Moto Guzzi - A History

As far as good stories go there are plenty around to entertain us, especially from the Hollywood Movie Sausage Machine, but once in a while a good one comes our way and in this case, a true motorcycle story. It starts off with 3 friends who are in the Italian Air Corps during the First World War. Giovanni Ravelli and Giorgio Parodi are the two pilots and Carlo Guzzi and aircraft mechanic. Together they come up with the idea of producing motorcycles after the Great War finishes over a glass or six of Grappa (poetic licence here). Who knows who came up with that idea originally but who cares right? We have the dream, we live and breath it today and respect to Giovanni Ravelli who ironically tragically perished in an aircraft accident just a few days before the War ended. In honour of their recently departed friend, the Italian Air Corps flying eagle symbol was adopted as Moto Guzzi's official logo. Next time your on your Guzzi, have a look at the Moto Guzzi emblem on either side of the fuel tank. The eagle always faces forward. Some Cali EV's were produced with one of the eagles facing backward but its a rare phenomen. So it was left to the two, Guzzi and Parodi to forge on with the project. Parodi, who came from a wealthy shipping family, asked his father for the initial finance to develop their first bike, a huge figure of 2000 lira . His father agreed and offered further investment should the initial project turn out to be a success. Well, as they say, the rest was history and these tow men would continue with this successful partnership for the next 35 years. Their 1st prototype would be christened the "GP", simply to represent Guzzi and Parodi. It was an advanced design for the time and Carlo Guzzi had applied his aeronautical knowledge to many of the GP's innovative design and technology. This design and Carlo Guzzi's genius proves too advanced in fact foe the time and the GP is reigned in a bit and they christen it the "Moto Guzzi Tipo Normale". Giorgio Parodi insists that the name "GP" be dropped as it might be misunderstood to represent his initials. Nothing normal about it. Its a 500cc single cylinder 4 stroke with a 3 speed gearbox and it has almost immediate racing success after it goes into production in 1922. Now its at this point where I would have liked to seperate Guzzis Racing and Porduction Histories but they are not seperate. They are entwined with each other like true Italian lovers. You cant have one without the other, a lesson can be learned here by Guzzi. They wrote the rule book on production based on racing, its a great pity that they have lost this vision. For it is in the Genes, this attitude towards racing. It is Carlo Guzzi who is reluctant to enter his designs into racing and Parodi who insists and finally gets Guzzi to agree. Racing success is quick and so are orders for new machines. Racing makes sales, Carlo Guzzi sees the logic as sales rocket.