Mondial 1000 Piega
It is perhaps a little known fact that among the first competition bikes you see in Honda’s Collection Hall at Motegi is a 1956 F.B. Mondial 125 Bialbero. This has a very strong bearing on the bike we will look at in this column – a 2003 Mondial 1000 Piega.
I have gone into detail about F.B. Mondial’s history and numerous models previously, so I won’t mention any of that here other than to say that the company ceased making their own engines in 1960 and ceased trading altogether in 1979.
Such was the company’s reputation that attempts were made to resurrect production in the late 1980s and again in the mid ‘90s. Both came to nothing and the rights to the name remained with the Boselli family.
In 1999 Roberto Ziletti, CEO of the Lastra group (one of the world’s biggest printing plate companies) came to an arrangement with Pierluigi Boselli to revive the name with a modern sports bike and a return to competition in World Superbike.
A 1000 cc twin was sort after and Suzuki tentatively came to the party with an offer of 250 TL1000 motors (they had also supplied the motor to Bimota for use in the SB8R two years earlier).
Ex-Aprilia engineer Nicolo Bragagnolo was employed to design the new machine and Sandro Mor the bodywork. The chassis comprised of twin spars formed from tubular chrome-moly steel joined by trellis-style cross members – all TIG-welded. The sub-frame, seat, bodywork, swing-arm and numerous other components were made of carbon fibre.
Top of the range ancillary items included Öhlins rear shock, TiN 46 mm Paioli forks, Marchesini wheels and Brembo brakes. Projector LED headlights were employed.
However not long before the bike’s scheduled debut at the 2000 Intermot Show Suzuki pulled out of the deal! With no motor to power the bike Ziletti contacted Oscar Rumi (owner of team that won the first two World Superbike titles) in hope that he could procure a Honda RC51 engine to fit into the prototype.
The request was passed onto Honda HQ where it was remembered that Count Boselli had helped Honda at the beginning of their racing journey by selling them the 125 Bialbero to use as the basis for the company’s race bikes.
Not only was permission granted for Mondial to use an RC51 motor in the prototype but Honda also agreed to provide the SP1 version of the motor for the full production run!
Mondial added their own fuel-injection system, carbon fibre airbox and titanium exhaust system using bespoke Arrow mufflers. Also the ECU was updated to deal with the above changes. An additional 4 hp was gained over the SP1’s 136 hp. The Piega’s dry weight of 177 kg was 19 kg less than Honda’s SP1 (and 9 kg less than the Ducati 999).
Production began in 2002 but after only 35 Piegas had been built the company (which should be noted was Mondial Moto SpA – not F.B.) had to declare bankruptcy in 2004.
Ziletti had spent €11 million on the project but with Lastra buying Misubishi’s worldwide printing assets he couldn’t devote his attention to the bike company (Lastra Group’s turnover in 2004 was €500 million so he had a lot on his plate!).
Before the company’s demise several new models had been announced. The EVO Ziletti was to be a 100 bike limited edition model with 43mm Öhlins forks, Brembo radial calipers, power upped to 143hp and restyled bodywork with unique paintwork.
Additionally two naked models were displayed at Intermot in 2003. The Starfighter was a restyled EVO (by Missiomo Zaniboni) while the RZ Nuda with high bars and prominent headlights was by Boxer Design. Along with the 35 Piegas, 2 EVOs, 1 Starfighter and several prototype race bikes had been completed by the time the company closed.
2005 saw half the company’s assets auctioned off to Piero Caronni’s Biemme concern (Caronni had previously bought the V-due rights from Bimota) and a further 85 Piegas, 7 EVOs and 14 Starfighters were produced under the Gruppo Mondial name before this venture also folded.
In the middle of these company failures 11 Piegas were supposedly “stolen” by factory workers in recompense for unpaid wages (their VINs are still flagged)!
There were to be two final (well so far!) twists to the Piega story. In 2012 Ziletti and another were found guilty of fraudulently declaring Mondial Moto SpA’s bankruptcy and ordered to pay compensation to former creditors. Suspended prison sentences were also issued and they were banned from commercial activities for ten years.
In 2014 Count Pierluigi Bosselli (who had retained 50 per cent of Mondial Moto) and Cesare Galli began a new venture to produce Mondial branded motorcycles. Galli had been the Technical Director at Fantic Motor and his designs had won three World Trials Championships before the company shut down in 1996.
Bosselli then became the Italian Kawasaki importer for off road bikes and ATVs, then established the European distributorship for Aeon and Over scooters and minibikes.
In 2015 his Pelpi International company began selling a range of 125 and 250cc four-strokes under the F.B. Mondial name. They are manufactured by Piaggio in China (using Piaggio motors).
Mondial 1000 Piega Specifications
| Mondial 1000 Piega Specifications | |
| Engine | 999 cc, four stroke, V-twin, 8 valves (DHOC) liquid cooled |
| Compression Ratio | 10.8:1 |
| Power | 140 hp @ 9800 rpm |
| Torque | 100 Nm @ 8000 rpm |
| Fuel System | Electronic Injection |
| Gearbox | Six-Speed manual |
| Clutch | Wet multiplate |
| Final Drive | Chain |
| Frame | Tubular chromium-molybdenum-vanadium steel trellis |
| Suspension | Paioli 46 mm TiN upside down forks // Evo: Ohlins 43 mm TiN upside-down forks, Ohlins shock |
| Wheels | 120/70-17, 180/55/17 |
| Brakes | Twin 320 mm floating disks by Brembo, four-pistons radial Brembo calipers with 4 pads, single 220 mm rear disc, two-pistons caliper with sintered pads |
| Length | 2009 mm |
| Seat Height | 861 mm |
| Wheelbase | 1420 mm |
| Weight | 195 kg |
| Fuel Capacity | 18.2 L |
