Stylish Single: Ingram’s 1959 Itom

1962 was an eventful year in the British Isles. Several former colonies became independent, the British Prime Minister fired a third of his cabinet and the Beatles made their first appearance with Ringo. For the organizers of the 1962 Isle of Man TT races, none of this mattered. In a crisis of International proportion, an actual female had sent in a race entry form.

Beryl Swain was then a seasoned racer, having started racing in the early 1950s. She raced in the then-popular 50cc class, and was successful in regional events. She eventually achieved an international race license. When the FIM decided to sanction a 50cc championship and the Isle of Man agreed to host a round, Beryl sent in her entry form.

This was highly upsetting to the IoM bureaucracy. In an effort to disqualify her, they set a minimum weight limit, possibly hoping that Beryl would be too vain to gain weight. She gained most of the required weight and showed up at weigh-in with a diver’s belt. She qualified and finished her race, 22nd out of 25 finishers. The next year, the IoM banned women racers, a ban that would last until the 1970s.

The story of Itom

The bike Beryl raced on the Mountain course was an Itom, an Italian machine that is now somewhat obscure, but which attained impressive race results in the featherweight class in the 1950s and early 1960s. Like many Italian manufacturers, the Itom factory grew out of the chaos at the end of World War II. The company was founded in Turin, a city in Northern Italy, west of Milan, in 1944 by Corrado Corradi, an attorney by profession. At first, Itom (the name stands for Industria Torinese Meccanica) only made frames and purchased its engines from another company.

Itom then hired a young engineer, Giuseppe Spotto, from Sicily. Spotto worked with designer Silvano Bonetto to design engines to be built in-house. These small engines were first mounted on the front forks, like the turn of the century Wagner. Then they were stuck behind the seat. Finally, the engine was put on the bottom of the frame. An automatic clutch was followed by a 2-speed version. This 49.5cc machine had a springer front fork. A design with a pressed steel frame and telescopic forks, the Esperia, followed in 1953. This tiny machine had the lovely lines typical of Italian built machines of the time.

More style

The 1950s were an era of innovation and creativity in Italy. Industrial designers, called to assist with rebuilding the country after the devastation of the war, put forward a standard of functionality and elegance. Everyday objects, such as furniture and kitchenware, were reinvented in accordance with the new aesthetic. Car manufacturers competed to meld the aerodynamic with the beautiful. The people who built the furniture and worked in factories and shops rode to their jobs on bikes such as the Itom. They wanted their rides to be as modern and beautiful as everything else around them.

Another aspect of postwar Italian culture was an interest in speed. Racing was extremely popular, and bicycle, auto and motorcycle races were held on a regular basis. A slow motorcycle, in any displacement, would not sell. The little motorcycles and scooters that Italian workers could afford had to be fast for their displacement in addition to sporting striking looks.

The inexpensive but zippy and handsome Itom developed a following. Good sales allowed the company to develop the product. The company started exporting, and one receptive market was England, which was also reinventing itself after wartime. In 1955, Power and Pedal, a British publication devoted to mopeds and scooters, did a road test on the Itom Astor, first introduced in 1954. At the time, cheap engine-powered two-wheelers would not go up a decent sized hill without “light pedal assistance,” which usually turned out to be serious effort. “LPA” became a joke.

Referring to the little machine as the “Rolls Royce of autocycles,” Power and Pedal praised “the sheer elegance of line and color.” The engine was a square 2-stroke, making a whole 2 horsepower. Ignition was via flywheel magneto. The tiny engine was set in a sprung frame with telescopic forks, which had been introduced a few years previous. Large fenders protected the rider from muddy streets.

There were two ways to start the little critter: either by pedaling away and then dropping the clutch, or by putting the bike on the stand and pushing down on one pedal. First gear was good up to 20mph, second gear almost 40mph and third gear up to 42mph on the level and a whole lot faster downhill. Handling was good, the brakes stopped the bike, and the machine would fly up almost any hill — no need for the dreaded LPA. The article claimed gas consumption was 200 miles per Imperial gallon, it was inconceivable that the bike would break down on the road, and ended with, “This is the machine that answers all prayers.”

A somewhat different perspective was provided by another British publication, Motor Cycling, in 1956. The author praised the peppy engine, but pointed out that the rider needed “to keep it revving” and that it was a bit noisy. However, “the steering, roadholding and suspension were eminently satisfactory.” Motor Cycling didn’t get the same superlative gas mileage as Power and Pedal — only 160mpg.

Going racing

Organized racing on 50cc machines started in Italy in the early 1950s. In response, Itom came out with a production racer, the Astor Sport Competizione, in 1957. A street version, the Super Sport, appeared at the same time. The Competizione had an imaginatively shaped gas tank and a competition seat. The stock Competizione achieved 47mph, but could be tuned for more speed. Itom sold a tuning kit for competition use, including a high-compression cylinder head, a chrome bore cylinder, a Dell’Orto SS20 carburetor, an expansion chamber and a piston that would stand up to racing. Several brands of racing pistons were available, with a choice of either 2 or 3 rings. The last competition models tuned with this kit were capable of 68mph. Ceriani competition forks with external springs were optional, and became standard by 1965.

