Say it ain’t so, possible 457 Parallel Twin Guzzi?

[GTM®]

I somehow missed this until this morning. CW wrote more on it HERE. If in fact they slap a MG badge on this Piaggio India pile, I’ll be running far away from this brand fast.


With multiple Moto Guzzi styling elements, and what is clearly the engine from the new Aprilia RS 457, we suspect this retro roadster will in fact be branded as a Guzzi.

This prototype appears to share the Moto Guzzi V100 Mandello’s rear taillight and side covers.

 

[Raven]

Yikes! It's so little!

 

[Sempervee1]

Starting with the new engine and now this possible twin, I am getting further and further away from the purist MG engine that I delight in.

 

[TennesseeSmith]

I think an entry-level bike would be a good thing. And making it (or at least some parts of it) in India would hold the cost down.

I don't think the addition of a small, cheap bike would devalue the rest of the line. This could get some of the younger people familiar with Moto Guzzi. They could start out with the cheap bike. Over time, they'd be exposed to the bigger Italian bikes when they're hanging around the shop. More of them would grow up to ride the bigger Moto Guzzi bikes.

I started with a Honda CB450 in 1974. After three years of hanging around the shop, I bought my first Gold Wing. My friends did similar things. This is good for business.

 

[GTM®]

I think an entry-level bike would be a good thing.

Oh the ugly vicious circle… below started in the late 70s at 350cc, and grew to the current (V7) 853cc engine. When they launched the V7 in 2009, it was intended to be an entry level bike. I despise the thought of a parallel twin, chain drive Guzzi.

 

[Raven]

Parallel twin, chain drive...these words should not be spoken here on these hallowed pages.

 

[scottmastrocinque]

I think Cycle World missed the mark.

I believe it to be a new Gilera. The precursor to the one below.

I do not think PIaggio would do this to Moto Guzzi. It wouldn’t make sense. The V7/V85/V9 is their entry level platform.

Is a Gilera Comeback in the Pipeline?

The Zongshen-Piaggio partnership has patented a new V-twin engine bearing the Gilera name, possibly for a 900cc flagship model to launch later this year.

www.cycleworld.com

I guess, time will tell eh?

 

[moparnut72]

It looks more like a test mule with a bunch of parts picked out of Piaggio's parts bins. I don't think anybody has any idea what it will eventually be. If it does turn out to be a Moto Guzzi I have no problem with it, bringing more folks into the fold keeping the company viable. If Harley can do it why can't MG?
kk

 

[V700Steve]

Yes, the easy way would have been to make a V35 in the V7 format but that does not bring the price of it down. A sister company loan, been done for many companies. In the 80's it was a 254.
Just shows not everyone wants a Vespa or Gilera scooter.

 

[Brett]

I guess you have to keep up to the demands of the market. It would not be for me. I came to this brand for the shaft drive, ease of maintenance and initial cost. The wow factor for the single swing arm and over all appearance was a bonus (on my motorcycles at least).

 

[GTM®]

I think Cycle World missed the mark. I believe it to be a new Gilera.

I sure hope so.

If Harley can do it why can't MG?

Have a deeper look, and you'll see how that hurt them, more than it helped, with the Made in India Street series. Disaster in my book for the U.S. market. Had they never brought it in, it may not have hurt as much.

Yes, the easy way would have been to make a V35 in the V7 format but that does not bring the price of it down.

Correct, but using the older 50+ year old SB parts should help. Problem is most all bikes require ABS and TC in Europe these days.

I guess you have to keep up to the demands of the market.

I don't see that Guzzi has that need. They sell well now for what they are capable of producing in Mandello. I strongly think this would damage the brand rather than help it at all.

 

[tobinh]

I'd rather they built a single if they feel they need an entry level bike... call it the Nuovo Nuovo Falcone.

 

[scottmastrocinque]

I don't see that Guzzi has that need. They sell well now for what they are capable of producing in Mandello. I strongly think this would damage the brand rather than help it at all.

I agree.

 

[Speciality]

Triumph is doing something similar, introducing a 400 single. A lot of older riders (and in the UK at least that's most of us) want something smaller and lighter). The RE 350 single has sold like hot cakes in its various forms. At the higher performance end bikes like the KTM 390 have sold well too. The Triumph is pitched at that end and has already sold out though demonstrators have only recently arrived.
Re the new 457, the UK bike press have made no mention of it being badged as a Moto Guzzi, at least I have seen none.
Under De Tomaso in the seventies two-stroke twins were available as Guzzis and Benellis, so there is some history. Personally I think they'd do better introducing a modern take on the Falcone. Guzzi glory days were single, chain-drive bikes (and a V8); their popularity over here peaked with the introduction of the Le Mans. Since the seventies and eighties their market share has declined.
Of course I myself love them, but at the end of the day they need to survive.

 

[Brett]

Been contemplating this. Seeing as I am not overly familiar with the Aprilia brand, is it possible that this is Aprilia's answer to the V7? I have convinced myself that this bike fits more in Aprilia's line than it does in the Guzzi line.

