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
VOL. 53 ISSUE 36 SEPTEMBER 13, 2016 P103 panel on the left handlebar. Interestingly, the 21-inch front wheel ties in with a few mile- stones unique to Moto Guzzi. The year 1921 was the first to see a Guzzi roll off the produc- tion line in Mandello del Lario, and 21 is the number of cm in wheel travel from the front end. Manufactured coincidence? Possibly, but who cares? Get the thunder rolling to 65 mph and the ride quality of the MGX is absolutely superb. Crack up through what is a pretty slick six- speed gearbox by bagger/cruis- er standards and at that speed the engine is ticking over at about 2600 rpm, barely trying, with the carbon-fiber batwing fairing doing a magnificent job of deflecting the oncoming air to the point I could ride visor open, no sunglasses, and not look like I'd been bawling my eyes out at the next stop. Moto Guzzi has used elastic- kinematics for mounting the 90° dual-spark engine, making ac- celeration to and cruising at sub- not what motorcycling is about. It's a bicycle with an engine. But it's better than a bicycle. That's what my grandfather used to tell me. That's the same as we have to start thinking about now. We are thinking we are trying but with the way the industry has been for the last 30 years, it's very dif- ficult to change. And it's not going to take only a couple of guys that make custom bikes that look nice and cheap. That's not enough. It's one symptom. That's not going to change the way we understand the motorcycle. How are you attempt- ing to fix this issue? We try every day (laughs). It's going to get to a point in which people are going to have to change the way they think about the bike. That's the key. Every- body, the team that is work- ing abroad needs to think in a different way, which is the difficult part. When you look at the retro scene that's come up over the last 10, 15 years, how do you view that? That's part of the symp- tom I'm talking about. I al- ways say this story because when I moved in 2010 to the States I quit the company (Piaggio) because we are not working on something that solves any problems. So I quit, and I was convinced that the young kids don't ride motorcycles anymore. That's what most market research and surveys. I came to L.A., my son was riding motorcycles there and I met a friend of his, and then you realize they are riding more than ever. But they are buying old bikes. Old bikes that are extremely cheap. At all of the DMV when you register an old bike, insurance is cheap, affordable. They should be cheap. That's the way motorcycles should be. Like we had from the '60s all the way to the '80s. Motorcycles were afford- able. Anybody could buy a bike. What's the smallest capacity Guzzi that is currently out? Right now it is the 750. What about a 500? Would Moto Guzzi make a 500? No, not any time soon. But it would be good, the affordable thing to do. What are your thoughts on bikes like the Ducati Scrambler? That bike has bought some new riders into the fold. For Ducati, in the first year they do a good job with the Scrambler, then they f-ed it up. It was the first year they presented the 800. It was almost $9000, which was affordable, but on the ex- pensive side. So they sold lots. Then they introduced the 400, which is only $1000 less. So they f-ed up the 400 and the 800. That's it. They stop selling. By doing that they killed many other bikes that they were selling for many, many years, too. I see it as a guy interest- ed in the motorcycle. What I see is that you don't need to follow fashion. That's what Ducati did. They present it too much as a fashion state- ment. Fashions last one season and then they're gone. The bike itself won't have much success. So it was a good chance but they didn't choose the opportunity in a different way. So the way we do it at Guzzi is we don't follow. We do stuff. Trying to figure out what the client needs and would like to have. Then it could become the fashion. Galluzzi is understandably pleased with his latest creation