Gilera was founded in 1909 by Giuseppe Gilera (1887) a farmers son in Milan, but as demand grew with racing success he moved his factory to Arcore after the war. In 1935 Gilera acquired rights to the Rondine four cylinder engine and this formed the basis for Gilera's racing machines nearly forty years. They developed a range of four-stroke machines with engines ranging from 100-500cc. The most famous of which was the 1939 Saturno. Post war came the famous World Championship winning San Remo, which takes it's name from it's victorious debut at the 1947 Ospedaletti Grand Prix near San Remo. Gilera rode these fast machines himself and broke many records with them. Like many other great manufacturers the company was bought by the Piaggio group in 1969 and who continued their manufacture. Giuseppe Gilera died two years later at the venerable age of 84 years, having created an empire and a legend.

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1940 Saturno  500cc	1953 150 T 150cc	1954 Piuma  DOHC 500cc	1956 Model 175 175cc
1964 106SS  106cc	1968 Strada 150cc