Guzzi Goes Great Guns
GUZZI GOES GREAT GUNS
ITALIAN DESIGN IS THE ENVY and the despair of any would-be competitor. Stare in hopeless longing, Guzzi lovers, at this not-for-us MGS/01 prototype, seen at the Munich show this past September. Graceful is a weak word for the integrated upper fairing and seat/gas tank of this machine. The sides of the underseat air-box and front fender gleam with beautifully finished car-bon-fiber composite. The seat and deep aluminum swingarm taper almost to points, with twin silvery seat struts between. Aluminum-finished pipes and valve covers emerge from the engine’s dark mass. Gold accents come from the Öhlins fork and Brembo brake calipers. The venerable Guzzi engine appears here in its most powerful sihe eightvalve form-fuel-injected as all Guzzis now are. Yearn and weep!
Yet another prototype, the “Griso,” uses the same engine, and embodies the tough-guyin-black, streetfighter theme. Muscular-looking frame tubes encircle the gas tank, making the dark engine below appear smaller than it actually is. A giant cast single-sided swingarm finished in black incorporates the same anti-torque linkage seen on Dr. John Wittner’s BOTT racers of the late 1980s. Giant pipes that would look oversized even on an aircraft engine route to the left side to enter a missile-warhead-sized conical muffler. A function-only oil radiator gleams from a flat duct set against the right side of the crankcase. Every overstated feature joins in the visual chorus of “don’t mess with me.” So, who is “Griso?” He is a gritty character from an Italian novel, a bodyguard.
The Breva V750 IE, meanwhile, combines refined shape and utility with a parallel-valve, square-finned 45horsepower version of the 90-degree transversale V-Twin. A prototype? Could’ve fooled me-this one looks close to production. Its smooth shapeliness proclaims its Italian origin, making an attractive marriage with the blocky 1960s engine. A conventional fork and single-disc front brake indicate this is a pleasant, non-demanding choice for people who want to get around in Italian style.
A version with saddlebags was shown, as well. And “Breva?” It is a south wind that brings good weather to Mandello del Lario, where Guzzis are made. -Kevin Cameron
