In the late 80s, Gilera made a push to compete in the Paris-Dakar Rally and they had some success in the production-based “Silhouette” class with the RC600, which utilized a 600cc single good for 48 horsepower. Here’s an interesting replica of Gilera’s final 600-based racer (before they went to a 750 motor in 1993).
The seller states that just 7 prototypes were built and that this one was maintained by Bruno Birbes, but my poor Italian translation gets confused as to if the seller is trying to claim that it started as a factory prototype. He adds that it was built by Victor Libanori, and Victor himself left a commet on the listing saying it was the first special that he made over months of months of work, with bodywork copied from the official bike. “It’s identical to the one that ran with Mandelli and Medardo, it was the last version of 600 Dakar.”
It has 3,160 km (1,963 miles) and it has a starter motor, turn signals, and instrumentation for road use. The builder also notes Kayaba suspension and larger brake discs. I wish my Italian was better so I could speak to this bike with more confidence, but either way it’s a cool find abroad!
Find this Gilera for sale for 9,500 Euros ($10,215) here on Facebook Marketplace
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