“Reminiscent
of the purest Classic World”
Moto
Guzzi V7 III Limited
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Moto
Guzzi V7 III Limited from www.motoguzzi.com
|
This shiny beauty ‘combines the classic and elegant chromium look with
refined hi-tech materials such as carbon fiber and aluminum’. But as an
exclusive limited edition version of just 500 numbered units it might be
possible that you are too late to grab one...
The name 'V7' has for Moto Guzzi a very significant meaning. At the end of the 1960s the manufacturer represented its
first 90° V-twin with the engine's transverse cylinder heads
projecting prominently on either side of the bike - the trademark of Moto
Guzzi motorcycles until today. The air-cooled 703.3 cc V-twin delivered its 40 hp over a longitudinal crankshaft to the rear wheel. The
whole motorcycle was designed to win a competition sponsored by the
Italian government for a new motorcycle for Italy's Highway Police.
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Current Moto Guzzi V7 III (left) and original Moto Guzzi V7 from the 1970s (right)
from www.motoguzzi.lv
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Not many people know that the Moto Guzzi wings span already over a period of nearly 100 years and is the oldest European manufacturer in continuous motorcycle production. The company "Società
Anonima Moto Guzzi" was constitued for "the fabrication and
sale of motorcycles, and all other activities pertinent or correlated to the
metalworking and mechanical engineering industries" on 15 march 1921. The
partners were the renowned Genoese ship owner Emanuele Vittorio Parodi, his son
Giorgio and his friend Carlo Guzzi. Guzzi was a former comrade of Parodi in the
Italia Air Corps. So was another friend, Giovanni Ravelli, an aviator who died
during a test flight on 11 August 1919. In memory of this friend the
spread-winged eagle motif in the Moto Guzzi badge was chosen.
The company's first motorcycle was the
legendary 8 HP Normale, a 500 cc single- cylinder with 8 HP in 1921
(www.firstversions.com). This was followed by successful models such as the
1928 Guzzi G.T., dubbed “Norge” to commemorate the expedition to the Polar
Arctic Circle, and the Airone 250 (1939), which remained Italy's best selling
medium capacity motorcycle for over 15 years.
In the meanwhile, the marque also notched up
numerous racing successes. The first was in the prestigious Targa Florio in
1921, which marked the beginning of an impressive succession of victories: up
until its withdrawal from motorsports in 1957, Moto Guzzi accumulated an
enviable collection of accolades including, among other titles, an astonishing
14 world GP championships and 11 Tourist Trophies.
The peak development during Moto Guzzi's
racing era was obvious the Moto Guzzi V8 or the Otto ('8' in Italian)
motorcycle. This unique and historically significant
engineering milestone had a liquid cooled 4-stroke DOHC V8 (!) engine with 499
cc, fed by 8 (!) Dell'Orto 20mm carburetors. The engine weighted only 45 kg by
a total weigh of 148 kg for the whole motorcycle. The 78 hp at 12000 rpm were
so powerful that the tires, brake and suspension technology lagged behind. The
riding of this beast was so very dangerous that many professional riders
crashed. For the 1957 season no one was willing to ride this bike before further developments and changes were made... |
Moto Guzzi V8 with its characteristic fairing (photo from Wikipedia)
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(to be continued @:
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