Marzocchi
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Marzocchi is an Italian manufacturer founded in 1949 by brothers Stefano and Guglielmo Marzocchi. The company profile doesn't include hydraulic industrial pumps anymore but only suspension components for
motorcycles A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...
and
bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...
s. The Marzocchi Pompe is still in the hands of the Marzocchi Family and produces gear pumps and motors in Bologna. In the 4th quarter of 2015 the motorcycle suspensions assets and the historic Zola Pedrosa plant was acquired by the Italian company VRM Group which continues to produce suspensions in Italy.


History

The two brothers Stefano and Guglielmo Marzocchi (former Ducati employees) founded Marzocchi in 1949 which started the production of suspensions for large-engined motorcycles in the cellar of their home in Via Zannoni, in
Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
. In 1953 production had reached 200 pieces a day, the workers had become 25 and the basement in via Zannoni had become insufficient. We then begin to plan for a necessary expansion. In 1957 the company was transferred to a more suitable "shed" in
Casalecchio di Reno Casalecchio di Reno ( Bolognese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. History Casalecchio's name is derived from ''Casaliculum'' ("collection of little houses"), and from the presence of ...
. In the mid-1950s, when motorcycle production suffered a sharp decline, the Marzocchi brothers thought of diversifying production, taking up a gear pump project already started within Ducati during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. In 1961, the Marzocchi brothers became convinced that it was necessary to diversify production. The growth of the two production sectors therefore led to the establishment of two distinct companies: Marzocchi Pompe S.r.l. and Marzocchi S.p.A. The first dealt with the design and production of
hydraulic pump A hydraulic pump is a mechanical source of power that converts mechanical power into hydraulic energy ( hydrostatic energy i.e. flow, pressure). Hydraulic pumps are used in hydraulic drive systems and can be hydrostatic or hydrodynamic. They gen ...
s, the second with motorcycle
suspension Suspension or suspended may refer to: Science and engineering * Car suspension * Cell suspension or suspension culture, in biology * Guarded suspension, a software design pattern in concurrent programming suspending a method call and the calling ...
s After 1965, the second generation of Marzocchi entered the scene. Adriano, son of Stefano and Paolo, son of Guglielmo. For Marzocchi Sospensioni, the products were aimed at the high-end of the market: motocross and large-engined bikes. The company decision to focus on sports with the aim of product development proved successful. Marzocchi champions have dominated motorcycle circuits throughout Europe. In the 80s the collaboration with manufacturers of large-engined road motorcycles such as
BMW Motorrad ''BMW Motorrad'' is the motorcycle brand and division of German automotive manufacturer, BMW. It has produced motorcycles since 1923, and achieved record sales for the fifth year in succession in 2015. With a total of 136,963 vehicles sold in 201 ...
,
Moto Guzzi Moto Guzzi () is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer and the oldest European manufacturer in continuous motorcycle production. Established in 1921 in Mandello del Lario, Italy, the company is noted for its historic role in Italy's motorcyclin ...
,
Ducati Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A () is an Italian motorcycle manufacturing company headquartered in Bologna, Italy. History Barely a month after the official liberation of Italy in 1944, SIATA announced its intention to sell this engine, called ...
expanded and Marzocchi established itself as a leader in Europe in the production of suspensions. In the 1990s, the market diversified further. In the United States the sport of
mountain biking Mountain biking (MTB) is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability ...
begins to spread even at a competitive level and Marzocchi has the happy intuition of starting to produce bicycle forks that combine high technology with high performance. In 2008 the company was acquired by American automotive parts manufacturer
Tenneco Tenneco, Inc. (formerly Tenneco Automotive and originally Tennessee Gas Transmission Company) is an American automotive components original equipment manufacturer and an aftermarket ride control and emissions products manufacturer. It is a ''F ...
. Until 2007, Marzocchi manufactured the mountain bike suspension forks in Italy. Since December 2015 Marzocchi brand was taken over by the Italian company VRM Group together with the historic Zola Pedrosa plant with the birth of the subsidiary Marzocchi Motor and the reinstatement of 70 employees for production. Florenzo Vanzetto become the CEO of the company. American company Fox Factory acquired only assets of Marzocchi's mountain bike product lines. In recent years Marzocchi Motor has become a supplier of forks for numerous motorcycle manufacturers to pass a turnover of 8 million euros in 2016 to a turnover of 32 million euros in 2021. In January 2022 an agreement was signed with Zhejiang Mazhuoke Machinery Manufacturing (part of the
Qianjiang Motorcycle Qianjiang Motorcycle Group, doing business as QJMotor, is a Chinese motorcycle manufacturer founded in 1985 and headquartered in Winling, Zhejiang Province. It is one of the largest two-wheeled vehicle manufacturers in China. Since September 20 ...
group) for the construction of a second production plant in the Chinese province of Zheijang, south of Shanghai, to provide the suspensions for the domestic market and Chinese customers.


