#motoguzzi

Piaggio revealed the new Moto Guzzi MGX-21 Flying Fortress bagger, the production version of a concept revealed at last year’s EICMA show. The design is a blend of Italian and American styling, born from the Piaggio Advanced Design Center under the watchful eye of Miguel Galluzzi (and yes, the Flying Fortress is coming to the U.S. as a 2016 model).

What we have here are a bunch of Moto Guzzi spy photos and not much else. But we’re not going to let that stop us. Putting our collective MO thinking caps together, we can say a few things with certainty. The rest is an educated guess. (Or wishful thinking if we end up being completely wrong.) Clearly, these two motorcycles are based on the V7 platform that has given us the current V7 II Stone, V7 II Special, and V7 II Racer.

Remember the previous generation Moto Guzzi California? The Italian take on an all-American genre of motorcycling didn’t quite lure the typical cruiser set away from Harley-Davidson, Victory or even Japanese cruisers in the way the company had hoped. But that didn’t stop Guzzi from trying (and doing a much better job with the current iteration of the California). In this week’s Church feature, we go back to 2003 and Jason Roberts review of the Moto Guzzi California Titanium. Long story short: he wasn’t a big fan. However, that didn’t stop him from noticing its appeal. Read Jason’s thoughts below, and be sure to visit the photo gallery for more hi-res pics.

Moto Guzzi flew us to its factory in Mandello del Lario on the shores of Lake Como to sample the two latest members of Guzzi’s popular California line of motorcycles. In this video, we take the Audace through its paces in the towns and mountains near Guzzi’s legendary facility.

When Moto Guzzi announced a pair of early-release 2016 models based on the California 1400 platform, the Italian manufacturer created a new model in the Audace and looked to its past for the second. Readers who are familiar with the bikes that have come out of the Mandello del Lario factory over the years will immediately recognize the Eldorado name for the past relationship with the state of California, forging the link to the model line on which this 2016 model is based.

When you create the largest V-Twin manufactured in Europe and have placed it in a pair of cruisers that have garnered favorable reviews – one of which was named the Motorcycle.com Best Cruiser of 2013 – the natural thing for a motorcycle company to consider is how else can the stable of motorcycles based on this DNA be enlarged.

Our man Yossef is at it again. This time, our protagonist plops himself aboard a trio of Moto Guzzis – the 850 Griso, Breva and lastly, the California. The year is 2006, Guzzi’s parent company, Piaggio, had just acquired the Aprilia brand and many, including Yossef, wondered what impact that would have on the future of Moto Guzzi. As we know today, the two brands coexist just fine, and this 2006 launch of a slew of Guzzi models, including the then-new Griso and Breva, reaffirmed Guzzi’s place in Yossef’s mind as well. Read on to see what he thought of the three bikes, and the unique transverse V-Twins in each of them.

This week, we once again visit with Yossef Schvetz. His adventures this time involve him on Moto Guzzi’s new 1100 Breva almost a decade ago. A former Guzzi owner himself, Schvetz shows some restraint when presented with the Big Breva, but turns out to be pleasantly surprised after learning more about it and spending some time in the saddle. So without further ado, here’s Yossef to tell you all about the 2005 Moto Guzzi Breva 1100. Also, don’t forget to visit the 3-page photo gallery for heaps more pictures.

In the 65-year history of motorcycle Grand Prix racing there’s been a total of 815 premier class races: 580 500cc class races and 235 MotoGP class races. Of the 16 manufacturers that have won premier-class races, the manufacturer in the #1 spot in this list has won 32% of the total 815 races. The second-place finisher has won 25% of all races, while third place has won 17%. Possibly more interesting is that the third-place finisher in this list hasn’t won a race since 1976.

The BMW we really wanted to take along for our epic sport tour to Yosemite back in July was the company’s new R1200RT, but a batch of faulty rear shock shafts on the ESA models put the kibosh on that, so we wound up taking the K1600GT instead. The big six-cylinder is a great bike in its own right, but really falls more into the touring camp than the sport-touring one. Not that that kept us from declaring it the winner. We’re fickle that way. But based upon our own Tom Roderick’s impressions of the RT on his introductory ride way back in April, we went ahead and named it our Sport-Tourer of the Year, anyway. So, there was really no pressure on the new BMW; it was all on Roderick, who responded in his usual way by setting off to down the easiest target first.

Moto Guzzi revealed three new California 1400 variants joining the returning Custom and Touring models. Taking the stage at EICMA were the Eldorado (pictured above), the muscle bike styled Audace and the California 1400 Touring Special Edition.

The motorcycle show season continues in Milan, Italy, for EICMA, the World Motorcycle Expo. Last year’s show was fantastic, but the 2014 edition promises to be even more spectacular as EICMA celebrates its 100th anniversary.

The last time we spoke of the Moto Guzzi Norge GT 8V was three years ago, in 2011, during our then-annual trek to Laguna Seca for the MotoGP races. We had seasoned touring rider, and friend of MO’s, Glenn Giardinelli, take the controls to offer an opinion that possibly varied from the similar voices of the usual MO staff. What we learned was essentially what we already knew: the Norge is quirky yet capable, slightly outdated, and it endears itself to all who ride it if given enough time.

Today at Intermot, Moto Guzzi unveiled a revised V7 lineup with a host of new features. Despite its vintage heritage, the V7 II lineup will receive ABS and “Moto Guzzi Controllo Trazione,” better known as traction control. While the addition of ABS is no surprise considering all motorcycles sold in Europe are required to have the feature starting in 2015, traction control was slightly unsuspected. It makes sense, however, since much of the ABS hardware can perform double duty.

The fall motorcycle season kicks off in Cologne, Germany, with the 50th edition of the Intermot show. The biennial showcase rivals EICMA as one of the biggest motorcycle shows in the world with more than 200,000 visitors expected. Several major manufacturers will be revealing new 2015 models at Cologne. BMW has already confirmed it will reveal three models including an updated S1000RR for its home motorcycle show, while its Austrian neighbor KTM has also announced it will present its 1290 Super Adventure. Ducati‘s lengthy teaser campaign for the Scrambler will finally come to a head at Intermot, while Kawasaki’s supercharged Ninja H2 is already an early favorite to be the biggest news of the show. Other brands such as Aprilia, Moto Guzzi and Yamaha have already released information on their new Intermot show models, but we wouldn’t be shocked if they have a few surprises in store as well. Motorcycle.com will bring you all of the latest Intermot updates from Germany starting Sept. 30. Keep checking this space throughout Tuesday morning for more 2015 model releases as they happen!