Historic Models
The company has produced over fifty models since its inception. One of its most famous machines has been the Le Mans. This model was a further development of the 1971 750 V7 Sport designed by Guzzi engineer Lino Tonti. The V7 Sport was planned as the first five speed, 200 kg (440 lb), 200 kilometres per hour (120 mph), production motorcycle. It signified a major step forward in the design of a more sporting Guzzi, with a more compact frame being made possible by replacement of the dynamo, sitting high between the cylinders, with an alternator sited on the end of the crank at the front of the engine. The 750S and 750 S3 followed, but it was the 850 Le Mans, with its disc brakes and additional displacement, that lived up to the promise of the V7 Sport and really caught the public's imagination. When the Le Mans debuted in 1976 it was among the 5 best performing road bikes available.
Six versions of the Le Mans have been produced, designated: Le Mans, Le Mans Mk II, Le Mans Mk III, LeMans Mk IV, Le Mans Mk V and V11 Le Mans. The Le Mans, II and III are 850 cc, the IV and V are 1,000 cc and the V11 Le Mans is 1,064 cc. The first two models had rounded air-cooling fins on the barrels while the latter have squared fins (known as "round-fin" and "square-fin"). All models have shaft drive. Early models use 36 mm or 40 mm Dell'Orto carburettors but the late model V11 Le Mans are fuel injected. All the machines in this series are highly regarded for their styling and performance.
Moto Guzzi introduced the California models in 1972, based on the model sold to the Los Angeles Police Department – combining European performance and maneuverability coupled with American styling. The California remained popular throughout the 1980s and 1990s and remains in the US Moto Guzzi range as the California Vintage.
| Model | Capacity | Production start |
Production end |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normale | 498.4 cc | 1921 | 1924 |
| Sport 15 | 498.4 cc | 1923 | 1928 |
| GT "Norge" | 498.4 cc | 1928 | 1930 |
| Sport 14 | 498.4 cc | 1929 | 1930 |
| Sport 15 | 498.4 cc | 1931 | 1939 |
| GT 17 500 cc | 499 cc | 1932 | 1939 |
| GTS | 498.4 cc | 1934 | 1940 |
| Alce | 498.4 cc | 1939 | 1945 |
| Airone | 246 cc | 1939 | 1957 |
| Dondolino 500 cc | 499 cc | 1946 | 1951 |
| Motoleggera 65 cc | 64 cc | 1946 | 1954 |
| Astore | 498.4 cc | 1949 | 1953 |
| Falcone | 498.4 cc | 1950 | 1967 |
| Galletto 160/175/192 | 159/175/192 cc | 1950 | 1966 |
| Cardellino 65 | 65 cc | 1954 | 1956 |
| Cardellino 73 | 73 cc | 1956 | 1962 |
| Cardellino 83 | 83 cc | 1962 | 1965 |
| Zigolo | 98 cc | 1953 | 1966 |
| Lodola Sport | 175 cc | 1956 | 1966 |
| Stornello 125/160 | 123.1/160 cc | 1960 | 1975 |
| Dingo 3 marce | 48.89 cc | 1963 | 1976 |
| Dingo 4 marce | 48.89 cc | 1963 | 1976 |
| Trotter Special M | 48.89 cc | 1966 | 1973 |
| V7 700cc | 703 cc | 1967 | 1977 |
| V750 Ambassador/V750 Special | 757 cc | 1968 | 1972 |
| V7 750 Sport | 748 cc | 1971 | 1974 |
| 850 T (Interceptor) | 844.05 cc | 1974 | 1975 |
| 850 T3 | 844.05 cc | 1975 | 1979(?) |
| Moto Guzzi 850 Eldorado/850GT/California | 844 cc | 1972 | 1975 |
| Nuovo Falcone 500 | 499 cc | 1971 | 1976 |
| Le Mans 850 | 844.05 cc | 1975 | 1978 |
| 850 Le Mans II | 844.05 cc | 1979 | 1981 |
| 1000 SP | 948.8 cc | 1977 | 1985 |
| V50 | 490.29 cc | 1977 | 1979 |
| V35 | 346.2 cc | 1977 | 1980 |
| V1000 Convert | 948.8 cc | 1975 | 1984 |
| V1000 G5 | 1979 | 1985 | |
| V50 Monza | 490.29 cc | 1980 | 1985 |
| Le Mans III | 844 cc | 1981 | 1984 |
| Moto Guzzi California II | 948.8 cc | 1981 | 1987 |
| V65 | 643.4 cc | 1982 | 1987 |
| V35 Custom | 346.2 cc | 1982 | 1987 |
| 850 T5 | 844.05 cc | 1983 | 1987 |
| V65 Lario | 643.4 cc | 1984 | 1989 |
| Le Mans 1000 | 948.8 cc | 1985 | 1991 |
| California III | 948.8 cc | 1987 | 1993 |
| Mille GT & Strada | 949 cc | 1987 | 1991 |
| Nevada 350 | 346.2 cc | 1991 | 2001 |
| Daytona 1000 IE | 992 cc | 1992 | 1999 |
| 1100 Sport | 1,064 cc | 1994 | 2000 |
| V10 Centauro | 992 cc | 1996 | 2001 |
| Quota 1000 | 948.8 cc | 1992 | 1997 |
| Quota 1100 ES | 1,064 cc | 1998 | 2001 |
| V11 Sport/V11 Le Mans | 1,064 cc | 1998 | 2006 |
Read more about this topic: List Of Moto Guzzi Motorcycles
Famous quotes containing the words historic and/or models:
“We are becoming like cats, slyly parasitic, enjoying an indifferent domesticity. Nice and snug in “the social” our historic passions have withdrawn into the glow of an artificial cosiness, and our half-closed eyes now seek little other than the peaceful parade of television pictures.”
—Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)
“The parents who wish to lead a quiet life I would say: Tell your children that they are very naughty—much naughtier than most children; point to the young people of some acquaintances as models of perfection, and impress your own children with a deep sense of their own inferiority. You carry so many more guns than they do that they cannot fight you. This is called moral influence and it will enable you to bounce them as much as you please.”
—Samuel Butler (1835–1902)