The European Chronicles 2022.14. Museo Moto Guzzi
Where The Future Remains In The Future
I really like the "idea" of Moto Guzzi.
An Italian brand born after WWI, celebrating its 100 year anniversary in 2021, with a storied racing history, some iconic models and a 90 degree v-twin that sounds good, feels good and looks good. As a niche player, you don't see them everywhere, which also appeals to me because "everybody has one" usually makes me do a u-turn.
Then there's the reality.
Moto Guzzi was started in 1921 by three Italian ex-pilots: Carlo Guzzi, Giorgio Parodi and Giovanni Revelli, the racer of the trio. The "wings" logo is derived from their aviation background, and the factory was built on the shores of Lago di Como at Mandello del Lario, still there today, a mere 20 km from Casa Olea.
By 1924, Moto Guzzi was a dominant force in motorcycle racing, and by the time they retired in 1957, had won over 3,000 races, 8 world championships and 11 victories at the Isle of Man.
Carlo Guzzi died in 1964, and Moto Guzzi fell on hard times, eventually being taken over by an Italian bank. Argentinian industrialist Alejandro de Tomaso (remember the Pantera?) was the next owner until Aprilia bought the brand in 2000, and then they were bought by the Piaggio Group in 2004.
In addition to their racing success, they've had some iconic street bikes, but have struggled to modernize their designs.
The Griso, one of those iconic street bikes...
Some of you know that mine was a 2012.
It lasted all of 1100 miles until I had to invoke the Lemon Law and fight with Piaggio to get my money back, which I did. But "Piaggio Customer Service" is an oxymoron. So many problems right out of the box, so few parts and it eventually caught fire.
Even so, I still think they are interesting bikes and had high hopes for the new V100 Mandello they announced at last year's EICMA show, commemorating their 100th anniversary:
One year after the announcement, they've delivered nothing. It is not even on their website. At the factory, there is a section dedicated to the "current" bikes, many of which are no longer in production, and they don't even have a mock up or for that matter even a photo of the new Mandello. This is supposed to be their "future" platform...water cooled, modern electronics, active aero, yada, yada.
Moto Guzzi, back in the day, had a wind tunnel at the factory and was known for their innovative aerodynamic designs.
There's a mock up in the museum, but you can't get to the real one, nor can you tour the factory like Ducati and BMW.
You know how with museums you "exit through the gift shop"? I thought this summed up Moto Guzzi; customers picking through cardboard boxes of merchandise, nothing on display and no help in sight.
Sad, really, but I doubt very much that Moto Guzzi's future will ever move into reality.
Cool bikes though.
Ciao!
