MOTO GUZZI’S BEST KEPT SECRET?
As you may possibly be aware — depending on how successful the Piaggio-owned brand’s PR campaign has been — Moto Guzzi is celebrating its 100th birthday this year, thus joining other legendary brands like Indian, Royal Enfield, Triumph, Husqvarna, Harley-Davidson, Norton and Benelli in the Centurions’ locker room.
As the oldest existing Italian manufacturer in continuous production since its birth in 1921, Guzzi has marked its Centenary by introducing a couple of new bikes — three, even — carrying the designation of one of its most historic model platforms. The first is the classy-looking, chrome-bedecked V7 Special retrobike listed in the U.S. at $9,490 in either grey or blue with white striping, with a brown seat, wire wheels with aluminum rims, twin analog clocks and machined cylinder head finning. Next is its more minimalist, modernist-styled V7 Stone sister bike costing $8,999, with a sinister-looking all-black powertrain, black seat, six-spoke cast aluminum wheels, a digital speedo and LED lighting, which is available in a choice of three matte colors, blue, black or dark orange. Third is a Centenario version of the Stone for $9,190, wearing the silver and green paint scheme of Guzzi’s 1950s serial 350cc World champion road racers, and its exotic but ultimately short-lived 500cc V8 engineering miracle. All these bikes come with switchable MGTC traction control with a choice of two settings, and Continental dual-channel ABS, but have a cable throttle rather than ride by wire, hence have no choice of riding modes or other such digital paraphernalia.
Looking back
The original V7 unveiled back in 1965 was the very first bike to feature what’s since become Moto Guzzi’s trademark transverse V-twin shaft-drive architecture, as conceived by the firm’s technical icon
