The registry
Garelli Registry: Models, Builds & Photos
Garelli built motorcycles and mopeds in Italy from 1919 until the original company failed in 1992. Adalberto Garelli founded the firm in Sesto San Giovanni near Milan on the strength of his 350cc split-single two-stroke, and the company merged with frame maker Agrati in 1961 to become one of Europe's biggest moped producers. American riders know Garelli mostly through the moped boom of the late 1970s and early 1980s, when models like the Rally Sport sold through US dealers in volume. The name survives today on an unrelated line of Italian electric bikes, but the factory that built the mopeds is long gone.
Pick your model
Origins: the split-single years
Adalberto Garelli was an engineer who built his early career on two-stroke development, first at Fiat, then on his own after 1911 when Fiat showed no interest in the layout. He founded Moto Garelli in 1919 in Sesto San Giovanni, on the northern edge of Milan. The company's first product was a 350cc split-single two-stroke, two pistons sharing one combustion chamber, and it worked immediately: Ettore Girardi rode one to win the inaugural Raid Nord-Sud, the 840 km Milan to Naples road event, in 1919. Garelli took a 1-2-3 finish in the first Italian Grand Prix at Monza in 1922 and set long lists of world records there, 76 in 1923 and 138 in 1926, many of them long-distance marks of up to 12 hours. The works racing effort ended after 1926, the 350 went out of production the same year, and from 1928 the company diversified into compressor motors and related equipment for military and industrial customers, which carried it through the 1930s and the war.
The Mosquito and the Agrati merger
The product that revived Garelli after 1945 was the Mosquito, a tiny clip-on two-stroke engine (38cc in early 38A form, on sale in 1946) that drove an ordinary bicycle's rear tire through a roller. It sold in the hundreds of thousands across Europe, roughly 400,000 by 1952, and made Garelli a small-displacement specialist for good. In 1961 Garelli merged with Agrati, a frame and cycle-parts manufacturer from Monticello Brianza, and the combined Agrati-Garelli concentrated on mopeds and 50cc machines through the 1960s and 1970s.
The US moped era and the Rally Sport
Garelli was one of the major players in the American moped boom that followed the 1970s fuel crises. The US lineup centered on 49cc two-stroke singles, and the Rally Sport was one of the volume models, introduced in late 1977 to replace the Gran Sport and sold into the early 1980s, with 1980 and 1981 the model years you see most often today. The Rally Sport sat at the budget end of the range: a rigid rear frame on US examples, a single-speed automatic drive with a centrifugal clutch, and pedals to satisfy state moped laws. Its Garelli-built piston-port engine and Dellorto SHA carburetor are shared broadly with other Garelli mopeds of the era (VIP, Super Sport XL), which is what keeps these bikes on the road today. Common Italian moped electrics make sourcing straightforward compared to orphan brands.
Grand Prix titles and the 1992 collapse
While selling mopeds, Garelli went racing again and dominated the 125cc Grand Prix class in the 1980s, taking both rider and manufacturer world championships every year from 1982 through 1987: Angel Nieto in 1982, 1983, and 1984, Fausto Gresini in 1985 and 1987, and Luca Cadalora in 1986. The road-bike business did not keep pace. Late-1980s models leaned increasingly on bought-in Minarelli engines, production shrank, and the company failed in 1992. The name resurfaced in the late 1990s as New Garelli S.p.A. selling Chinese-built scooters, and again from 2018 as an Italian electric bike and moped brand that trades on the old badge. None of that helps a vintage owner; factory support for the old machines ended decades ago, and parts come from the owner community and new-old-stock.
Asked all the time
What years was the Garelli Rally Sport sold in the US?
The Rally Sport was introduced in late 1977, replacing the Gran Sport, and sold through the American moped boom into the early 1980s. 1980 and 1981 are the common model years you see today. It is a 49cc piston-port two-stroke with a single-speed automatic drive and pedals.
Is Garelli still in business?
The company that built the mopeds is gone. Agrati-Garelli declined through the late 1980s and failed in 1992. The name came back in the late 1990s on Chinese-built scooters, and since 2018 an unrelated Italian company has sold Garelli-badged electric bikes and mopeds. Neither revival supports the vintage machines, so there is no factory help for a 1970s or 1980s Garelli.
Are parts still available for Garelli mopeds?
Yes, within reason. Garelli sold mopeds in high volume, engine parts interchange across models like the Rally Sport, Super Sport XL, and VIP, and the Dellorto SHA carbs and generic Italian moped electrics are still supported. New-old-stock and the moped community fill most gaps; sheet metal and trim are the hard finds.
What is Garelli best known for historically?
Three things: the 350cc split-single two-stroke that won the 1919 Milan to Naples road event and set world records at Monza in the 1920s, the Mosquito clip-on bicycle engine that sold in huge numbers after World War II, and six straight 125cc Grand Prix rider world championships from 1982 to 1987 with Nieto, Gresini, and Cadalora.
How fast is a stock Garelli Rally Sport?
A stock Rally Sport is a legal moped, sold in the US in restricted versions rated at 20, 25, or 30 mph (1.0, 1.5, or 2.0 hp) depending on state law. The single-speed automatic drive limits it more than the engine does; period tuners fitted larger carbs and exhausts to wake them up.
The wall
The most-documented Garelli vehicles in the registry, every photo by the owner.