Classic Bike Ramblings "Italians"..........."First's".......... and "Simple Men"
Even us legends have dreams and desires, things we want to do but have not,our very own "firsts�, things we still want to invent ,things we want to learn and events to observe and as I looked up in the sky and saw that big silver airplane flying by I thought to myself how it must have felt to be the first person to fly, to take that first flight or to even have observed the first flight, what a memory they had. What I mean to say my good friends is that we all remember some of our very own firsts. The first kiss, the first motorcycle we rode, our first concert and your first love, the first Guzzi "Norge" time we watched men walk on the moon. But as we all know some of our "firsts" are not so good, some in war remember their first near miss or the first "hit" or our first visit to the dentist, and some "firsts" can be deadly such as the first time you run out of fuel in an airplane. We also tend to remember our firsts of technology of any era, our first CD player, our first fuel injected ride, that first amazing stop with disc brakes or for some when propellers gave way to jets. And it's interesting that my collecting and infatuation with a certain brand of motorcycles has to do with some amazing firsts and of airplanes. Moto Guzzi just the name evokes a lore and mystique even from people that only know a minimal amount about motorcycles. Many times I hear "Look at that Moto Guzzi" or "Wow, an old Guzzi". But there's always been a romanticism this bike evokes more so than so many others, as many Italian things tend to do. And it's a company that has hung on to become the oldest European motorcycle manufacturer in the world. It’s played a huge and vital role in Italy’s' place in history as a leader in fine racing and touring motorcycles of today with an amazing array of firsts. Moto Guzzi was started by two airplane pilots and their mechanic who had all served together in the Italian Air Corps during World War I. Three men who were assigned to the same aero squadron near Venice would all have the same dream after the wars end. Carlo Guzzi, Giovanni Ravelli and Giorgio Parodi, would form G.P. (Guzzi-Parodi) but the name would only be affixed to the first few bikes. The name would be changed to Moto Guzzi. Carlo Guzzi would engineer and innovate and Parodi who came from a very wealthy shipping family would finance and handle affairs of the company and Ravelli who was already a world renowned pilot and motorcycle racer would put them on the map through racing, but alas as with many dreams they don't all come true. Ravelli would be killed in an airplane crash just days after the war ended and Guzzi and Parodi would commemerate their friends vision and dream in the company with the Eagle Wings that form the Moto Guzzi logo even today. Guzzi would be formed through incorporation that was legally based in Genoa, Italy on March 15th. 1921 although its headquarters would be located elsewhere. Since its beginning in 1921 Guzzis home has been located on a branch of Lake Como in Mandello del Lario. Today it is a maze of multi story buildings encompassing 580,000 square feet and
building 10,000 motorcycles a year. Also in this complex is the renowned Moto Guzzi museum, the historic wind tunnel and their vast library. Carlos' brother Velvet Jones & Mr. 500 Giuseppe would be on the ground breaking GT "Norge" during the 1928 Artic Circle ride. Stanley Woods would help capture countless Isle of Man TT wins for the marque and Bill Lomas would win the 55 and 56 350 cc World Championships defeating a huge field of multi cylinder bikes on his wind tunnel faired single cylinder Guzzi. Many other names and motorcycles grace the museum in Mandello that brought so many victories and firsts to a company formed by aviators who had a dream of building their first motorcycle together, and I feel very fortunate to be the caretaker of a few of them. It was at the Ride for Kids event at Quaker Steak and Lube I was having an in depth conversation with my friend Radical Randy as to whether the girl in the short mini-skirt was hotter than the chick in the short-shorts, when Ruthie a friend of ours asked why I had a mirror under my 1946 Moto Guzzi Superalce? And with that I explained to her that Moto Guzzi in 1928 designed and built the very first swing arm suspension, an idea that all modern motorcycles of any flavor have copied. In 1928 traveling long distances on a motorcycle was near impossible as any suspension that offered comfort of that era compromised handling to the point of danger. Carlo Guzzi and his brother Giuseppe designed an elastic frame using a steel box mounted under the horizontal single cylinder head. It contained 4 springs together with a swing arm in tubes and joined by sheet metal. The Gran Turismo (GT) "Norge" would be the first bike to receive this suspension and in an effort to gain publicity and to test and prove this design the brothers would go on a challenging 4000 mile ride from Mandello del Lario to the Arctic Circle in Northern Cape Nord, Norway. Now don't forget my purveyors of history this was 1928 and the condi-
1946 Guzzi "Superalce"