A Brief History of the Italian Marque
Manufactured: 1954 - 1962
In 1951 the brothers Giacomo, Mario and Tonino Scoccimarro, from Trani, Puglia, established a business producing Elgaver paint.
Motorcycle production followed in 1954, being a passion of Giacomo.
The MDS Scoccimarro Moto, with a logo displaying three horses, was presented in June 1955.
The machine has 2.75 x 16" tyres, telescopic forks and swingarm rear suspension and was powered by a 65cc 3-speed OHV four-stroke engine of their own design with the barrel cast in unit with the horizontally split alloy engine cases, the work of Giacomo Scoccimarro and Eng. Bagnulo.
In November of 1955 the Motoretta 65 scooter appeared along with the motoleggera 75 Sport model, and was followed in June 1956 by the 75c Turismo. December 1956 saw the arrival of the 75 Turismo Veloce with 20" wheels.
At the December 1957 Milan Show the 70 was presented, followed in April 1958 by the 70 Sport version.
In 1959 production of the Motoretta 65 ended and, at the Milan Show in November, an 80cc model was displayed with a new engine, the cylinder tilted forward at 15 degrees with better finning and a larger capacity sump.
These lightweight motorcycles had a three-speed gearbox with twistgrip control, the 75 Sports model having a 4-speed gearbox with pedal control on the left side of the engine.
All engines were the same stroke of 46mm with the bore varied for different capacities of 65cc 70cc 75cc and 80cc.
In 1956 a 75cc competition SOHC machine was introduced, with a top speed of 120 km/h.
The lack of reliable data makes it difficult to give accurate production figures for MDS. The company had around fifteen employees, one may probably assume a production of 200-250 bikes a year for the six years of activity could lead to a total of 1,200-1,500 units built.
Production is believed to have halted in 1961 or 1962.
Sources: Moto di Lombardia, MC Storico Conti, Tragatsch p206.
If you have a query about these vintage Italian machines, please contact us
N.B. There is an MDS scale model aero engine (reportedly of dubious quality) made in Russia. No known relationship. "Non te lo consiglio, pur essendo potente, è un motore molto problematico." ~ baronerosso.it
