Moto Guzzi wind tunnel. The beginning of the Dustbin fairing legend

3( photo: Terry Stevenson)

rear of the machine, which led some riders to complain about instability in some circumstances, mainly on certain types of fast bends. It is true that the FIM banned the dustbin fairings at the end of the 1957 season. The Japanese had yet to become involved in Grand Prix racing, but during the four years that the dustbin fairings were allowed, most of the major European companies became involved in this brave new experiment. Rumours concerning a ban began to circulate early in the season, and some of the factories started experimenting with half-fairings and full fairings with the front wheel exposed. There is much speculation about the reason for the ban. There was some concern about the machines in the smaller classes tending to be sensitive to strong cross winds which could, in extreme conditions, blow them off the track. The major happening in September 1957 was that Gilera, Mondial, and Moto Guzzi withdrew from Grand Prix racing, and some believed that many privateers who remained on the race tracks would try to attach dustbin fairings to their machines, and this could present an unnecessary hazard on the tracks. During the 1957 season a series of accidents turned the riders against full enclosure, culminating in the death of MV Agusta rider Roberto Colombo, at the Belgian Grand Prix. The idea of streamlining was, of course, to reduce wind resistance and drag, and to squeeze out more top speed on the long straights on Grand Prix circuits. There would have been little point in using dustbin fairings on short circuits and in scratchers contests. Perhaps one of the significant changes to begin at this period in World Championship racing is that more and more countries would start to construct

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