I briefly mentioned Paton’s 250 parallel twin GP bike a couple of columns ago when talking about its big brother 500. I thought it would be interesting to have a more detailed look at it.
Paton 250 parallel-twin GP Racer
This design is itself a following on from the 250cc parallel twin that Giuseppe Pattoni and Lino Tonti designed for F.B. Mondial (F. B. Mondial 250cc twin-cylinder GP Racer) and formed the basis for all the four-stroke Paton’s to come.
Paton 250 parallel-twin GP Racer
The 250 used a 53 x 56 mm bore and stroke and a six-speed gearbox. The output of 32 hp at 12,000 rpm was acceptable but the bike was overweight at 137 kg which made its performance marginal. The best result it achieved was a third in the Lightweight TT at the IoM in 1964 with Alberto Pagani aboard.
Paton 250 parallel-twin GP Racer
Of the two 250s made the one seen here is the only original example left. The second bike was converted into a 350 (which was owned and raced by Mike Duff), before again being enlarged, this time to 500cc (which was raced by Englishman Fred Stevens who won the 1967 North West 200 on it).
I’ve previously featured Paton’s later two-stroke GP bikes, but Giuseppe Pattoni is best known for his four-stroke 500 racers.
Ex-Billie Nelson Paton 500 4-stroke Racer
He was the chief mechanic for F.B. Mondial’s GP team, then with former company engineer Lino Tonti, went on to found their own company to produce race bikes. The first of which was a 125 cc single, then a 250 cc parallel-twin which eventually (and after Toni had left to join Bianchi) was ridden by Alberto Pagani to third at the IoM.
Ex-Billie Nelson Paton 500 4-stroke Racer
The English businessman Bob Hannah then stepped in to fund the team and the 350 (’65) and 500 (’66) twins that were developed from the 250. Fred Stevens finished sixth in the 1967 World Championship and fifth in the Senior TT on one 500 that started its life as one of the two 250s built (and thus had a wheelbase 100 mm shorter than the 500 seen here).
Ex-Billie Nelson Paton 500 4-stroke Racer
This bike is the ex-Billie Nelson machine that he finished fourth on in the 1969 championship and has a 1380 mm wheelbase. Later versions, from 1971, incorporated 4-valve heads which produced a further 5 hp compared to the 58 hp at 10,400 rpm (rear wheel) of the ’68 bike.
Ex-Billie Nelson Paton 500 4-stroke Racer
The 500cc Paton’s went on to finish in second place in the Italian Championship in ’71 (third in ’70 and ’72) with rider Roberto Gallina and with a Bimota frame took fourth in ’74 with Armando Toracca aboard. Virginio Ferrari rode for the team in ’75 and ’76 but the 4-stroke design was very outclassed by then and Pattoni and his son Roberto began to develop their new 2-stroke motor.
Giuseppe Pattoni was the chief mechanic for the FB Mondial GP team when the company (together with Guzzi and Gilera) quit racing at the end of 1957. He and former company engineer, Lino Tonti, then formed their own company, Paton. Their first bike was a 125cc single, closely based on the Mondial.
Mike Hailwood finished seventh on the bike in the 1958 IOM Lightweight TT. This was followed by a 250cc parallel twin which in turn spawned 350 and 500cc versions. The 500 was the most successful and still produced for classic racing. Indeed it is the go-to bike for the 500 classes.
In 1975-76 Pattoni started development of a V4 two-stroke. It was the first single crankshaft V4 to appear in the 500 Championship. It was also the first design that Pattoni’s son Roberto was involved with. However it wasn’t until 1983 that the much refined C1 500 was ready for competition.
As with the original design the cylinder angle was 115º. It wasn’t until 1990 that it was changed to 90º. A redesign (the C9/2) in 1994 saw the angle further reduced to 70º. A pair of special magnesium Dell’Orto carburettors were fitted (each with two two intakes/float bowls per body) with Paton manufactured top fittings.
The 1995 C10/1 saw power rise to 165 hp, still at 12,000 rpm. This bike is the only ’94 spec V70 in existence as the second machine was upgraded to C10/1 specification. Output was 150 hp at 12,000 rpm, while dry weight was just 135 kg.
I have been fortunate enough to have photographed quite a few F. B. Mondials over the years and have been very impressed with their designs.
The 1958 F. B. Mondial / Paton 250 GP Racer
Mondial first experimented with siamesing two of their successful 125cc singles together
However all of their race bikes were singles – so I was intrigued, while browsing the net, to spot a photo of a collection in Italy that appeared to show a twin-cylinder Mondial GP bike.
The Mondial twin is an unusual machine from a brand renowned for their singles
After some research and emails I found myself near Milan to photograph what turned out to be a very interesting machine!
