Moto Guzzi started in March 1921 in Mandello del Lario, in the Italian province of Lecco, with a single model called the Normale. Its single-cylinder engine lay flat in the frame. Fifty-five years later, the same company was selling the Le Mans 850, a café-racer V-twin that magazine testers clocked past 130 mph.
Here are seven Moto Guzzi motorcycles that mark the road between those two machines. Every year, displacement and speed below comes from the Piaggio Group, which owns the brand today, the Piaggio museum or a published history of the marque.
1. 1921 Moto Guzzi Normale
The Normale was the first motorcycle the new company sold. It used a 498cc four-stroke single, laid horizontally in the frame and cooled by air. Later, the Airone of 1939 kept that flat single-cylinder layout alive.
Power was modest even by 1921 standards. RideApart’s centennial history lists the Normale at 8.5 horsepower. However, the Piaggio Group’s own history calls it the “8 HP” Normale, so the exact rating depends on whom you ask.
2. 1928 Moto Guzzi GT Norge
The GT 500 brought something new to the brand: a pivoting rear suspension. Up front, it also had a girder fork with three springs. According to RideApart, that swinging rear end was a first for the brand.
Then Giuseppe Guzzi, the founder’s brother, put that comfort to the test. In 1928 he rode a GT through Germany and Denmark to Norway’s North Cape, according to RideApart. The bike became known as the Norge. Piaggio says the name also honors the Italian airship expedition to the Arctic. In fact, Piaggio says that GT returned to working order in 1991.
3. 1939 Moto Guzzi Airone 250
Not every Guzzi was a big bike. The Airone arrived in 1939 with a 250cc flat single. It gave Italian riders a smaller machine that still carried the brand’s horizontal engine layout.
It sold for years. According to the Piaggio Group, the Airone was Italy’s best-selling medium-capacity motorcycle for more than 15 years. Later, the Airone Sport added a 25mm Dell’Orto carburetor, higher compression and stiffer valve springs. As a result, RideApart reports, it made 13.5 horsepower and reached 75 mph.
4. 1950 Moto Guzzi Falcone
The Falcone was the big single of the 1950s. Its four-stroke engine measured 498.4cc, with an 88mm bore and an 82mm stroke. The Sport version could reach 135 km/h, or about 84 mph. In the early 1950s, it was the most sought-after of the large Guzzis.
The Falcone also had a long life. According to the Piaggio Museum, Guzzi split it into Sport and Turismo versions in 1953 and kept it in production until 1967. Special versions also served the Guardia di Finanza and the Corazzieri regiment of the Italian army.
5. 1967 Moto Guzzi V7
For 1967, Guzzi changed direction. The V7 used a 90-degree V-twin mounted lengthwise in the frame, with shaft drive to the rear wheel. In fact, the Piaggio Group says that engine went on to become the symbol of the brand. The first V7s went on sale in Italy that year.
That first engine measured 703cc. According to RideApart, it produced 40 horsepower, a solid number for its day. Meanwhile, the V7 name stayed in the range, and the V7 III’s 2017 launch marked the model’s 50th anniversary.
6. 1971 Moto Guzzi V7 Sport
Next, engineer Lino Tonti turned the V7 into a sport bike. He bored the engine to 748cc and paired it with a five-speed gearbox. Still, he kept the 90-degree V-twin layout.
According to RideApart, the V7 Sport made 53 horsepower and weighed 454 pounds dry. Also, Tonti built a special 844cc racer for the 1971 Bol d’Or, according to Shannons. That engine size returned a few years later in the Le Mans.
7. 1976 Moto Guzzi Le Mans 850
The roadgoing 850 Le Mans first appeared at the 1975 Milan show and went on sale for the 1976 model year. Its 90-degree V-twin measured 844cc. Then, from 1979, the Mark II added a full fairing, and later versions grew to 949cc.
Speed was the whole point. According to Shannons, a Cycle World tester got one to 134 mph. Even its brakes were unusual, because one lever worked a front disc while the foot pedal handled the other front disc and the rear. Finally, the Le Mans series lasted from 1976 to 1993.
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