 

[tobinh]

Triumph is doing something similar, introducing a 400 single. A lot of older riders (and in the UK at least that's most of us) want something smaller and lighter). The RE 350 single has sold like hot cakes in its various forms. At the higher performance end bikes like the KTM 390 have sold well too. The Triumph is pitched at that end and has already sold out though demonstrators have only recently arrived.
Re the new 457, the UK bike press have made no mention of it being badged as a Moto Guzzi, at least I have seen none.
Under De Tomaso in the seventies two-stroke twins were available as Guzzis and Benellis, so there is some history. Personally I think they'd do better introducing a modern take on the Falcone. Guzzi glory days were single, chain-drive bikes (and a V8); their popularity over here peaked with the introduction of the Le Mans. Since the seventies and eighties their market share has declined.
Of course I myself love them, but at the end of the day they need to survive.

well, exactly! every time I see one of those RE 350s I think about my silly old nuovo falcone and how a modern version would be perfect for motoring around the city.

I even like those little Hondas, groms and navis and etc. and if you look at the grom, trail or super cub, the cylinder is oriented just like an old Guzzi single.

 

[Speciality]

I loved the Nuovo Falcone I had. If they could make a fire engine red one with modern running gear and the essential engine layout I'd be first in the queue. And I would see it as a Guzzi as much as the V100 is, designed in Noale (Aprilia HQ).

FWIW I think BMW are the only manufacturer to offer shaft drive throughout. They too have had to cater to today's rider demographic, introducing bikes in just about every sector. The pipe and slippers brigade wedded to the simple airheads are dying out.

The new Aprilia 457 is I believe the second bike to use this engine. The first is one that is aimed at the A2 licence category (47bhp max) is a sports bike like the RS 660, a potent sports bike (100bhp) that has quality suspension and sophisticated electronics typical of the marque. It is essentially Aprilia's entry level bike, to gain brand loyalty as they work up to their V4s. Not everyone wants a sports bike, hence the new model.

 

[scottmastrocinque]

The pipe and slippers brigade wedded to the simple airheads are dying out.

Careful!

I would counter this with a question.

What do you think the average age of a V100 or a new H2O Stelvio, or a V4 Multistrada, or R1250GS is?

I guarantee you that the huge majority are old guys with $$$$$. Young guys simply cannot step up in significant numbers to the plate for a $22k-$45k motorcycle.

FWIW: BMW would still produce the R100 engine if they could. It was highly profitable beyond measure and it would sell like hotcakes. Unfortunately, it cannot meet the ridiculous emissions standards which are forced upon motorcycle manufacturers. No carburetor can anymore. Shame.

 

[George_S]

It's like Specialty said. Triumph is doing an entry level bike with an engine that's not similar to what they're known for. That certainly doesn't mean they're abandoning what they're known for, they're just taking advantage of the Indian manufacturing process to be able to offer riders an entry into the Triumph world at an affordable price. The huge success of the Royal Enfield models certainly also has gotten the attention of other brands.

 

[Speciality]

In the UK a lot of old guys like me could indeed buy the bike of our choice. The fly in the ointment for a lot of us (including me) is the weight of the bikes which when combined with seat heights and in some cases a high C of G especially when fuelled up. I can't say about the US but in the UK the largest proportion of the high-end bikes here are in effect rented by middle-aged riders via PCP deals. In essence they pay for the depreciation only and change their bike every two or three years at least, hopefully using the excess of the actual value over the agreed minimum value as equity. There's a lot less interest in repairability than in my day. The bike press always expresses the cost of a new bike as a monthly PCP value. And so it goes on...In fact even if you want to pay cash as I do it's often better to take out a PCP deal to take advantage of offers that apply only to PCPs, pay one month's payment then get a settlement figure and pay it off. I find it tedious but eg free luggage on a bike or a £500 discount will be a bigger saving than the interest on a month's payments. I've done this twice, once on a bike and once in a car. Dealers don't want cash, they do well from selling PCP deals, so getting a discount for cash on a new bike is rare indeed.

I can't say what the average age of the riders of high end bikes is here but I'd hazard a guess that it is in the 40-60 range. The average age of outright owners will of course be higher but there are probably fewer of them. Downsizing to mid-range or smaller bikes is big business. That is why these smaller bikes like RE 350 singles are selling like hot cakes - they're selling to both to newbies and to old downsizers who maybe have arthritis or bad hips or, like me, can no longer deal with the weight and height or heavy clutches. It is a lucrative market indeed, which is why most manufacturers are in, or about to enter.

As for where the bikes are made in my view in the UK and the EU this is generally not as big an issue as it in the States. The key is considered to be more who designed the bike rather than where it is made. That is why Hinckley design their own bikes and RE set up a design centre in the UK near the Hinckley factory. It is state of the art and staffed by a lot of ex Triumph staff and of course it bought out Harris Performance who make quality frames etc. RE bikes are now considered to be really good value and I have to say the quality of build is at least as good as my Guzzi. Gine are the days of the UCE single - hand assembled, yes, but only as good as the one assembling it. It used to be like playing Russian Roulette buying an RE. Not now. The V7 range has to compete with an ever-increasing number of direct competitors here and in the EU and younger buyers are influenced very strongly by cost, especially in monthly payment terms. That is why they have to have "foreign" parts.

I should make it clear that I'd love to buy a quality Made in Italy bike (Bimota qualify at huge cost) but it's never likely to be a Guzzi because the V7 range is in a very price sensitive area. There are currently great discounts on V100 and V85TTs too, except the new models.

So there's a dichotomy between those (older) riders who appreciate good engineering and high quality products and the rest, who just want the latest bike for a couple of years ago, don't particularly care where it's made and will change it in a couple of years anyway because it doesn't tie up capital they don't have often and the market seems obsessed with bringing out new models every year.

Please don't blame me for how it is - I don't like it either...