Parilla Motorcycles
With Phil Aynsley
Parilla is best known for its long line of four-stroke singles that had a very successful run from soon after the company’s founding in 1946 right through to the 1960s.
![PA ParillaGP rotary disc valve fed horizontal cylinder PA ParillaGP rotary disc valve fed horizontal cylinder](https://www.mcnews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/PA-Parilla125GP-rotary-disc-valve-fed-horizontal-cylinder-007-1024x763.jpg)
Giovanni Parrilla (two ‘r’s) was born in Spain in 1912 but around 1920 the family moved to Calabria in Italy.
![PA ParillaGP rotary disc valve fed horizontal cylinder PA ParillaGP rotary disc valve fed horizontal cylinder](https://www.mcnews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/PA-Parilla125GP-rotary-disc-valve-fed-horizontal-cylinder-014-684x1024.jpg)
After military service he worked in Milan as a diesel mechanic. Parrilla was a keen follower of GP racing and decided in 1946 to build his own race bikes. After buying a Manx Norton to study, his first design went on to win a local race!
![PA ParillaGP rotary disc valve fed horizontal cylinder PA ParillaGP rotary disc valve fed horizontal cylinder](https://www.mcnews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/PA-Parilla125GP-rotary-disc-valve-fed-horizontal-cylinder-008-1024x750.jpg)
The company’s high-cam 175s and 250s proved very competitive mounts for a decade (and their silver with red/black pinstripes colours were a homage to that Manx Norton), but it was to be a radical new bike that changed the face of GP racing – without even entering a race.
![PA ParillaGP rotary disc valve fed horizontal cylinder PA ParillaGP rotary disc valve fed horizontal cylinder](https://www.mcnews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/PA-Parilla125GP-rotary-disc-valve-fed-horizontal-cylinder-012-683x1024.jpg)
In 1960 company engineer Cesare Bossaglia designed a 125cc machine that featured a horizontal cylinder fed by a rotary disc-valve (believed to be the first such motor designed and built in the West).
![PA ParillaGP rotary disc valve fed horizontal cylinder PA ParillaGP rotary disc valve fed horizontal cylinder](https://www.mcnews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/PA-Parilla125GP-rotary-disc-valve-fed-horizontal-cylinder-010-1024x635.jpg)
This layout went on to be used by Kreidler, Van Veen, Minarelli, Morbidelli etc for many years in their 50/80cc bikes. Parilla’s bike however never made it past the prototype stage (several were constructed), due to company restructuring and budget cuts.
![PA ParillaGP rotary disc valve fed horizontal cylinder PA ParillaGP rotary disc valve fed horizontal cylinder](https://www.mcnews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/PA-Parilla125GP-rotary-disc-valve-fed-horizontal-cylinder-006-723x1024.jpg)
The effort wasn’t wasted however as the rotary disc valve two-stroke technology was used in one of the most successful ever kart racing motors – the Parilla Saetta.
![PA ParillaGP rotary disc valve fed horizontal cylinder PA ParillaGP rotary disc valve fed horizontal cylinder](https://www.mcnews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/PA-Parilla125GP-rotary-disc-valve-fed-horizontal-cylinder-005-1024x832.jpg)
The 125GP made 21.5 hp at 12,500rpm and weighed only 60kg.