Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128620
Benelli 250cc Quattro Racer By ALAN CATHCA RT P HOT O S BY KYOICH I NAKAMU RA 11 dm it it : we all h a ve t he same ..c\ d re a m - to have o u r ve ry o wn works Gra nd Prix racer in the garage n e xt doo r, prefera b ly one fro m t he golden age of GP racing with an interesti ng h is to ry involving one of our fa vo rite rid e rs. I' m no except io n to that wish list brigade - exce pt that in m y case , thanks to my best mate , American Jeff C raig , that dream ca me tr ue recently whe n I had the cha nc e to own the ex -Tarquinio Prov ini 19 64 four-cylinder Benelli 250. After years of searching , Cra ig had fo u nd the bare essentials of the Be n e ll i ra cer we 'd bo th wondered rea lly ex isted, but about which we 'd ke pt uncovering tantalizing leads over a 10-ye ar period - a s ho w bike sent 38 JULY 5 ,2000 " cue I e o ver b y th e fac tory in late 1964 to he lp promote the la unch of the Bene lIi bra n d in the U .S . mar ket. Afte r m a k ing th e ro unds of Bene lli s how roo ms , it ha d go ne m is s ing , a victim of a d isp ute be twe en the im p orter s and one of th e ir dealers . With ownershi p st ill vested in the Italian . fa cto ry , whose m a n a g in g dire ctor had s aid the y'd waived the ir interest in it , the wa y was clear for Craig to bu y the b ik e and s hip it to Eng land. S o in March of 1985, m y ve ry ow n works ra ce r to uc hed its wheels dow n aga in in Eu rope for the first time in two decades. Wish fulfillm e nt , indeed. Well - sort of, for what o n the o ut sid e loo ked like a com p lete motorcycle , m inu s the fa iring, was in reality very mu ch a n e g gs he ll withou t t h e yoke ins ide . Qu ite reasonably , Ben e lli ha d ex t rac ted all e ng ine internals n e vv s before send ing the bike S ta teside for s how purpos es , so wh ile it had a ll th e righ t c hass is ha rdw a re and a co mpl et e b a nk of fo ur De ll' O rto 20m m carbs , non e o f th e parts ne ed ed t o ever m ake the e ngi ne ru n a ga in we re inclu de d . Still - what ma n ha s m a de o nce, ma n c a n make again , rig ht? Well - y e s , a nd no: the re was zero parts sto ck at the Benelli factory , by now merg ed wit h Moto G uzzi , who proved ve ry he lpful, so the feasibility of recreating a mid- '60s works four c y lin d e r ra c e engi ne two deca des later was a lmost zilch . St ill - at lea st I had the shell of my ve ry own Bene lli GP rac e r, to go with the several streetbikes in my garage produced by a brand I've always had a soft spot for, bec a us e of the huma n level at wh ic h Be n e lli a lways c o n d uc ted th ings . If on ly we co uld hea r it . The Benelli Quattro 250 that won the 1964 Spanish 250cc Grand Prix in the capable hands of Tarquinio Proy;ni has been restored a nd ri dden • The fact tha t , eventua lly, Pro vini's ' 6 4 Spa n is h GP winner re turn ed to t h e race track in 1997 is en tirely thanks to two m en who have spent the ir lives m a k in g the impossib le h a p p en as a m a tt er of co urse George Be al e , and Gian carl o Mor bidelli. Be a le 's bra ve decision to bu ild a h a nd fu l of e x a c t c o p ie s of th e 196 8 /69 Pa s ol ini - e ra 350cc four cylinder Benelli GP ra cer (itse lf c losely der iv ed fr om my earl ier 250 ) , resulted bot h in the creation of a vas t se lect io n o f in te rna l e ngi ne pa rts , ra ng in g fro m c rankshafts to va lve s hi ms , a nd the sourcing of ha rd -to-