First Look: 2009 Moto Guzzi Griso 1200 Tenni

Trouble brewing for Moto Guzzi?

By Bruno dePrato

November 2008

Photos: Best of 2008 Milan Motorcycle Show >>

Moto Guzzi's parent company, the Piaggio Group, is the number-one manufacturer of two-wheeled vehicles in Europe, with more than 550,000 units sold every year. Another 150,000 are manufactured by its Indian branch, soon to be joined by another Far East partner in Vietnam. Last year, of those 550,000-plus Euro units, less than 20,000 were motorcycles, the bulk of production represented by scooters, mopeds and various utility vehicles.

Okay, Piaggio invented Vespa, queen of all modern scooters. On the other hand, it has also acquired some of the most legendary names in Italian motorcycling. First, in 1969, was Gilera. Then, fewer than three years ago, came Aprilia, which included legendary Moto Guzzi. After many attempts to tie present realities to a glorious past, Gilera is, sadly, little more than a fancy spin on Piaggio's own scooter line.

What about Guzzi, then, once Gilera's fiercest competitor? (Or was it the other way around?) This year, Guzzi's production has plunged from a promising 10,000 units in '07 to fewer than 5000, maybe even 3000; official figures have not been released. Further, the Mandello del Lario factory, long due for refurbishing, will soon be shut down for at least three months.

Earlier this year, Piaggio announced that all motorcycling activity within the group will be managed at and by Aprilia. New Guzzi concepts and models will be designed at Aprilia, their engines developed at Piaggio headquarters in Pontedera. Only assembly will take place at Mandello del Lario. Guzzi's reduced role in the company surfaced at the Milan Show, where the most attractive (and promising) new model was the Griso 1200 8V painted in glorious racing green and named after legendary champion Omobono Tenni.

Motorcycle division-leader Aprilia had a more substantial presence, with the new RSV4 superbike and MXV450 twin-cylinder motocrosser. But, so far, new-generation models—Shiver 750, Dorsoduro 750 and Mana 850—have sold slowly. And the second edition of a former Aprilia best-seller, the Pegaso 650, has almost disappeared from the sales charts.

Could Harley-Davidson rescue Moto Guzzi just as it did MV Agusta? Maybe, for the Guzzi name remains legendary, while Piaggio chief Roberto Colaninno is apparently more interested in acquiring Alitalia. Scooters are the business. Period.