Moto Guzzi, one of the most famous motorcycle manufacturers in the world, was founded on 15 March 1921 in Genoa, Italy. Prior to the Second World War, Moto Guzzi saw huge success with legendary models like the 8HP Normale, the 1928 Guzzi GT, and the 1939 Airone 250, which remained Italy’s best-selling medium capacity motorcycle for over 15 years.
Growth and success for the Italian firm continued following World War Two with the launch of the Guzzino 65, which was Europe’s best-selling motorcycle for over a decade. The popularity of their production motorcycles was mirrored on the racetrack, too. Up until its withdrawal from motorsports in 1957, Moto Guzzi accumulated an enviable collection of accolades including 14 Grand Prix world championships and 11 Isle of Man TT wins.
A legend is born
Moving into the 1960s, Moto Guzzi wanted to improve and update the engines that powered its motorcycles. So, at the end of the decade, the company launched the 90° V-twin engine which has become the very symbol of Moto Guzzi motorcycles over the past 60 years. The iconic powerplant is an air-cooled 90° V-twin with a longitudinal crankshaft, with its transverse cylinder heads sticking out prominently on either side of the motorcycle. This style of engine was first used as the basis for models like the classic Moto Guzzi V7, the V7 Special and the Guzzi V7 Sport, and continues today in their current range.
The V-twin was also used to produce smaller capacity Moto Guzzi machines, the V35 and V50, as well as the much larger 850cc Moto Guzzi California. To keep the manufacturer’s sporting pedigree alive, Moto Guzzi also released the Le Mans, Daytona, Centauro and Sport 1100 models.
In 1976 when the Genoa-based factory released the 850 Le Mans café racer, it was a design masterpiece and is still considered as one of the most iconic and sought-after Moto Guzzis of all time. The Le Mans proved to be a huge success that competed with other Italian superbikes of its time, and it spawned four later models from Mark II to its 1990s finale, the Mark V.
The small-block version of the air-cooled V-twin designed by engineer Lino Tonti was introduced in the V35 of 1979. The design featured horizontally split crankcases and Heron heads which deemed it radical when launched. Split crankcases were a common feature of contemporary Japanese motorcycle design, while the Heron heads were widely used in car engines. Both features allowed more efficient mass production and significant weight loss compared to previous engine designs.
As Moto Guzzi continued to develop the V-twin, power was increased in the mid-1980s when Guzzi created four-valve versions of the “small block” series. The 650 and the 750 produced 60 bhp and 65 bhp respectively before the production of the four-valve “small block” engines ended in the late 1980s.
Interestingly, despite garnering a strong following, the Guzzi-style V-twin was never commonly adopted by other manufacturers. BMW stuck with its similar boxer-twin engine (placing its cylinders horizontally, rather than upwards in a V) but, in terms of vee configurations, only Honda briefly dabbled with its own longitudinally mounted V-twin, the CX500 (and later CX650) in the late 70s/early 80s.
Modern Moto Guzzis
A major milestone for the Moto Guzzi brand came on 30 December 2004, when it became a part of the massive Piaggio Group, owners of the likes of Italian heavyweights Aprilia and Vespa, and one of the world’s major motorcycle manufacturers. Two years later, in 2006, the Norge 1200 marked Guzzi’s return to the GT genre, using the new 1200cc V-twin engine that was designed to devour miles in complete comfort.
To celebrate the five decades since the birth of the first V7 model, in 2017, Moto Guzzi introduced the third generation of the globally renowned and one of the most popular Moto Guzzis. The V7 III included a modernised 750 twin-cylinder 90° V-twin, with a refined look which included black anodised aluminium throttle body covers and milled cooling fins on the cylinders. The bike has proved a sales success, going head to head with the many popular modern retros on the market today, such as the Harley-Davidson Sportster and Triumph Bonneville ranges.
Fast forwarding to the present day, each one of Moto Guzzi’s 19 models continue to be powered by the famous 90° V-twin. The V85 TT, the classic-styled travel enduro machine launched in March last year, is Guzzi’s interpretation of the adventure bike and sports a brand new version of the classic engine. The air-cooled 90° transverse V-twin has an old-fashioned pushrod driven overhead valve set-up with two valves per cylinder, maintaining the tradition of the Moto Guzzi look and feel. Its 853cc capacity and use of materials such as lightweight titanium, more commonly seen on race bikes, gives the V85 TT an energetic character and is designed to give maximum performance both on road and off the beaten track.
It’s fair to say that Moto Guzzi’s long-standing 90° V-twin is one of the most famous motorcycle engines of all time!
Did you know…?
In 1950, Moto Guzzi became the first motorcycle manufacturer in the world to install a state-of-the-art wind tunnel to test the aerodynamics of its motorcycles. The wind tunnel, along with the Moto Guzzi engineers, proved to be an impressive combination, as it’s where the legendary Moto Guzzi V8 Grand Prix racer was created. Competing in the 1957 Belgian GP, the 78bhp machine achieved 178 mph during the 1957 Belgian GP. It was 20 years before the speed was reached again in Grand Prix motorcycle racing!
