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"Breva" is the wind that keeps the sky clear and sun shining over Mandello del Lario, where the late Carlo Guzzi established his motorcycle factory on the shores of northern Italy’s Lake Como back in 1921. The name, first applied to the Breva 750 three years ago, was intended to mean that Moto Guzzi’s dark days had blown over. It didn’t quite turn out that way, as parent company Aprilia hit financial straits just after the debut of the bigger and more luxurious Breva 1100 at the Milan Show in 2003.
The money trouble meant all was silent at Moto Guzzi, but now the Breva 1100 is finally in production, looking much leaner and better styled than the fat-tanked and chunky prototype.
That the big Breva is finally on the road is due to the simple fact that Moto Guzzi–and the rest of the former Aprilia Group–now is part of the larger and more financially sound Piaggio Group, the Vespa people. Piaggio CEO Rocco Sabelli gave the green light to the Breva 1100 project immediately after having added Guzzi to his corporate responsibilities late last year.
With all that development time, the Breva appears quite finely honed. The venerable air-cooled, transverse 90-degree V-Twin has undergone a number of evolutionary changes. Displacement remains 1064cc (as on the V11 models), but shorter, lighter pistons allow use of 4mm-longer-yet-10-percent-lighter connecting rods, which reduces engine vibration.
The new heads with mild 9.6:1 compression ratio feature twin sparkplugs to improve combustion while allowing reduced spark advance. As a result, torque delivery is improved and emissions are reduced (a catalytic converter resides in the large stainless-steel silencer). Weber-Marelli EFI with 45mm throttle bodies delivers fuel. Claimed output is 86 horsepower at 7500 rpm with peak torque of 63 foot-pounds delivered at 6000 rpm.
Significantly, the alternator has been relocated from the front of the engine to up in the Vee (as it was on the original V7 of the 1960s) which makes the engine much shorter than that used in the V11 range, allowing a more-forward engine mounting and better weight bias. As part of the new co-operation between the motorcycle brands under the Piaggio umbrella, it was on Aprilia’s recommendation that the engine was also mounted higher to raise the center of gravity, aiding turn-in response.
One of the most important elements of the Breva power train is the new, full-floating-crown-and-pinion unit of the shaft final drive, as first seen on the prototype. Dubbed CARC (the acronym translating from Italian as “compact reactive shaft drive”), the system eliminates chassis jacking associated with shaft systems.
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