Beschreibung:

The Moto Guzzi has had two constant engine designs since its opening in 1921. The later and better-known of these was – and still is – the transverse v-twin of V7 and Le Mans fame, but the much earlier, horizontal single-cylinder, layout was the one which established the company and for which it was famous. The reason for its adoption, of course, was that the horizontal engine never compromised frame design in the way that a tall, long-stroke single always did. Thus the Guzzi could be made so much lower and handled, as a result, so much better besides giving better ‘streamlining’. That famous outside ‘bacon-slicer’ flywheel permitted easy control of the flywheel mass and thus the characteristics of the motor, without constant re-engineering of the compact crankcase. The racing versions were prominent from their inception in 1924 and these simple singles were still the bike to beat in 1950s lightweight racing. For the road, Guzzi’s singles came in bewildering variations from near racer to the post-WWII, two-seat, two-handle-bar ‘Alce’ rider trainers for the Italian army. Some had inlet-over-exhaust engines, some rear suspension of Guzzi’s unusual design, some rigid, all having that indefinable Italian ‘brio’ which makes riding them a pleasure. It should be remembered that the factory always produced racers, including that fabulous V8, and that this rubbed off on the singles. The last of them, the ‘Nuovo Falcone’ of 1976, by then supplanted by the v-twin, was the end of the line. The ‘bacon-slicer’ single offered here is an overhead-valve single, probably an ‘Astore’, though precise data was not available at catalog time. In ‘barn-fresh’ condition this Guzzi, fitted with the maker’s tele-forks, rear suspension and sprung rear saddle, has not run in recent times. Complete, sound and an easy restoration project, with good spares availability for the enterprising enthusiast, a repaint in Italian Red might be indicated for this so-collectable Guzzi. Without reserve