THE MASTER OF MAGNESIUM!
Most children were taught at school how the wheel was invented.

Perhaps Roberto Marchesini was disappointed that somebody else had gotten there before him.

Roberto Marchesini has for the last 40 years been trying to re-invent what to some people is just a simple circle with a hub in the middle.

It isn't as easy as that. To make a wheel light and not lose its strength is a great challenge. Roberto Marchesini has accomplished this successfully for the past 40 years using magnesium.

Magnesium is a very delicate and refined material which few other foundries are able to work with successfully. Roberto Marchesini, who originates from Bologna, has his foundry in Verghera which is close to the Milano Malpensa Airport.

He doesn't just make wheels. If you were to take a walk around his warehouse you would find pieces at F.1 motors (eng. Chiti), pieces for Cagiva, Piaggio, prototypes of the MV Agusta and old moulds for Laverda and crankcases made out of magnesium which was used for the Paton 500 at the G.P. in Mugello in 1999.

Roberto Marchesini is definitely the best in the production of magnesium wheels. He doesn't say this himself but we believe it to be true.

This statement is strengthened by the fact that ALL Factory teams at the 2001 Daytona racing weekend used Marchesini wheels.

One of the dreams of motorbike enthusiasts is to visit him at his Foundry which is in Via Beata Giuliana 5, Verghera. Roberto Marchesini's career began many years ago in the 1950's when he started work for Amadori (Bologna) who distributed wheel spokes at that time for Ducati, Morini, Gilera, Zundapp and Sachs.

Roberto Marchesini also explains that they had a little crucible to cast hubs for trains. We made hub drums out at magnesium which were sent to the competitive racing departments of Ducati, Gilera and other clients. Maserati had a warehouse next to Amadori. Amadori worked with the most famous names in the motorbike and motoring world.

In 1959 I made my first set of wheels made out of magnesium for a Maserati, which was racing in Indianapolis. From that day forward the volume of work and the Marchesini reputation has grown.

Amadori also began to produce disc brakes system and Marchesini was allowed to became involved with this project and worked brakes for sport touring cars, and the four doors which was a prestigious car at the time.

Marchesini replaced the drum brakes with special disc brakes. With the help of unemployed racing drivers he tried out the cars on motorways and country roads. "I felt like a pregnant woman without seatbelts, as he continuous braking made me very ill
Amadori then ran into difficulties because of the heavy investment required to manufacture disc brakes. Finally the Company was sold to Brevetti Internazionali Campagnolo Vicenza. I stayed with them until 1979".

Campagnolo, who was a great sorts enthusiast gave him the opportunity to continue with his research. In the early 1970's I had the idea of making a monolite wheel for motorbikes. He tried out his research for Laverda. Laverda was very advanced and produced very heavy motorbike. His first wheel for Laverda had drum brakes but they did not work well due to irregular deformation caused by the heat produced in braking. This annulled the quality of the brake drums.

When disc brakes come onto the market in 1972-73 the tests gave good results. Roberto then designed the 5 (five) spoke Campagnolo wheel which was an immediate success. The wheel was in high demand from all the competitive motorbike riders and I tried to support everyone. He sold the wheels at a higher price to the famous motorbike riders (Read and Sheene) were sponsored by prestigious racing houses. In this way he was able to help promising competitive riders like Katayama, Ekerold, North and Ballington who raced privately.

This particular wheel made history and the quality of the product was highly acclaimed.

Campagnolo, who was a great sports enthusiast gave team lodgings and fully equipped workshop to support the racing program. This gave us the opportunity between races to overhaul the bikes. Marchesini and Campagnolo become a point of reference in the Paddock.

Before the era of the hydro-tapered, Campagnolo had the initial idea of a hydraulic brake which would use two flat internal discs which would became hydro-taper. These were developed just before being just before the accident at Monza in which Pasolini and Saarinen were killed. Just before this accident, with the help of Walter Villa Roberto started testing the brakes on roads. While these modifications were being made Campagnolo showed us a modified design for a taper ball race.

For a few years he worked on the taper ball race. However, even though he attained good results Campagnolo wanted to try new solutions to make it even better. He remembers one day on returning from a race in Imola, where the brakes had performed well, Campagnolo saying, " Today the brakes worked well with three disc pads. What do you say if we put in five?" Roberto replaced that this could cause problems, but Campagnolo wanted this modification at all costs.

On Monday morning we called the pattern maker and on Tuesday afternoon the moulds were ready (brake drum plate and complete wheel). On Wednesday the new prototype was cast, not in alloy AZ91 but RZ5 (magnesium and zirconio). This made the parts more expensive but shortened the time factor. This was followed by the mechanical work and final assembly. On Friday morning they had the new wheel painted and on the track. This was an incredible feat, which was repeated several times over the next several years. This brake was to become Campagnolo's hobby.
Questions & Answers:

Q. Did you then go to Spain to make Betor and Beymag wheels?

A. Yes, when commendatore Campagnolo passed away I moved to Spain, a place I enjoyed. At that time the design for a oval shaped three poke wheel came into my mind… I spoke to Kenny Roberts, Oguma from Honda and others but they dismissed me as a visionary. I gave the design to another Italian who said he had a foundry for magnesium and the moulds would cost less in Italy. I then waited to hear something but the promised money never arrived. The design had became a reality.