The 1958 F. B. Mondial / Paton 250 GP Racer
The first design in 1955 proved a non-starter but paved the way for further development
Mondial had a couple of attempts at making a twin-cylinder GP bike it turns out. In 1955 the company’s head engineer Alfonso Drusiani designed a 250 that was basically two of the successful 125 singles siamesed together on a common crankcase.
Head engineer Alfonso Drusiani originally designed the 250
Unfortunately the result, while making a claimed 35 hp at 10,000 rpm, was both complex and overweight at 130 kg dry. Additionally the motor had a very narrow power band.
The early project was abandoned, however… it led to the bike pictured here
The 1958 F. B. Mondial / Paton 250 GP Racer
Two examples were constructed and while the project was abandoned after two years it was notable as being the first racing motorcycle to use a disc brake – a fully enclosed Campagnolo design.
Count Boselli persevered with the idea however and a new twin was developed
The desire to race a twin did not leave Mondial’s owner Count Boselli however (competitors such as MV, Gilera and Ducati had all developed twins) so in 1957 Leo Tonti was commissioned to design and construct a 250cc twin to replace the company’s excellent single. It is this bike that can be seen here.
Development at the time was spurred on by the success of competitors with their twin-cylinder offerings
Tonti involved Giuseppe Pattoni and the pair had the bike ready by the end of the following year – only for Mondial to join Guzzi and Gilera in quitting their involvement in GP racing!
The 1958 F. B. Mondial / Paton 250 GP Racer
The 1958 F. B. Mondial / Paton 250 GP Racer
Tonti and Pattoni then formed Paton and were able to campaign the factory’s old race bike for a time. The 250 twin made appearances at the Nations GP at Monza in ’58 and ’59 but did not progress any further.
The The 1958 F. B. Mondial 250 GP Racer would later be raced under the Paton name
The Bialbero (DOHC) two-valve motor made 35 hp and used a six-speed gearbox. Dry weight was 121 kg. In many respects the bike could be considered the first in the long line of Paton’s.
Giuseppe Pattoni was the chief mechanic for the FB Mondial GP team when the company (together with Guzzi and Gilera) quit racing at the end of 1957. He and former company engineer, Lino Tonti, then formed their own company, Paton.
Paton PG 500 R V4 Racer
Their first bike was a 125cc single, closely based on the Mondial. Mike Hailwood finished seventh on the bike in the 1958 IOM Lightweight TT. This was followed by a 250cc parallel twin which in turn spawned 350 and 500cc versions.
Paton PG 500 R V4 Racer
The 500 was the most successful and is still produced for classic racing, indeed it is generally considered the go-to bike for the 500 classes and many are still raced by high profile names at the Classic TT.
Paton PG 500 R V4 Racer
In 1975-76 Pattoni started development of a V4 2-stroke. It was the first single crankshaft V4 to appear in the 500 Championship. It was also the first design that Pattoni’s son Roberto was involved with.
Paton PG 500 R V4 Racer
However it wasn’t until 1983 that the much refined C1 500 was ready for competition. As with the original design the cylinder angle was 115º. It wasn’t until 1990 that it was changed to 90º.
Paton PG 500 R V4 Racer
A redesign in 1994 saw the angle further reduced to 70º. A boost for the team came from a visit to the Paton workshop by Youichi Oguma, head of HRC.
Paton PG 500 R V4 Racer
After being told of the difficulty in obtaining small enough carburettors to properly fit the engine architecture, Oguma arranged for a set of Keihin 36mm units, specifically developed for Honda’s NSR bikes, to be supplied to Pattoni.
Paton PG 500 R V4 Racer
The new bike showed great promise at the beginning of 1995 but a crash by rider Jean Pierre Jeandat in the warm up for the British GP affected his results for the next two years.
Paton PG 500 R V4 Racer
A further blow occurred at the start of the 1997 season when the Paton team was denied automatic entry to the Championship, ending 39 years of continuous competition by Pattoni. However he continued to develop the bike, entering occasional races as a ‘wild card’ team.
Paton PG 500 R V4 Racer
Giuseppe Pattoni died of a heart attack after a test session in August 1999. His son continued work on the bike and presented the PG 500 R for the 2000 season. The frame was by the L.M. Gianetti firm and rider Paolo Tessari entered five races and scored Paton’s final point (and only point with a 2-stroke) with a 15th in the German GP. It is this bike I photographed.
Paton PG 500 R V4 Racer
The metallic green paint was used for the first time as a tribute by Roberto to his father. Also used for the first time was a new motor design with 54x54mm cylinders. Output was 190hp at 12,100rpm. Weight 135kg.
Paton PG 500 R V4 Racer
Although Paton’s final 2-stroke was the 2001 PG500 RC, which employed a 1994 Cagiva GP chassis, it was never able to compete in the Championship.
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