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motorcycles

1973 Benelli 250 Super Sport

Benelli-Motobi manufactured these bikes with lovely 2 and 4 stroke egg-shaped motors since the 50's. By 1962, they had bumped up displacement to 250cc and had added a fifth gear. Known in Europe as the Motobi Sport Special, the model was badged as a Benelli in the United States and sold as the "Super Sport."

I had been passively looking for one of these egg-motor bike (known to Germans as Das Kraftei, or "power egg") for several years, after first admiring my friend Stiletto's in Berlin. I found one on eBay, but hesitated on purchasing it. When it did not make its reserve during the auction, I contacted the owner and made arrangements to have it shipped to New Mexico. From the VIN label, I glean that the motorcycle was built in April of 1972. Most likely, it became a 1973 on its way to a US distributor (probably the much-maligned Cosmopolitan Motors of Hatboro, PA).

It so turns out that an old customer of mine had restored a 1972 example, and that another friend from San Francisco has likewise been bitten by the Benelli-Motobi bug.

 

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Dig the quasi-clipon handlebars

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New Mexico plate. From FL by way of an AL registration

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I think this is original mileage