190, you can easily see that its leading competitor in this country was probably the Allstate Moped. With its three-speed transmission and kickstarter, I would have chosen this 36-mph wombat over the Allstate any day. I expect most of you are allergic to pedals, too. Interestingly, this model is referred to as the Bambina in this February ad, but in another one from August, it is called the Bambino. Maybe they figured out that although it was styled like a girl's bike, it would be mostly boys buying it.

The 100cc Super Sport was a giant step above the Bambina, and its price of $330 almost doubled. It is unclear whether or not the two larger Zanellas had four-speed transmissions or not, but I bet they did. Zanella offered the touring model, called Turismo by the company, with a four-gallon gas tank and covered components, which seemed to include rear shock covers and side covers. The top speed was listed as 56 mph, and the copywriters bragged about the low compression ratios for longevity reasons. A strangely distinctive styling component of the 100cc model is the upward curve of the crossbrace handlebars.

The 125cc Super Sport is also available with the touring styling, but according to the later ad in August, the 100cc SS was dropped, leaving it as a Turismo only, while still offering the 125 in either guise. With a claimed top speed of 63 mph, the 125 Super Sport retailed for $360 plus destination and setup charges. For some reason, the 100 has the stupid-looking handlebars with either tank, but the 125 has standard. somewhat low, touring bars. You can see in the linked color photo that the smoothly curved rear frame rail paralleling the rear fender makes a nice styling cue to complement the little chrome crown on the headlamp and the painted white tank panels. My favorite styling mark of the Zanella Super Sports, though, is the smaller gas tank that seems to be curved inward on its top side!