1953 Maserati 160T4
Frame and engine number: #927
Registration number: 265 UYH

• 160cc single cylinder four-stroke engine
• Four speed gearbox
• Rare unrestored early edition

During the 1950s a division of the Orsi group, owners of Maserati at the time, manufactured motorcycles with the Maserati name. These ranged in size between a 50cc two-stroke to a 250cc four-stroke, though the two most common and successful bikes in terms of sales were the 125cc two-stroke and 160cc four-stroke.

The bike we are offering here is an early version of the four-stroke dating from 1953. A very original example with matching numbers, it was sold new in Salerno, Italy. When the first owner passed away just a few months after purchasing the Maserati, it was acquired by the owner of the supplying dealership. On file is a period picture of the owner on this actual bike. When he later retired in the early 1980s he gave it to his son, who stored it unused until 2014 when it was acquired by Black & White Garage and imported to the UK.

With help from the Maserati Club UK, in July 2014 it was registered here in the UK and lightly recommissioned to make it usable By Chiltern Moto Classics. The invoice for this and one for new tyres are on file. We bought it in late 2014 and since then it has had very little use. In recent years it has been decommissioned to form part of our own collection of Maserati and other Italian bikes. Incredibly, for a 1953 bike, it has only had effectively four owners.

While the majority of Maserati motos are today painted red, this one has managed to retain its original colour scheme. Being such an early example (from the first year of production), it owes much to the style of Italmoto, the Bologna company bought out by the Orsi’s to facilitate moto manufacture. This bike has never been totally restored, retains great patina and also has some delightful features that the later bikes do not have, such as the Maserati branded speedometer and the oblong Maserati script.

The four-stroke engine develops 7.5 bhp and drives through a four-speed gearbox, giving a top speed of a heady 100 km/h.

One of many Italian companies that branched out into motorcycles and scooters to aid the Italian post-war recovery, by the end of the 1950s and with the advent of such temptingly priced small cars as the Fiat Nuova 500, the moto boom was over and this diversion for Maserati was closed. Of the approximately 10,000 bikes of all types made during the period, only a handful are known to survive, making them rare and sought after by Maserati cognoscenti.

In Italy a registro exists to support owners and supply odd spare parts to encourage use, however for most Maseratisti they are seen as the ultimate garage trinket to accompany a car collection.

This then, is a rare early edition, probably unique in the UK, and remains in incredibly original condition. It should be easily recommissioned and benefits from UK V5C and known history. It is now time for it to find a new home with a Maserati collector and is therefore being offered for sale. It is available to view at our workshops.