Similar to other storied motorcycle manufacturers that have survived for decades, Moto Guzzi has experienced a series of business cycles and a series of ownership arrangements—some complex, some brief, some that have endured.
1921–1966: Origins Moto Guzzi was conceived by two aircraft pilots and their mechanic serving in the
Corpo Aeronautico Militare (the Italian Air Corp,
CAM) during
World War I: Giorgio Parodi, Giovanni Ravelli and Carlo Guzzi. Assigned to the same Miraglia Squadron based outside Venice, the three became close, despite coming from different socio-economic backgrounds. They envisaged creating a motorcycle company after the war. Parodi (the son of wealthy Genovese ship-owners) would finance the venture, Ravelli (already a famous pilot and motorcycle racer) would promote the bikes with his racing prowess and Guzzi would engineer the motorcycles. Ravelli died just days after the war's end in an aircraft crash and is commemorated by the eagle's wings that form
the Moto Guzzi logo. , Birmingham, Alabama. The single-cylinder motorcycle had a displacement of 498cc, weighed 285 pounds, and had a top speed of 50 mph. Giorgio Parodi, his brother Angelo, and Carlo Guzzi created a privately held silent partnership "Società Anonima Moto Guzzi" on 15 March 1921, for the purpose of (according to the original articles of incorporation) "the manufacture and the sale of motor cycles and any other activity in relation to or connected to metallurgical and mechanical industry". The company was legally based in Genoa, Italy, with its headquarters in Mandello. The very earliest motorcycles bore the name
G.P. (Guzzi-Parodi), though the marque quickly changed to
Moto Guzzi. As the only shareholders, the Parodis wanted to shield their shipping fortunes by avoiding confusion of the name
G.P. with Giorgio Parodi's initials. Carlo Guzzi initially received royalties for each motorcycle produced, holding no ownership in the company that bore his name. In 1946 Moto Guzzi formally incorporated as
Moto Guzzi S.p.A. with Giorgio Parodi as chairman. Carlo Guzzi's first engine design was a horizontal
single-cylinder engine that dominated the first 45 years of the company's history in various configurations. Through 1934, each engine bore the signature of the mechanic who built it. As originally envisioned, the company used racing to promote the brand. In the
1935 Isle of Man TT, Moto Guzzi factory rider
Stanley Woods scored an impressive double victory with wins in the
Lightweight TT as well as the
Senior TT. Until the mid-1940s, the traditional horizontal
four-stroke single-cylinder 500 cc engines were fitted with one overhead and one side valve but contrary to the usual practice of having
inlet over exhaust (IOE), this employed the side valve for induction and the overhead valve for exhaust. Also unusual was the adoption of only one hairspring (type of valve spring) to close the exhaust valve. These were the highest performance engines Moto Guzzi sold to the general public. By contrast, the company supplied the official racing team and private racers with higher performance racing machines with varying overhead cam, multi-valve configurations and cylinder designs. In the 1950s, Moto Guzzi, along with the Italian factories of
Gilera and
Mondial, led the world of
Grand Prix motorcycle racing. With durable and lightweight 250 cc and 350 cc bikes designed by Giulio Carcano, the firm dominated the middleweight classes. The factory won five consecutive
350 cc world championships between 1953 and 1957. Realizing that low weight alone might not continue to win races for the company, Carcano designed the
V8 500 cc GP race bike: its engine was one of the most complex of its time. Despite leading many races and frequently posting the fastest lap time, the V8 often failed to complete races because of mechanical problems. Its development ended when Moto Guzzi (together with its main competitors Gilera and Mondial) withdrew from racing after the
1957 season citing rising costs and falling motorcycle sales. By the time of its pull out from Grand Prix racing, Moto Guzzi had won 3,329 official races, 8
World Championships, 6
Constructor's Championships and 11
Isle of Man TT victories. The period after
World War II was as difficult in Mandello del Lario as it was elsewhere in post-war Europe. The solution was production of inexpensive, lighter cycles. The 1946 "Motoleggera", a 65 cc lightweight motorcycle originally—and still regularly—called the "Guzzino," became very popular in post-war Italy. It was produced until 1954. One reason for its success was that, even though it had a somewhat bicycle-like appearance, it still looked and felt more like a motorcycle than other low-end motorized two wheelers in the Italian market at the time. The Guzzinio was so popular that on 5 June 1949 Moto Guzzi held a rally for Guzzino owners at Mandello del Lario, attended by 14,000 people with 12,500 Guzzinos. A four-stroke 175 cc scooter known as the "Galletto" also sold well. Though modest cycles for the company, the lighter cycles continue to feature Guzzi's innovation and commitment to quality. The step-through Galletto initially featured a manual, foot-shifted three-speed (160 cc) configuration then later a four-speed (175 cc) set-up by the end of 1952. The displacement was increased to 192 cc in 1954 and electric start was added in 1961. Moto Guzzi was limited in its endeavors to penetrate the important scooter market as motorcycle popularity waned after WWII. Italian scooter competitors would not tolerate an incursion from Moto Guzzi. By innovating the
first large-wheeled scooter, Guzzi competed less directly with manufacturers of small-wheeled scooters such as Piaggio (Vespa) and
