As expected, Moto Guzzi has confirmed the V100 street bike will debut on the 2021 show circuit.
In the past few days, we’ve seen rumours of a new Guzzi street bike with hot-rodded transverse V-twin engine, presumably styled after an early ’80s superbike or sport-tourer. All we had to go on were spy shots, but now, Moto Guzzi has released the full monty photo montage.
From the photos, and the video below, it looks like there’s quite a bit of technological development here, a long stretch from Moto Guzzi’s usual retro tack. The video hints at active aeros.
Wait, active aeros? Isn’t that the stuff of modern litrebikes? Is Guzzi building a 200 hp monster here?
Um, no. The new engine reportedly puts out around 115 horsepower, thanks to liquid cooling and four-valve heads with chain-driven cams. That’s a big step forward for Moto Guzzi, but far from Panigale territory.
Moto Guzzi promises to fully reveal the new machine at this year’s EICMA show.
Plans for the factory
Moto Guzzi also announced plans to overhaul its Italian factory towards two ends. First, the company plans to increase production, and it needs to expand (and modernize, most likely) to do so. Moto Guzzi is still in the same factory it started with in 1921, and the plan is to bring it into the 21st century.
Along with the production capacity increase, Moto Guzzi also plans to make its factory into a destination in its own right, with on-site hotel, conference centre, restaurant, and museum all aimed at celebrating the company’s history. No doubt this is part of a plan to attract the brand’s cultish owners back to where it all started, too strengthen those brand ties of loyalty. It works for the other retro OEMs, and Guzzi will probably benefit as a result of its investment.
My favourite part of this bike is the absence of six months of teaser videos
That styling really works for me. Lovely!