With a factory located on the shores of Lake Varese, the firm originally manufactured a series of Nieuport designs, as well as seaplanes.

After World War II, the company began producing motorcycles as a way to fill the post-war need for cheap, efficient transportation.

Alenia Aermacchi develops and manufactures the fuselage forward and rear sections and installs some avionic equipment in the aircraft.

It produces cold parts for engine nacelles: inlets, fan cowls and EBU, the systems-to-engine interface.

The Italian branch of the brand was named 'Aermacchi-Harley-Davidson' and the first bike was a variation of the 'Ala Verde' suitably modified for the American market.

Early results varied but over years of bike development the team placed third during the 1966 350 cc World Championship with racer Renzo Pasolini and third again in 1968 with Kelvin Carruthers.

A new era began in 1971 with the development of twin-cylinder two-stroke racers of 250cc and 350cc capacity, designed at Aermacchi by their chief engineer, Ing.