Moto Morini up for Auction—By Bruno dePrato

The second life of Moto Morini that started in 2003 has come to a sad end. On April 10, all that remains of one of the makes that helped create the legend of the Italian light- and middleweight bikes from the 1930s to the ’60s will go to the highest bidder.

Moto Morini’s assets have been valued at 5.5 million euros, but bidders will be given the opportunity to bid either for the premises alone, starting at 3.3 million euros, or for the brand and what is still in stock, starting at 2.2 million euros. The lack of credible offers to acquire Moto Morini after it applied for Chapter 11 was the gloomiest aspect of the collapse, a condition that progressively turned into a black hole from which the company was unable to recover.

Chief project engineer Franco Lambertini will say goodbye to his beloved Moto Morini for the second time, having resurrected it with the help of the “other half” of the Morini family. But Lambertini will probably not be able to perform a third miracle, being that he is now 74 years old. Too bad. He poured into Moto Morini all of his passionate dedication and superb competence.