Motorcycle suspension

Up until the 1980s, Marzocchi were original equipment manufacturers ('OEM') for a number of Italian motorcycle marques including
Moto Morini Moto Morini is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded by Alfonso Morini in Bologna, in 1937. Earlier, Morini had also manufactured motorcycles together with Mario Mazzetti under the name MM. Moto Morini came under Cagiva control in 1987, the ...
and
Ducati Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A () is an Italian motorcycle manufacturing company headquartered in Bologna, Italy. History Barely a month after the official liberation of Italy in 1944, SIATA announced its intention to sell this engine, called ...
, their oil
shock absorber A shock absorber or damper is a mechanical or hydraulics, hydraulic device designed to absorb and Damping ratio, damp shock (mechanics), shock impulses. It does this by converting the kinetic energy of the shock into another form of energy (typic ...
s also being OEM for Triumph Motorcycles in the latter stages of their production at the Meriden plant. Their later 'Strada' model introduced a degree of air suspension to motorcycling and, like the oil shocks, were available as aftermarket fittings for a large number of models. Strada units were OEM for Triumph's T140LE Royal Wedding and TSS models. A big advantage of the Marzocchi shock was its ability to be rebuilt, seal kits and service manuals being readily available. Meriden also experimented with using Marzocchi front forks which were also used on some Italian models. Meriden however closed down before any such forks reached production models. Marzocchi shocks, albeit of more modern design, are still OEM for a number of manufacturers.


Bicycle suspension

Until 2007, fork production was based in Italy (apart from the entry level OEM parts, which are produced by the Taiwanese SR Suntour in Taiwan). Since 2008, all forks have been made in Taiwan. In recent years the brand is being used as lower-tier rebranded Fox Suspension. Notable fork models: Marzocchi Monster Triple (1999–2005) Marzocchi Super Monster Triple (2003–2005) Marzocchi Shiver (2001–2005) Marzocchi Z1 (1996) Marzocchi RAC (2001) Marzocchi 888 (2005-2014) Marzocchi 66RC (2005-2013) Marzocchi Z1 (2022-present) Marzocchi Z2 (2022-present) Marzocchi Super Z (2022-present) Marzocchi Bomber 58 (2022-present) Notable shock models: Marzocchi Roco coil/air (years unknown) Marzocchi Moto C2R2 (years unknown) Marzocchi Bomber CR (2021-present) Marzocchi Bomber Air (2021-present)


See also

*
Shock absorber A shock absorber or damper is a mechanical or hydraulics, hydraulic device designed to absorb and Damping ratio, damp shock (mechanics), shock impulses. It does this by converting the kinetic energy of the shock into another form of energy (typic ...
*
Motorcycle suspension A motorcycle's suspension serves a dual purpose: contributing to the vehicle's handling and braking, and providing safety and comfort by keeping the vehicle's passengers comfortably isolated from road noise, bumps and vibrations. The typical mot ...
*
List of bicycle parts List of bicycle parts by alphabetic order: * Axle: as in the generic definition, a rod that serves to attach a wheel to a bicycle and provides support for bearings on which the wheel rotates, for example a through-axle or an axle made for a ...
*
List of Italian companies Italy is a Unitary state, unitary parliamentary republic in Europe with the third largest nominal Gross domestic product, GDP in the Eurozone and the eighth List of countries by GDP (nominal), largest in the world. As an advanced economy, the cou ...


References


External links


Official site for motorcycle suspension

Official site for mtb suspension
Auto parts suppliers of Italy Automotive motorsports and performance companies Cycle suspension manufacturers Cycle parts manufacturers Manufacturing companies established in 1949 Italian companies established in 1949 Italian brands {{Cycle-manufacturer-stub Motorcycle parts manufacturers