Moto Guzzi has been building motorcycles since 1921, making it the longest established European motorcycle manufacturer in continuous production. The factory in Mandello del Lario, Italy, was the birthplace of several industry firsts—including the first wind tunnel for motorcycles, and an eight-cylinder engine.
Since 2004, Moto Guzzi has been owned by Piaggio, Europe’s biggest motorcycle manufacturer. Although production is not huge compared to the Japanese and American makers, the company is now on a stable footing and has a passionate fan base—attracted by the air-cooled 90° V-twin engines. The transverse cylinder heads projecting on either side of the bike are an easily identifiable feature.
Moto Guzzi is extremely popular with custom motorcycle builders, who tend to focus on the iconic Le Mans series of bikes built from 1976 onwards, and the V7. More recently, the ‘new’ V7 and V9 models have been a sales success, and have featured prominently in Moto Guzzi’s own ‘factory custom’ sponsored builds.
The Roman philosopher Seneca said that “luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” If that’s true, then the story of this fetching Moto Guzzi V9 Bobber is one of supreme luck. Here’s how the stars aligned for a Dutch designer to build a homage to an Italian classic, with support from a French motorcycle…
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Anyone with an email address knows that the internet is rife with scammers. It’s easy to get hoodwinked if you’re not vigilant—but luckily this particular story has a happy ending. It starts with a scam, and ends with a stunning Moto Guzzi street tracker from one of the UK’s best custom builders. Before this Guzzi’s…
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There’s no denying that I’m a huge fan of Axel Budde and his custom motorcycle outfit, Kaffeemaschine. Axel flew onto my radar many years ago, and has continued to impress with his elegant interpretations of classic Moto Guzzis. Today we’re looking at KM37—a 1981 Moto Guzzi SP1000 wrapped in an Alfa Romeo-inspired livery. The SP1000…
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Commissioned builds are the lifeblood of any successful custom motorcycle businesses, but so is a strong portfolio. So it’s not unusual for a workshop to occasionally close their order book for a minute, and pour all their energy into building a showpiece. It’s a chance to show off the full spectrum of their talent and…
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Moto Guzzi doesn’t make too much noise these days, but they do have some gems in their collection. One of these is…
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Axel Budde believes that motorcycle travel should be done in style. He’s the founder of the Moto Guzzi specialist shop, Kaffeemaschine, who…
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Like many of Japan’s top motorcycle customizers, Kenji ‘Katsu’ Katsumoto got his start with vintage Harleys. But he’s not bound to any…
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There aren’t many motorcycle manufacturers that have been around for a hundred years. Especially if you ignore brand revivals, or buy-outs from…
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The custom scene has evolved in myriad ways since we first launched Bike EXIF, but we’re still suckers for motorcycles that play…
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Back in the 90s, Moto Guzzi was mostly associated with old school, rumbling v-twin engines. Ducati had stolen the sporting crown, and…
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The last time we checked in with Blacktrack Motors, they’d just turned a bloated Harley cruiser into a svelte café racer. Their…
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The landmark moto show EICMA has returned for 2021, and there’s a palpable if cautious sense of relief in the industry. New…
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