Coronat, the remarkable motorbike built in Mallorca
In 1950s Mallorca, an industrial project emerged that was as ambitious as it was little known. It was spearheaded by a mechanic and inventor from Inca who designed and built a motorbike featuring technical solutions that were surprisingly advanced for their time. Here we will tell you about this machine, the Coronat, and its creator, Jaume Llobera.
Opening thoughts
There is a Latin phrase that is very illustrative: “Natura non dat, Salamanca non prestat” (What Nature does not give, Salamanca does not grant). What this means is that those to whom nature has not given certain faculties (intelligence, inventiveness, eloquence, etc.), even if they graduate from the best university, will not acquire them either.
But the exact opposite is also true: there are those who, without having attended a prestigious school or university, possess brilliant inventiveness.
This is the case of Jaume Llobera Morro, who, without any formal engineering training but with an impressive creative mind, designed and built the Coronat motorbike in Mallorca, amongst many other inventions.
The man
He was born in 1912 in Inca, a town in the centre of Mallorca with a long tradition of shoemaking. Jaume Llobera devoted his working life to the maintenance and repair of machinery for the footwear industry, but his imagination and abilities extended far beyond that. He designed and built several machines that greatly streamlined the shoe-making process, and he didn’t stop there, as he also improved a type of ship’s propeller, as well as many other inventions. His family was known in the village by the nickname ‘Coronat’, which is what he gave to his flagship project, a motorbike that was very advanced for its time.
The golden age of motorcycles
By the 1950s, Spain was already overcoming the hardships of the post-war period; the economy was picking up and people needed greater personal mobility. Cars were prohibitively expensive, but motorcycles and scooters offered an ideal, practical and economical solution. Across the country, countless entrepreneurs and industrialists emerged who decided to manufacture motorcycles. There were models of all kinds, some better, others worse, some with imported engines, and many the result of enthusiasm for a business venture that was expected to yield substantial profits. But in many cases, they lacked sound commercial, financial, or even technical planning, and eventually, they disappeared.
The motorbike, the project
Jaume Llobera also recognised the huge opportunity presented by the motorbike market at the time. He set about designing and manufacturing a high-quality model, far superior to any other domestically produced bike – the Coronat.
To those who aren’t particularly keen on motorcycling, this machine might look like just another old bike, but enthusiasts will appreciate the highly advanced technical solutions for its time. Some of these are only used by top-tier brands or models today. We’ll take a look at them here.
A motorbike ahead of its time: the technology
*Chasis
The norm at the time was a welded tubular frame, but the Coronat opted for pressed sheet metal. An H-shaped, self-supporting design in which the engine itself forms part of the structure.
*Engine
Back then, in the 1950s, the vast majority of brands that emerged in Spain used simple 2-stroke engines, often buying these engines abroad or simply copying them. It was the cheapest option. Jaume Llobera was far more adventurous, and not only designed but also manufactured his own engine, a sophisticated 4-stroke.
This engine had a displacement of 200 cc, produced around 10 horsepower and featured a 3-speed gearbox. All this enabled a top speed of around 110 km/h with a moderate fuel consumption of about 2.5 litres of petrol.
*Gearbox and drivetrain
The 3-speed gearbox is operated with the left foot, but once again, what is truly remarkable about this invention is the drivetrain. The most common method was, and still is, a chain that transfers power from the engine to the rear wheel. But the Coronat was designed with a rear sprocket-crown drive shaft. This is similar to what is found in cars, and is much cleaner and requires less maintenance than a typical chain.
*Swing arm
Perhaps the most eye-catching feature is the assembly comprising the engine, gearbox and swingarm, which houses the transmission within it. All of this forms a solid, highly integrated and functional monoblock, giving the Coronat a very clean and modern design.
*Rear suspension
The rear suspension does not feature two shock absorbers, one on either side of the wheel as was standard at the time, but instead has just a single central unit, as on most modern motorbikes.
*Rear wheel
Another brilliant solution… Thanks to the single-sided swingarm and the central shock absorber, the rear wheel is very accessible and can be removed just like on a car, simply by unscrewing four bolts.
*Other distinctive features
The positioning of the (central) cylinder, the carburettor and exhaust, the gear lever and the kick-start mechanism… the bike is full of details that showcase Jaume Llobera’s ingenuity. He refused to follow the crowd, instead always forging his own path with unique and innovative ideas.
Why did it fail commercially?
Looking back today, the project was a technical success but a commercial failure. The whole concept had been designed to sell large numbers of units, yet barely seven motorcycles were sold in two years, from 1955 to 1957. Each unit sold for around 23,000 pesetas, which was a more than reasonable price for a motorbike of this kind, and it was surely a limited commercial distribution network that hampered sales. Ultimately, funding from his business partner dried up and Jaume Llobera was forced to abandon the project.
Although he was a brilliant engineer, he lacked the necessary business acumen, and so he had to return to devoting himself fully to footwear machinery and other inventions.
How many Coronat motorcycles remain today?
We know that seven Coronat motorcycles were registered, the first in 1955 (PM-10.521) and the last in 1957 (PM-22.572).
It is not currently known where all of them have ended up, but both the “Spanish Motorcycle Museum” in Alcalá de Henares and the “Motorcycle Museum” in Basella (Lleida) have one example each.
Conclusion
Perhaps if a man of such great ingenuity as Jaume Llobera had been born and raised in a region with a stronger industrial base, such as Catalonia or the Basque Country, rather than on a small island like Mallorca, he would have had far greater technical and financial resources at his disposal. We will never know how far he might have gone, but let us take comfort in this and admire the marvellous machine he left us: the Coronat.
If you’re interested in finding out about other motorcycles and industrial projects that originated on the island, we invite you to read on in our article about motorcycles manufactured in Mallorca: When Mallorca made motorbikes