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Centaurus

A Miracle in Via Crocetta

At the end of WWII, in spite of great hardship, brothers Bergamini managed to assemble a few 250cc. and 500cc. Centaurus motorcycles in their shop at Via Crocetta 40 in Modena. They had bought out the necessary materials and parts from Vittorio Guerzoni, a local technician who had been working as a motor builder for Mignon first and for MG (Moto Guerzoni) later.
Before the War, MG had been working with Kn. G. Fabbri's Taurus in Milan and supplied them with a series of 250cc. and 500cc. motorcycles designed to compete in races along brands like Bianchi, Benelli, CM, MM, MAS and Sertum.
However, these motorcycles - designed and built by Guerzoni in Modena and featuring single overhead camshaft distribution with conical torque, a unique model in Italy - would not be very successful. As luck would have it, later models - like MG (Moto Guerzoni) and Centaurus - would not do very well either, and were only produced in limited quantity.
People seemed to prefer motorcycles with smaller engines - which could be easily found on the market - or motor scooters and "micro-motors", conveniently payable in monthly installments.
Italian motorcycle manufacturers, traditionally tied to 500cc. models, were facing hard times.
Regrettably, the lack of motor shows on one hand and the limited advertising possibilities on the other would have a negative influence on sales.
The history of Centaurus motorcycles was doomed to remain short - from 1946 to the late 1948.

Excerpt taken from Dante Candini's book "Le Moto Maserati e l'artigianato motociclistico modenese"("Maserati Motorcycles and Motor Craftsmanship in Modena"), p. 160 (prologue by Roberto Orsi; foreword by Nunzia Manicardi), Il Fiorino Publishing, Modena, 2002.
(Courtesy of the Publisher)