;-) Vespa, Ape, Moto Guzzi and Piaggio.
A lot of years back Piaggio produces Vespas, Apes and so on. In the paperwork they named Vespa, Ape. I‘ve got a 1977 Vespa Sprint VELOCE. In this time the main company was Piaggio, as from the beginning on. But it was named.
In the 1980ies it changed, you‘ve got a Piaggio.
In the early 2000 Piaggio bought Moto Guzzi. This year I bought a new MotoGuzzi V7. A GUZZI? No, in all paperwork, COC and so on it‘s a Piaggio. Only the stickers tells me „MotoGuzzi“ and the dealership signed as MotoGuzzi dealership. No Vespas around.
Greets René
Sadly Moto Guzzi no longer exists as a company. It was absorbed into the Piaggio Group and became a "brand". Whilst final assembly is still in Mandello most of the older parts of the factory have been demolished. In theory there are plans for new construction but we have heard that many times in the past. We have been told that the new "off-road" version of the V100 Mandello may not even be assembled in Mandello.
It is a rather sad turning point for the oldest motorcycle factory in the world that is still in the same place that it was founded
There is a big discussusion in a German GUZZI-Forum. The V100 is produced in Mandello. Only the new „Stelvio“ is produced in the Aprilia factory. A big number of the V7, V9, V85TT and V100 is still produced in Mandello.
I‘m also about to produce a classic in it‘s classic home. But about GUZZI? The GUZZI Family lost it in the late 60ies. The famous V2 was constructed as an engine for a small car or something like that. But some people do some (to the family) secret changes and under official leading near bankrupt (wrong word) they try the V7 Special for the Police. This helps. Than Look forward up to 2002. A lot of new owners, sometimes under public control they are working on. And a lot of problems with quality. Now it‘s Piaggio singe 20 years. Have a look at the other Piaggio Brands. Problems with quality? No. Only GUZZI is a little bit like „the litte french town in ASTERIX“. Some problems with the clutch? The final drive? The valves? The Electric? Could be it‘s a GUZZI.
So if you ask me: a new troublefree V7 GUZZI Build by Aprillia people or a „classic troubel bike“ out of the Holly rooms in Mandello? Not sure. It‘s not a real handmade trad Mog.
Greets René
René. I really must correct you on a few points there. Carlo Guzzi was only ever a very minor shareholder. The company was not his and even less that of his family.
Carlo Guzzi did make a lot of money out of royalties on his designs. His one and only son did not follow in his footprints.
The famous V2 was an engine developed in its own right as a motorcycle engine. The were several V2 engines built by Moto Guzzi. The engine used in the military 3x3 "mechanical mule" that preceeded the motorcycle engine was a completely different motor and actually had 3 camshafts. The subsequent V2 prototype that was built for the FIAT 500 was also a different motor but proved to be too powerful for the brakes, wheels/tyres, transaxle, and suspension or the 500 and the modifications would have been too expensive so FIAT went with Abarth who were already selling kits for the 500.
Actually my father in law tested the FIAT Guzzi and reported it to be frightening with the standard running gear.
It should be noted that the eventual motorcycle engine, whilst having a lot in common with the design of the FIAT prototype, was a completely new engine of a larger capacity, 700cc, compare to that proposed to FIAT 500.
You can see many differences in the photo of the car engine below.
![[Linked Image]](https://www.automobilismodepoca.it/files/articoli/2/4/3/24368/B_pag-3-1-img-9445.jpg)
So who were there actual owners of Moto Guzzi? The majority share holders were the Parodi family, Giorgio Parodi was a close friend of Carlo during the war and his ship owning family wer the financers behind the enterprise.
The V7 motorcycle was developed almost at the request of the then President of Italy who had been impressed by the HarleyDavidson motorcycle used by the USA Presidential Escort while he was there on a visit. Despite government contracts and supply to various police forces around the world Guzzi could never have survived just on low profit government contracts. It was always necessary that a large private people purchased the bikes.
Similar to many motorcycle companies they started to have problems when car ownership became more affordable for ordinary people.
Giorgio Parodi had died in 1955 so he did not see any of this. Carlo Guzzi had died in 1964 and had been in failing health for soe time. The Parodi family had little interest in propping up a struggling motorcycle manufacturer so the rest is history.
It remains that the factory, with all its changes in ownership and problems of logistic access, is still in Mandello where it all started. It is a shame that it no longer exists as a company in its own right but that is largely an administrative question for a large group and could be changed if it made sense to do so at some point in the future. The Stelvio will be made at Noale, where the Aprilia factory is, but the group needs to keep that factory running too and the logistic problems there are less than at Mandello.
It should be said the the new V100 engine has nothing in comon with previous engines other than the fact that it is a 90° V twin.
Whoops did I say that out loud.