Sears, Roebuck and Montgomery Ward battled each other on all kinds of fronts, most interestingly in the 1960s with motorcycles. Sears imported Vespas and Puchs, while Montgomery Ward private-labeled Lambrettas, Mitsubishis and also Moto Benellis. None were more exciting than this 1968 Benelli Mojave 360. Find it here on eBay in Arizona.
The Mojave 360 is exceedingly rare with only 50 ever making it to production. These 1968s were supposedly a pilot for a planned regular production run that never materialized. Moto Benelli was also building 250cc and 350cc road bikes for Montgomery Ward at the time. These 50 Mojave 360s were intended to satisfy the AMA so that the bikes could compete in enduro competition in the United States.
The 24 horsepower on tap in these little jewels may not seem like much, but consider that the bike only weighs 291 pounds. With a 6,700 rpm redline, the model had a top speed around 87 mph, which must have felt like 200 mph with such a miniscule bike under the rider.
This example is in gorgeous condition, although there it does feature a lot of non-stock items, which may keep a serious collector at a distance. The normally high handlebars have been replaced with a Tommaselli cafe bar. Check out the video below of the bike being started and ridden:
The tires are modern Dunlop 404s (which certainly isn’t a bad thing if you plan on riding it). The original speedometer’s needle was broken and “unrepairable,” and replaced with a speedometer from a Ducati, but the original speedometer comes with the bike. The wheels are polished Akronts and the exhaust has been ceramic coated and capped with a polished stainless steel megaphone, rather than the pea-shooter style of the original. The black paint with silver racing stripe looks great, but doesn’t represent what the bike looked like from the factory.
The bike comes with an Arizona title. Getting it back to stock might be a challenge, considering the rarity of not only the model, but Benellis in general. However, if you’re planning on riding it, it’s just the ticket.
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Looks good to me just as it is.
I did not know about this phenom – fascinating. Much like how they all went for re-branded stereo equipment in the late 60′s / early 70′s… most of which is crap but some of which is really decent gear hiding behind a rebrand. Sweet little bike. Not worth undoing everything done to it, I say ride as is except for what resto-mod changes you personally prefer – forget about making it “correct” at this point. Although reserve not met yet – wonder if he’s shooting for a big number…
Put your fingers in your ears if you’re sensitive.
I’ve had two of these bikes 360 Mojaves in the last four years and they really have almost no collector value IMHO. In fact, one was free and one was $100 (running).
You see low mileage examples of them frequently because they were not particularly durable, and when performing perfectly, were barely adequate.
The best thing about these bikes is the Metisse-copy frames, which are typically built up with anything but the original mechanicals.
Check CL postings because I see these being given away on an occasional basis.
Sad, but true.
Nice looking bike and some interesting history. Back when department stores really sold anything and everything.
@Calijags- But they certainly are nice to look at.
I may have to start looking though, thanks for the heads up!
Umm….Only 50 made? I don’t think so. Wards brought in thousands of this model. There was even a smaller engine size available with the Rickman knockoff frame.
Great bike. I have done research and yeah you could say 1000′s were made if you lump in all the other engine sizes and models. But if you are looking for something rare it appears this particular model was a very limited edition. Looks like it has the Rickman frame, I think I saw something on the net about Steve McQueen and Bud Ekins actually going over to Italy to Benelli and just telling them to use or maybe make a Rickman style frame. Can’t seem to find the link again, hate when that happens. In any case, this is a really nice looking vintage bike, wish I could afford to add it my collection.
50 bikes ain’t true.
I had a lovely Monkey Wards 350 and I still have a 125 2-stroke. I love that these were sold by department stores because it keeps most of the Italian vintage bike snobs out of these bikes. Ha, of course, that makes me a dept store bike snob.
Sears also sold Gilera.
The Mojave body style was built by a Steve McQueen company. Cosmo Motors made parts easy to get but that became a mess. Joe from the sales department tells great stories on the Benelli and Montgomery Wards email lists. Not just about these bikes, but they also about all the bikes they brought in.
There’s a couple racers who put BSA pistons into these (or was it the 350?) but that creates a few problems of their own.
Gotta agree with Calijags – these weren’t particularly stimulating machines. Pretty lines IMHO, but really weren’t up to the task.
I don’t know about the 50 made claim, but if it’s true then between Calijags and myself we’ve either seen or owned half of all the ones ever made.
If someone is interested, I have PDF copies of both the workshop and parts manuals for these bikes.
As previously mentioned there were lots of these bikes imported. The frame was indeed a Rickman copy, but not in the original chromemoly. The body work is also a copy of the Metisse, but done in steel rather than fibreglass. The result of these changes is that the bike probably weighs about 50 lbs more than listed.
The have been examples for sale most every year at th Bike Week auction in Deland. Back in 2010 someone showed up with (literally) a semi-truck load of NOS Mojave parts. We’re talking about 200 fuel tanks, still their boxes. Hundreds of fenders, seats, exhausts , wheels and just tons of smaller parts. I, and many others, looked at these and thought “cafe racer parts”, but they were soooo heavy. Most of the stuff sold for a few bucks only as there were far more parts than demand. Those parts are still around somewhere and should still be cheap. That along with previously stated issues probably will bear on the future value of these bikes.
Alan.
Does a department store ever make 50 of anything?