Mego (motorbikes)

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Mego Viva, a very successful moped introduced in 1980 to replace the EK model
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Mego Viva, a very successful moped introduced in 1980 to replace the EK model
The most successful: Mego 50S built, with upgrades, from the mid-1960s to 1983
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The most successful: Mego 50S built, with upgrades, from the mid-1960s to 1983
The successor to 50S: Mego GP50 Carrera (1983)
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The successor to 50S: Mego GP50 Carrera (1983)

Mego was a Greek light vehicle manufacturer, based in Trikala. It started business in 1955 as Nigo - named after its founder, Nikos Gorgolis - producing light three-wheeler utility vehicles with 50-100cc engines and an unconventional layout (the single wheel placed in the back). In 1962 it reached an agreement with MEBEA to jointly produce "conventional" light three-wheeler trucks and was renamed Mego (from MEBEA and Gorgolis); this agreement ended in 1968. Mego has designed and built a large number of 50cc moped and motorcycle types and light 50cc three-wheeler trucks, using mainly Sachs engines, as well as bicycles. An 125cc motorcycle model was also produced. Its moped and motorcycle models, featuring innovative designs, included the 50S series, the EK, the Libra, the Viva and the particularly innovative GP50 Carrera. Its products were fairly popular on Greece with exports also made, mostly to Italy and Holland. The company faced problems in the late 1980s, mainly due to competition by used imports. Production ceased in 1992 and the company is now an importer and distributor of motorcycles.


[edit] References

  • L.S. Skartsis and G.A. Avramidis, "Made in Greece", Typorama, Patras, Greece (2003).
  • M. Arvanitopoulos, "Istoria tou Ellinikou Motosykletismou (History of the Motorcycle in Greece)", Mototech, Athens (2006).