Fosscati Club Outings & Events.
BIKES & KITES FESTIVAL in Brunswick Heads 2011
Fosscati had a display tent as usual at this year’s Kites & Bikes Festival
The 1947 Ducati Cucciolo, Ducati's very first engine product, was a crowd puller to the Fosscati Tent. FOR MORE INFORMATION SEE COMMENTS AT BOTTOM OF PAGE.
The 1947 Ducati Cucciolo, Ducati's very first engine product, was a crowd puller to the Fosscati Tent. FOR MORE INFORMATION SEE COMMENTS AT BOTTOM OF PAGE.
The Ducati Cucciolo is a 49cc 4-stroke single and can hit speeds of 68 kmhr. Over 400,000 were built from 1947-57.
For more information on the DUCATI see the comments at bottom of page.
Fosscati Motorised Bicycle Tent at NSW Bike Week - Nannini Fosscati in the chair.
BIKES & KITES FESTIVAL – Brunswick Heads NSW March 2009:
This festival attracts many thousands of visitors to the beautiful seaside town of Brunswick Heads and the Fosscati Motorized Bicycle tent was thronging with visitors for the full two days of the Festival. Fosscati Motorised Bicycles of exceptional quality were displayed for the public to inspect closely. Bike engines were also displayed with benchtop demonstrations proving to be a great hit with the public. People were amazed at how quiet the 4-stroke Honda bicycle engines were.
Fosscati Stand at 2009 Bikes & Kites Festival in Brunswick Heads NSW
Fosscati Stall early morning before the crowds arrived
Fosscati Refreshment Tent Bike & Kites Festival 2009
- Fosscati Bicicletta Motorizzata were a sponsor of the 2009 Bikes & Kites Festival
FOSSCATI CLUB MOTORIZED BIKE RALLIES:
Membership of the Fosscati Club (aka The Mild Bunch) is given free to all owners of a Fosscati Motorized Bicycle. Meetings are currently held seasonally in the Northern Rivers District of NSW. The 2009 Fosscati Club Christmas Rally went from Mullumbimby to Murwillumbah and home via Uki & Stokers Siding. Lunch was in Mooball and a great time was had by all. The roar of formation Fosscatis is a sound worth hearing!
Fosscati Club (Ocean Shores Chapter leader) Aldo Murrano on the 2007 Xmas Fosscati Rally
Two FG4 Indians stop along the road to Wilsons Creek, July 2011. The world's fastest Indian is the one with the lightest rider!!
Robert Bleakley enjoys a perfect winter's day at Wilsons Creek on the Fosscati Club outing July 2011
The leaders, here riding two FosscatiFG4 Billinudgel Bullets, wait for the tail enders in the Fosscati Gang
Chris Watts on board his FG4 Billinudgel Bullet Deluxe
Giacomo & Chris stop for coffee at Yum Yum Tree Cafe in New Brighton
Fosscati Outing June 2010 - refreshments provided from the Team Fosscati van.
Fosscati Outing June 2010
Alfonso Murrano, Sergeant-at-Arms of the Billinudgel Chapter of The Fosscatis waves to the camera
MOVIE: You can see and hear Giacomo Fosscati leisurely riding two different Fosscati 4 strokes – The FG4 Billinudgel Bullet and the FG4 Indian Pacific in and around Mullumbimby NSW. The Movie is called FORZA FOSSCATI and can be viewed on the linksbelow:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMTXjD4etqA
ANNUAL NUDE BICYCLE RIDE – BYRON BAY 2009
Fosscati owners were represented at this event as well but their names shall remain anonymous.
nude bike ride - Byron Bay March 2009
CONTACT GIACOMO FOSSCATI by e-mail: fosscati@gmail.com
FONO: 02 6680 5740
or, if calling from outside Australia: (612) 805740
CELLULARE: o431 417588
or, if calling from outside Australia: +61431 417588
I really like your website Giacomo. Your bikes are masterpieces of craftsmanship. I’m interested to know more about that Ducati bicycle shown on this page. Could you be so kind as to tell me what you know about that model?
Many thanks & keep up your great work.
Hi Darrell, The Ducati Cucciolo (Little Pup) is a 49cc 4-stroke single cylinder engine that bolts to a bicycle. If you are a Ducati obsessive this is where the legend began. It was their first production engine. Lots of clip-on engines were made in Europe after WWII, but while most of these engines were 2-strokes with a single gear and direct drive to the rear tyre via a friction roller, the Ducati was a cut above. The 4-stroke engine clamped below the bike’s bottom bracket and so provided excellent weight distribution, plus it had a two-speed gearbox.
And it wasn’t just more sophisticated. It was faster too. A Cucciolo could travel at over 40 mph (and they respond well to tuning). That is quick enough if you are relying on bicycle brakes to stop you. With a 39 x 40mm bore and stroke giving a capacity of 48cc and a 6.25:1 compression ratio it was capable of delivering 1.25 bhp at a giddy 5200 rpm.
Operating the two-speed gearchange is one of the arts of Cucciolo riding. It’s a pre-selector gearbox and the position of the bicycle pedals dictate which ratio you get when you pull in the clutch. Left foot forward for low, right foot forward for high, left foot down for neutral. You have to remember that mechanical disaster will result from pulling in the clutch while pedalling.
The engine drives via the bicycle chain, so a wheel with a freewheel means there is no engine braking. You can also combine the two-speed gearbox with a three-speed hub gear to provide six ratios, impressive hill climbing ability and lots of “er….what gear am I in?” confusion.
The quality of the Cucciolo meant that they were more expensive than other cycle motors when new, and they still are. Around 400,000 were built between 1946 – 56, but the survival rate is low because they were so heavily used. Even so, finding one isn’t hard if you are patient. The scarcity of spares means that it is worth taking your time and getting a good one rather than trying to restore a mismatched collection of worn out parts. The one in the picture above is mounted on a very sturdy frame – a flimsy frame will just fall apart. The one above is on an “Irish Cross” frame and those frames were made specifically for the terrible condition of pre-war Irish Roads.
I hope this provides you with some background info on the classic Ducati Cucciolo. Thanks for asking.