Itom won the first GP race for the flyweight class in 1961. Flyweight competition on Itoms served as a springboard for racers who went on to the heavier displacement classes, including Walter Villa, Mike Hailwood, Bill Ivy and Dave Simmonds.

The first Itom that sported a license plate, the 65cc, 4-speed Tabor, showed up in 1959. Italian law classed the smaller models as mopeds that did not need to be registered. As the 1960s dawned, Japanese imports began appearing and competition in the featherweight class heated up. In 1965, the Astor 4M, with a 4-speed foot shift, went on sale. Previous Itoms (including our feature bike) used the left grip as the shifter. The rider pulled in the clutch and twisted the grip to change gears. Stewart Ingram, the owner of this Itom, points out that the gear change system was also used on Vespas.

By the late Sixties, Itom was in trouble. Competition from Japanese motorcycles and mopeds on the one hand and small cars on the other was cutting into both the customer base and the profit margin. As a cost cutting measure, Itom stopped making its own engines in 1973 and soldiered on with engines made by another Italian company. Itom also tried diversifying into medical compressors and water heaters — a financial disaster that doomed the company. The doors closed in 1975.

Stewart’s Itom

Beryl Swain has become an inspiration to many women motorcyclists, who admire her can-do spirit and fortitude in the face of opposition. Itom motor bikes, along with many other small Italian motorcycles of the era, are sought after by collectors, who admire their beauty of line and enjoy the peppy engines and handling. Stewart Ingram was bit by the little Italian motorcycle bug several years ago, and is happily un-recovered. “I follow my heart, and there is where my heart led me.”

Stewart continues, “The first classic Italian motorcycle I saw — an Italjet Vampire production racer — was on display in a motorcycle shop. I was a teenager at the time and I was very impressed by it. The first Italian classic I bought was a 1966 Moto Guzzi Stornello. I saw it, there was no logical reason to buy it, but I bought it anyway. For several years, I was always in the process of restoring Italian motorcycles of the Fifties and Sixties and needed parts. Parts and bikes that I wanted to add to my collection were on Italian eBay. I learned that the best way to get motorcycles to my garage was to have them shipped to the U.K., and then have a U.K. exporter ship the bikes to the United States. No paperwork was needed on anything older than 1975. A 49cc bike [All Itoms, with the exception of the Tabor, are 49.5cc] is classified as a scooter, which makes things even simpler.”

This Itom Super Sport showed up for sale on Italian eBay. Ingram saw it while he was looking for parts for one of his existing projects and decided he had to have it. When unloaded from its shipping crate, the little machine ran reasonably well, but Ingram did not like the state of the sheet metal (“An amateur paint job from a long time ago”) and decided on a full restoration. New paint was done by Underground Colors in San Francisco. Ingram picked the blue and white from period photos. Many Itoms were blue and white or yellow and white, although some came stock in other colors, especially Italian racing red. He painted the frame, and explains that while most frame parts can be painted with regular enamel paint, centerstands should be powder coated. “They get beat up.”

There were also a few parts missing. Ingram had previously restored another Itom and had some extra parts, which found a home on this Super Sport. The engine had been rebuilt in Italy by a former Itom dealer before Stewart bought the bike. The remaining missing parts came from Ingram’s go-to source, Italian eBay.

On the move

The Itom was built for small Italian riders, and Ingram acknowledges that it is a bit small for him. “I am 6 feet tall.” Regardless, he likes riding the tiny missile. There is no reservoir for the engine oil, so gas and oil must be pre-mixed. A small amount of oil in the sump keeps the transmission and clutch lubricated. Back in the day, the pre-mix ratio was 20:1 (and smoked like crazy). Stewart says that, with modern 2-stroke oil, he can run at 35:1 and leave the gas in the bike.

Ingram says that the Itom is quite reliable and easy to maintain, given its age. “Itom built its own engines. They were known for reliability, and were faster than the Minarelli proprietary engines used by many other Italian manufacturers. The Dell’Orto 16mm carburetor is not finicky.”
This 1959 model has no pedals and a kickstarter, unlike the 1955 Power and Pedal test bike. However, in the great tradition of inventive Italian kickstarter placement, although the starter is on the right (on many Italian machines, it is on the left) it goes forwards, not backwards. “It doesn’t take much to get it going. It lets out an angry wail at speed. For the Itom, speed is 40mph.” To shift, you pull in the clutch and twist the left grip, then let out the clutch. The foot brake is on the left.

“When it works, it works really, really well. It will go 40-45mph. I haven’t tried going up a hill, though. The acceleration is good, and it handles well. The brakes are fine for the period.”

“What is cool about the Itom is like what is cool about the Mona Lisa — a personal thing. Like the Mona Lisa, it meets standards of wonderful design.” MC