The first all-new product of a recently reinvigorated Moto Guzzi, this California cruiser represents the future of the once great brand. These are the first official, high-res pictures of the Moto Guzzi California 1400. :continue:
You’re familiar with Miguel Galluzzi’s work, even if you don’t recognize his name. He created the original Ducati Monster and, more recently as Piaggio’s vice president of design, penned both the Aprilia Dorsoduro and RSV4. Now, he’s been tasked with re-imagining Moto Guzzi for the 21st century. We sat down with him at the 90-year old factory in Mandello del Lario and talked about where Guzzi is going. :continue:
Probably the most dramatic example of the departure from the ambitious, elegant futurism of the Terblanche-era Ducatis into the dumbed-down-for-the-masses mundanity of the current generation is in the Multistrada. An utterly unique, if slightly awkward bike corrupted the traditional idea of a go-anywhere adventure tourer by eschewing dirt ability in 2003, but was replaced by the remarkable-only-in-its-schnoz (and, admittedly, performance) 2010 Ducati Multistrada 1200. We asked Pierre for his thoughts on the new bike. Piaggio’s design supremo, Miguel Galluzzi, was also on the line and added some choice quotes of his own. :continue:
Think Moto Guzzi and you probably think more about a past than a future. It’s current products are overweight, underperforming and yet still only manage a tenuous connection to an illustrious heritage. That’s a huge problem, one that Piaggio has enlisted designers Miguel Galluzzi (original Ducati Monster, Aprilia RSV4) and Pierre Terblanche (Ducati Supermono, 999, first Multistrada, Hypermotard) to fix. We talked to them about what last year’s Moto Guzzi V12 concepts mean for the brand and where they plan to take it. They say you should expect to see the results of their work on a production motorcycle in two to three years. > :continue:
Sportsbikes are typically a non-event in terms of design. An engineering team working working independently combines whichever mechanical components are currently in vogue, then passes the rolling chassis off to the styling department to have some plastic slapped on it. Even though the Aprilia RSV4 R still had to develop in much the same way, Miguel Galuzzi’s design stands out with radical new proportions. > :continue:
If you’re having a little trouble telling the three Pierre Terblanche/Miguel Galluzzi (the guy responsible for the Monster and RSV4) bikes apart aside from the colors, you’re not alone and these live photos don’t help. We’ll hopefully be able to bring you studio shots soon. Apart from being the white one, the Moto Guzzi V12 X is less of an outright sportsbike than the red Le Mans, but more sporting than the green Strada. That means it’s got a comfortable looking seat, but relatively low bars and what Guzzi says is tight suspension and a “rev-happy” engine. Terblanche stated during the unveiling at EICMA, “These are really production bikes – 80% of them could be put in to production, only some details like the headlight have pushed beyond.” We can imagine this one with a nice round lamp leading the way. Update: Piaggio misnamed the concepts on its press site. This concept is called the “Strada.” The “X” is the green concept.
