A Brief History of the Italian Marque
Manufactured 1925-1934
Peitro Trespidi was born in Stradella in 1897, and was involved with a number of Italian motorcycle companies, most famously Alpino, which he founded.
After completing his studies at an industrial institute he moved to Milan where he was employed in the workshop of Giuseppe Gilera. In the early 1920s he returned to Stradella to set up his own workshop, where he repaired vehicles and over time designed and built a 250cc two-stroke motorcycle. Completed in 1924, the machine was entered in circuit racing and hill-climbs. In 1925 Ignazio Pernetta won the first Stradella Circuit event on a Trespidi. It was tested and favorably reviewed by Motociclismo, in an article dated April 1925. The article alerts the people of Stradela that they have a budding star in their midst, and began buying 100 Lire shares to enable the establishment of a small factory.
The public offering resulted in the establishment of the Società Anonima Moto Trespidi on 10 February 1926. Production models of the Trespidi 250 appeared that year in Turismo and Sport versions. After 100 machines had been built was apparent that they could not fulfil the orders so in 1927 the company was reorganised with fresh capital to allow for greater production.
In 1929 the 250 was joined by a 175 but by then the financial crisis was beginning to bite and orders were rapidly diminishing. The company weathered the storm through to 1933, but by 1934 there was no way out and they closed up shop in the early months of the year.
Trespidi returned to his original workshop and in 1944 he designed and built a prototype of auxiliary micromotor to be applied to bicycles which he named the "Alpino". On 24 February 1945, with some colleagues, he founded the Motobici company, and production began. The new firm was very successful.
The partners fell out, and Trespidi left Motobici in 1951 and began a new endeavour in Stradella, SIMES (Società Industriale Meccanica Stradella), which used the Ardito brand. After a promising start, the motorcycle industry entered a slump due to the advent of cheap cars like the 500 Fiat, and activities ceased in 1954.
This was not the end of his contribution to motorcycling, by any means. He later worked with Guazzoni refining their engines, and was commissioned by BM Karting to build an engine with which the Swedish driver Thomas Nillson won the world title in 1968.
Sources: Moto di Lombardia, motoclubstoricoconti.it, motoclub-stradella.it, heavyrider.corriere.it, it.wikipedia.org
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