Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127842
stepped down to return to the Finprogetti venture capitalist company from which he was seconded after they acquired a major stake in the historic Italian bike manufacturer. Under Sacchi's direction, the comprehensive restructuring and modernization of the Guzzi operation has been successfully begun, with a total of more than a dozen new models - including the eagerly awaited superbike - scheduled to be launched over a five-year period leading up to the next millennium. ''I'm plea ed with what we've been able to achieve, and proud that my efforts to attract a top engineering, production and marketing team to Moto Guzzi has been successful," Sacchi said in an exclusive interview. before his midApril departure. "The restructuring process is well under way, but now I feel it's time to hand the company over to someone with a grea ter first-hand knowledge and experience of the motorcycle business than I have, coming as I do from the financial management world. But we've chosen the right man for the job: Moto Guzzi enthusiasts around the world can be sure the future direction of the company is in good hands:" That man is Oscar Cecchinato, headhunted to replace Sacchi as managing director from Aprilia, where for the past five years he was the CEO of the company and right-hand man to company owner [vano Beggio. In that time, Cecchinato completely restructured Aprilia to see it through the financially rocky patch it encountered through nonmotorcycle related activities, restoring the company to its present, extremely profitable position, and paying off a multimillion-dollar line of credit four years early! With his core industry experience, Cecchinato has the right creden- r § z '" r Q ~ en 5 '- ----.J I Italian superbikes moving forward Updates on two more Italian superbike projects: First, it's understood the fuelinjected Moto Guzzi 75-degree V-twin engine (not SO-degree, as originally rumored) with chain final drive and six-speed gearbox under the crank is now running on the dyno, though factory sources remain tight-lipped over the whole project, and refuse to confirm or deny if this is the case. Secondly, it's understood that some parts for the V-three Benelii 900 superbike engine project already exist in metal, for the innovative. design produced by ex-Lancia engineering staff in Turin on a subcontracted basis for Benelli boss Andrea Merloni and his chief engineer, Riccardo Rosa, formerly of Cagiva. The V-three engine layout (two cylinders up, one down) has reportedly been dlosen to allow optimum weight distribution, by mounting the engine as far forward in the frame as possible without the wheel touching under heavy braking, - a problem that afflicts both the top two superbikes of the f.'Tesent day, the 90-degree V-twin Ducati and 90-degree V-four Honda. Vdue· finally It might seem a slightly extreme way of launching what promises to be the most exciting, take-no-prisoners racer-with-lights yet offered for street sale by a mainstream manufacturer, but in late Maya trio of the new Bimota Vdue 500 fuel-injected V-twin two-strokes will leave Sicily on a marathon ride from one end of Europe to the other - to the Isle of Man IT, where Bimota plans to set the seal on what is hoped to be an ISDO-mile public display of the reliability of the new bike's avantgarde technology, by lapping the IT Mountain Course between races. The publicity stunt - which will see the three bikes each painted a different color of the Italian tricolore (red, white and green) - came about because, coincidentally, Sicily and the Isle of Man have one other thing in common aside from their insular status: Each has the emblem of a three-legged man as their national symbol! Production of the Vdue was due to finally start on May 12-a month later than planned th~ to delays with suppliers, especially engine builders Franco Morini. But now supplies of· the final production version of the twin-erank 9Q-degree Vtwin motor have started to flow and, after living at Morini's Bologna factory for the last month, Bimota chief engineer Pierluigi Marconi will be fervently hoping there are no further hiccups in the evolution of the most eagerly awaited new street bike in years. . . tials for the next stage in Guzzi's comeback from the (near-) dead - but while Guzzi management insists that he was indeed headhunted from Aprilia to fill the job, speculation is rife in the Italian bike industry that this is part of a grand strategy to merge Guzzi with Aprilia in due course. If true, t1lis would have the effect of substantially expanding ApriIia's model range at a stroke, as well as providing them with the dealer lineup to market big bikes which they presently lack (and which is reputed to be the main reason why Beggio has delayed introduction of a range of V-twin fourstrokes based on the 60-degree engine Rotax has developed for Aprilia), plus a ready-made entree into the crucial American market, in which they currently have no presence at all. It's easy to see why this particular rumor is flying about: The two companies do seem made for each other, if only a suitable price can be agreed upon - and it's known that Beggio tried three times to purchase a controlling interest in Ducati before TPG took it over, only to be rebuffed each time by the Castiglioni family. Takeover follow-up, part 2: MuZ, After acquisition by Malaysian giant Heong Leong, Germany's MuZ is in the process of complete reorganization - just . like Ducati - and is also belatedly capi- . talizing on the company's MZ heritage. This is the 70th anniversary of the East German Sachsenring GP circuit, although nowadays the old public-roads course has been replaced by a shorter, purpose-built track, which this year hosts a round of the German Pro-Super- bike series on June 1. To commemorate the birthday of the track, located on the doorstep of its factory, MuZ has recruited former World Champion Jim R:edman to demonstrate a works mid-'60s MZ Re250 rotary-valve twin, such as he raced against in his days as a Honda works rider. "I was always curious to know what the MZ was like to ride, because it was so fast," Redman says. "Now I'll find out!" However, before that, MuZ director Petr-Karel Korous and Heong Leong boss Ron Lim will commemorate another milestone: the 75th anniversary of motorcycle production at MuZ's Zschopau base - originally the site of the DKW factory; then, after the war, MZ; and now MuZ. An MZ owners' rally is planned for May S-10 at the factory: Expect hazardous air quality in the area that weekend, from all the smoky twostroke singles of various vmtages this is likely to attract! Heong Leong plans to use MuZ as its R&D center in the future, as well as a manufacturing base for more prestigious models with which to satisfy the growing demand for upmarket motorcycles in Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries, and to export around the world. This will be headed by a modular-design twin-cylinder project displaying a remarkable degree of inno.vation, incorporating at least two design features not yet available for the street from any other manufacturer. With Heong Leong providing the financial muscle hitherto lacking, MtiZ is set to become a key player in the world's motorcycle markets in coming years and that's no idle speculation. {X S; 0\ ...... ~~ Q) § ....... 5