A Brief History of the Italian Marque
Manufactured 1948 to 1954
Costruzioni Meccaniche Sessa (CO.ME.S.) was run by Eugenio Sessa and his sons Gianluigi, Umberto and Alfredo. Production began with 48cc auxiliary two-stroke two-speed engines marketed under the Rondine brand.
In 1945 they produced two prototypes with 75 cc 4-speed engines from which was derived the GT 98 produced in 1949. This was followed in 1951 by a 150 and in 1953 the Star 150, all with four-speed gearboxes. Eng. Aldo Alice Gallarate, formerly of Rumi, was a member of the team.
Later they assembled off-road machines using components from external suppliers.
The production of Sessa motorcycles spans the years 1948 to 1954 in the Morazzone factory which employed thirty people, while the frames were made in Azzate in a smaller factory with 12 employees.
In 1922 Eugenio Sessa created a motorcycle sidecar combination powered by a 1300cc V-twin and then a single-cylinder engine, possibly from Della Ferrera.
The family tradition in the transport industry dates back even further. Grandfather Joseph in Jerago, in the province of Varese, had a factory specializing in parts for carriages, and was well known for his production of axles for coaches which did not suffer from binding and seizure. These were in considerable demand and were supplied to British Royals, among others.
They progressed from horse to horseless carriages, producing spare parts for the automotive industry. This gave them a broad market for the Sessa motorcycles, with were widely distributed by dealers in Milan and Parma.
The Morazzone factory employed around a dozen people. When it closed in 1954 Gianluigi took employment with first Rumi, then Bianchi and then Innocenti, and Umberto designed forks and shock absorbers.
Sources: Moto di Lombardia, Tragatsch p272.
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