Ala d’Oro means ‘golden wing’. That is what Aermacchi called its racing machines. They came straight from the ordinary road models with the almost horizontal four-stroke single, designed under technical director Alfredo Bianchi. First there was a 175; shortly after, around 1960, the 250 followed. At first it was no more than a tuned road bike.

The factory soon dropped the 175 and put all its attention on the 250 and later the 350. Alberto Pagani finished ninth at its debut race at the Dutch TT in Assen in 1960 and fifth in the Belgian Grand Prix a week later. After Harley-Davidson’s investment in 1960 the racing department really got going.

The pushrod single never won a Grand Prix, but it took many podium places. Renzo Pasolini was third in the 350 cc world championship in 1966, and so was Kel Carruthers in 1968. In the 1969 Junior TT Brian Steenson and Jack Findlay finished second and third, and in 1970 Alan Barnett was second in the Junior TT. The Ala d’Oro also won the Daytona 100 twice (1963 and 1964), nine Italian hill-climb championships (1965–1973) and many national titles.

From the late sixties the factory concentrated on a new two-stroke twin. It became the basis of the later Harley-Davidson RR racers.

250 (from c. 1960): first with the long stroke of the road bike (66 × 72 mm). In 1964 came a short-stroke engine of 72 × 61 mm with an aluminium cylinder and iron liner. According to Moto.it some engines later even had 74 × 58 mm.

DS and DS-S: Cycle World lists the 1961 DS 250, the 1964 DS-S 250 with five-speed box, the 1963 DS 350, the 1967 DS-S 350 and the 1968 DS-S2 250.

350 (c. 1963/64–1971/72): first 344 cc (74 × 80 mm), later 349 cc (77 × 75 mm). Far fewer 350s were built than 250s. There was also a 402 cc version (1969).

Development: around 1966 came, among other things, a dry clutch, a stronger con-rod, a forged piston, an external flywheel and a reinforced frame. An overhead-cam engine was built, but never went into production.

Note: the Ala d’Oro 125 of 1969–1972 is a completely different machine, a two-stroke.

An Ala d’Oro is a pure racer. Many did not even have lights, so getting one road-registered is difficult. Expect to use it on the track or as a museum piece.

Because it is a racing machine, almost every example has been modified over the years: different front fork, brakes (Oldani or Fontana), fairing, frame (for example a Drixton frame by Marly Drixl) or engine parts. Many road Ala Verdes have also been converted into replicas with Ala d’Oro parts. A genuine works machine can only be recognised by its papers and numbers.

A racer that has stood for a long time must be checked completely first. A well-known example: an Ala d’Oro laid up with castor-based oil had to be fully rebuilt in 2006.

According to forum members the 250 is a good deal more reliable than the later 350.

Many engine parts are the same as or related to those of the road models (Ala Verde, Sprint), but real racing parts are rare. Genuine Ala d’Oro parts are found mainly through classic racing specialists, clubs and autojumbles.

Price indication: a fully restored Ala d’Oro 250 (c. 1963) fetched £5,980 at an auction at Silverstone in August 2025. A 350 Ala d’Oro Corsa was auctioned in the USA in 2017 for $5,750. These are two separate examples without known works history; machines with a strong racing history can be priced very differently. So treat this as a rough indication.