Q. Was the three spoke cable wheel a success?

A. Yes, enormously. Because of this I had a meeting with Flam in Verghera and I was then able to finally have my own foundry. Most of my clients followed me then and continued to do so today. I produce around 7.000 wheels in magnesium for motorbikes and about one half of these are used for competitive races.

Q. Is there a difference between racing wheels and these used on the road?

A. The only difference is in the thickness of the centre of the wheel. It is ½ mm thicker for a safety reason. The road wheel is also about 150-200 grams heavier, but many of these are also used in competitive events because they deliver very high performance.

Q. Is it more difficult to cast magnesium wheels?

A. Yes, but if you have the necessary experience it isn't a problem. There is same waste because it suffers from the impurity of the alloy, damp air and other factors. The mould need to be of excellent quality and the paints in contact with the fused alloy must always be renewed. Attention must be paid to every detail and there are continuous controls.

Every wheel is analysed with a penetrating liquid to find oxides or impurities. I periodically analyse my products with a metallography and do other tests. This continuous verification causes 20% of wastage and this adds to the final cost . However I do not have problems with the reliability of my products.

Q. Have the five spoke wheels returned like the first Campagnolo ones?

A. Yes, spacing the spokes better has maintained the rigidity necessary and I have saved on weight. From oval cable spokes I have passed on to "U" sectioned spokes for the HRC series. I have made 6, 7 and even 8 spoke wheels. Now I am designing and experimenting on other things.

Q. Are you making carbon wheels?

A. I already made these some time ago but it is a difficult material to work with and you have to work small sections. They require a lot of controls and attention. This is impossible to pass on to a wider production because the cost becomes too high. A good carbon wheel costs about 3 million lira and requires 35 hours of work. This enables us to make a saving of 500 grams on the front wheel and 900 grams on the rear wheel. This lightness can be obtained with wheel made out of forged magnesium. I was planning to make a big investment in carbon wheels and contacted the four Japanese houses to see if they would be interested but they all, and in particular Honda, refused.

Q. In your opinion are these any other roads to take?

A. We would work in forged wheels with aluminium alloy or with magnesium. Already within the motor-racing sector different forms of wheels are all made of forged magnesium. Dodge Viper have the Series Reynold (USA) made in forged aluminium, the diameter and ….. being 17" and the rear wheels are 14".

These are obtained from a CACIOTTA of 20 cm diameter for 25 cm high. They are probably lighter than a similar wheel made in fused magnesium and have the same exceptional mechanical characteristics. Every of these wheels is made using a hydraulic press with a pressure of 25.000 tons.

After two pressings they are spread on a mould. This is the road I am following. The actual limit for wheels moulded in magnesium is the excessive softness around the edges of the rim. I am now looking for a remedy to strengthen forged magnesium. I am experimenting with aluminium and trying out different heat treatments.

Q. In the last 25 years an d with reference to the final Campagnolo 5 spoke wheel are you working towards a weight reduction or more strength?

A. Most of all towards reduction in weight. A better knowledge of the materials and the mechanical manufacturing using controlled numeric machines have allowed for a more effective dimension.

Q. Have than been developments in moulding techniques using sand or low pressure?

A. No. I wouldn't say so. The alloys are still the same. There have been some good development with aluminium but magnesium is still worked in the same way (AZ91 with 7,5-8,5% aluminium) and the more costly RZ5 which needs to be prepared like a good home-made sauce with a base of magnesium and zirconio which is a rare material and also using a salt called Zimax which can be bought in England. Every now and then an alloy company promises wonderful things using mixed alloy and silver but up to now nothing has emerged. Attention to little details has improved in the foundry with regard to the preparation of the sand.
The fusion in sand using low pressure hasn't, however, improved.

Q. Who is the most severe (demanding) company including the Japanese, with whom you collaborate?

A. Honda. They control all the alloys. Even though they have known me for years and acknowledge my experience and reliability they buy wheels every year; they then destroy them and verify that everything is up to standard. At the same time they verify that the designs have been followed correctly and communicate to us their results.

Q. Do you still own a motorbike?

A. Over the years and taking many risks I have never hurt myself however I now think its time to own a more gentle motorbike. A few weeks ago I bought a Harley Davidson which I only use on asphalt.

Q. What about that old Yamaha that's in storehouse?

A. Its an original OW01 which raced in Daytona. I'm just finishing off restoring it and this winter I will get it going.

Q. Considering that your passion for motorbikes is still very much alive, what would you buy today?

A. Without a doubt the Yamaha R7.

Source "Bielle roventi"