Tag Archives: Giuseppe Pattoni

Ex-Billie Nelson Paton 500 four-stroke Racer

Paton 500 4-stroke Racer

With Phil Aynsley


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.

Source: MCNews.com.au

Paton PG 500 R V4 Racer

With Phil Aynsley


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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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Paton PG 500 R V4 Racer
Paton RG R PA PatonPGR
Paton PG 500 R V4 Racer

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Paton RG R PA PatonPGR
Paton PG 500 R V4 Racer

Source: MCNews.com.au