silver Shotgun

1970 MONDIAL LADY NOVA

BUILT BY FB MONDIAL

FROM MILAN, ITALY

COURTESY OF JOHN GOLDMAN

PHOTOS BY TED7

FB Mondial built exquisite and devastatingly fast small motorcycles and won five Grand Prix World Championships through 1957, forcing the motorcycle industry to develop sophisticated lightweights to compete. In the 1960s and ’70s they focused on less technically exotic lightweights with great styling. The “Lady Nova” was built for women riders, and was part of a tradition of “Ladies Model” motorcycles dating back to the ’teens that put young Suffragettes on two wheels.

49cc single-cylinder, 2-stroke, 3-speed, 100lbs, 1.5hp @6000rpm, 31mph top speed