Lambretta. To illustrate the delicate balance within the Italian post-war motorcycle and scooter markets, when Guzzi developed their own prototype for a small-wheeled scooter, Lambretta retaliated with a prototype for a small V-twin
motorcycle threatening to directly compete on Moto Guzzi's turf. The two companies compromised: Guzzi never produced their small-wheeled scooter and Lambretta never manufactured the motorcycle. The drive train that Lambretta made in their 1953 motorcycle prototype remarkably resembles the
V-twin + drive shaft arrangement that Guzzi developed more than ten years later, ultimately to become iconic of the company. By 1964, the company was in full financial crisis. Emanuele Parodi and his son Giorgio had died, Carlo Guzzi had retired to private life, and direction passed to Enrico Parodi, Giorgio's brother. Carlo Guzzi died on 3 November 1964, in Mandello, after a brief hospital stay in Davos. though other reports suggest a period of limited investment in Moto Guzzi followed attributed to DTI using Moto Guzzi financially prioritizing their automotive ventures. 850 In November 1975 Guzzi first showed the
850 Le Mans at the Milan Show that was much later described as a "remarkably aggressive and attractive motorcycle". Today the early versions, the Series I especially, are considered one of the most iconic and collectible of all V-twin Moto Guzzis. A marketing success that would compete with other Italian superbikes, it spawned four later models from Mark II to its culmination in the 1990s, the Le Mans 1000 or Mark V. The initial model is known widely but incorrectly as the Mark I. Technically, it is simply the 850 Le Mans. It was named in homage to the 24-hour endurance race and circuit in France. The Mark I had two production runs with slight modifications. The first run, known as Series 1, used the roundish CEV stop/taillight used on many Italian bikes of the decade. Although it is often stated that fewer than 2,000 of these were made, Ian Falloon claims 219 were made in 1975 and a further 2,532 in 1976 although it is possible some of these were Series 2 bikes built at the end of the year. The Series 2 run totaled some 4,000 (2,548 in 1977, 1,737 in 1978). Falloon gives total Mark I production as 7,036. the intention had been that Moto Guzzi would remain headquartered in Mandello del Lario and would share Aprilia's technological, R&D capabilities and financial resources as well. The arrangement would remain short-lived, as Aprilia itself stumbled financially. At the same time Aprilia attempted to diversify in other areas of manufacturing, new Italian laws required helmets for motorcyclists and raising insurance rates for teenage motorcyclists, severely affected the company's profitability. Nonetheless, Aprilia had committed large sums to renovating the Mandello Moto Guzzi factory – renovations that were ultimately completed.
Ducati again made an offer for Moto Guzzi during Aprilia's financial difficulties, as it had before when Aprilia had purchased Moto Guzzi in 2000. Other potential buyers included
Kymco and the
BRP subsidiary
Rotax, Kymco reportedly making the highest offer. The Moto Guzzi assembly line closed for a short period in March 2004, due to the financial difficulties.
2004–present: Piaggio years On 30 December 2004,
Piaggio Group acquired Aprilia. The company has begun making limited collectors' editions of Guzzi originals.
Key people Key people associated with Moto Guzzi since its launch include:
Founders: • Carlo Guzzi (1889–1964): conceived the marque with Giovani Ravelli and Giorgio Parodi – each members of the mechanics Italian Air Corp. He died in November 1964 aged 75. • Giorgio Parodi (1897–1955): aircraft pilot, whose father financed the original company. • Giovanni Ravelli (d. 1918): one of the original three friends who envisioned a company that would engineer and sell motorcycles—what was later to become Moto Guzzi—was not present at the formal birth of Moto Guzzi in 1921, having perished in a 1918 air crash. At the time he met Guzzi and Parodi, he had already established himself as an accomplished motorcycle racer, having raced in the 1913 Tourist Trophy on a Premier 500.
Engineers: • Giulio Cesare Carcano: engineer with Guzzi from 1936 to 1966, inventor of the
DOHC V8 engine and the air-cooled V-twin that became synonymous with Moto Guzzi. He died in September 2005 after a second career as a Naval Architect but remained in service to Moto Guzzi into his retirement. • Umberto Todero: Joining Moto Guzzi in 1939, his career spanned from the days of the original founders, through the SEIMM, de Tomaso, and Aprilia years, into the ownership of Piaggio. He died while still in service to the company in February 2005. •
Lino Tonti: engineer, joined the company in 1967 to replace Carcano, developed the V7 Sport, the small block V50, and
the Tonti Frame.
Racers: • Giuseppe Guzzi (14 August 1882 – 6 June 1962): Carlo's brother, rode the famed GT Norge on the 1928 Arctic Circle raid to test the first motorcycle rear swingarm suspension. •
Stanley Woods: esteemed motorcycle racer who captained Moto Guzzi's to numerable Isle of Man TT wins. •
Omobono Tenni: celebrated 47 victories racing for Moto Guzzi in the period between 1933 and 1948. •
Bill Lomas: won the 1955 and 1956 350 cc world championship for Moto Guzzi, defeating multi-cylinder machines on his and aerodynamic single-cylinder bike. The Mandello Guzzi Museum has a section devoted to Lomas' two world title wins and also his outings on the legendary Moto Guzzi Grand Prix 500 cc V8. •
John Wittner: American dentist, highly skilled pilot and mechanic, craftsman of the 1000 Daytona, with engineer Umberto Todero. ==Production figures==