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/726231
2017 MOTO GUZZI MGX-21 FLYING FORTRESS FIRST RIDE P102 red valve covers and brake cali- pers are the only other splashes of color in what is otherwise a black-on-black landscape. Even the front wheel is carbon fiber. Well, sort of. It has a carbon- fiber cover, and isn't a real CF wheel. You could add an extra $2500 to the price if it was. At $21,990, the MGX sits just below the Magnum and above the H-D Touring Street Glide in terms of price and for that you get a pretty gnarly motorcycle. The most obvious being that transverse cylinder (not crank- shaft), 1380cc, shaft final drive V-twin, based off the Moto Guzzi California that pumps out a claimed 95 horsepower and 89 lb-ft of torque. But that's about all the MGX shares with the Cali, as it's also got that massive 21- inch front wheel, different sus- pension, ergonomics, obvious styling differences and the honor of being the first Guzzi to come with a stereo system with 50W speakers as factory fitted, ac- cessed by a rather clunky switch FIVE MINUTES WITH MIGUEL GALLUZZI We sat down with one of the most prolific motorcycle designers in the modern era to chat about the birth of the MGX-21, his history behind the design pencil and where he thinks biking is headed. When did the original concept for the MGX-21 start? We did in California the first, I think for us was 2008. We already thought of creating variations of the same because as a small manufacturer we cannot make just one bike. So the whole idea of creat- ing variations was from the beginning. The first we did was the California, the touring, the more traditional one. And then we got the El Dorado. This one was more looking towards the future instead of looking towards the past. We wanted to get new customers, new blood, so then we start to think about the MGX-21. Is that why there's so much carbon fiber on the bike? To attract a new type of customer? We started thinking, be- sides looking really cool, all those pieces in carbon are a little lighter. So it has style and form. Technology right now allows us to do carbon fiber for a reasonable price. Is it a standard weave carbon? Yes. In some cases, we're finding out that even carbon sometimes is cheaper than having pieces of plastic, because a piece of plastic is cheap but the painting, the process right now, is becoming very expensive. So, for example with a fender, carbon fiber is much easier to do than in chrome because the finish is already there. So this the MGX-21's the same basic chassis platform as the California? As the California tour- ing. The core is the same, which means the frame and engine. Moto Guzzi seems to have a problem with its brand awareness here in America. Yeah, but in this case for example it's important to be here (in Sturgis). People are going to see this bike. How many people ask us, what you guys are doing? We were looking at the demographic that is the big chunk of the market; it is not the old guys that bought the Harley-Davidson within the last 15 years. For sure, there's going to be a new one, that is the rider that he doesn't want to look like his grandfather. As a designer, how do you view current motor- cycle design? Do you like the aesthetics, the way things are going? We are in a bad period of design because we are not designing to satisfy the need. Design has been used as a tool to sell more stuff, just because of the design. In the spirit of design, you have to satisfy a need. We need to make cheaper bikes. Not cheap in the sense that they are a piece of crap, but more affordable and sustainable. Those are the two things that the new people are go- ing to get into the motorcy- cle world can understand. Not 250 horsepower with a lot of electronics. That's This man is responsible for designing some truly iconic Italian motorcycles, including the original Ducati Monster.