Perhaps it was inevitable that at some point Maserati would attempt to enter the motorcycle business. After all, the senior founding Maserati brother, Carlo Maserati, cut his teeth by building single-cylinder engines for bicycles in his workshop outside of Milan.

While this pursuit fell by the wayside once the Maserati Brothers were focused on building competition cars, the idea of motorcycle production resurfaced in the post-war period when a recovering Italy was desperate for inexpensive no-frills transportation. Recognizing the potential of this emerging market, the Adolfo Orsi-owned Maserati delegated the task to one of its subsidiaries, the Società Anonima Fabbrica Candele Accumulatori Maserati. This branch of the Maserati company had been founded by Alfieri Maserati as a spark plug business at the end of World War I, and in ensuing years it had progressed to offering batteries, bulbs, distributor caps, and contact sets.

With a limited budget, Fabbrica Candele Accumulatori Maserati quickly dismissed the idea of developing a motorcycle line from square one, and instead planned to acquire a motorcycle manufacturer already enjoying a healthy business. The answer to this search was found in the Bologna-based builder Italmoto, which the company purchased in 1953.

Initially Fabbrica Candele Accumulatori Maserati was obliged to continue producing Italmoto’s pre-existing motorcycle line, which included a touring model powered by a four-stroke 158-cubic-centimeter engine. This model continued production in Fabbrica Candele Accumulatori Maserati’s new factory, now adorned with a proper Trident badge and re-christened as the Tipo L/160/T4.

According to the consignor, this extremely rare 160/T4 was acquired in the 1960s by Giuseppe Candini, one of Italy’s foremost Maserati restoration specialists. Mr. Candini refurbished the unique motorcycle and subsequently displayed it in his workshop, where it was discovered and quickly acquired by the current owner in February 2017. Benefitting from fastidious care in the consignor’s extensive collection of Italian speed machines, this Maserati motorcycle is well prepared for riding enjoyment. It would make a superb complement to any Trident-focused collection or assemblage of post-war European motorcycles, exemplifying Modena’s brief but beautiful foray into two-wheeled transportation.