25+ Years of Guzzi – column

Sometimes your first relationship is your only relationship. That sometimes results in a curiosity about what you might have missed. After some comparative research I found my two-legged Love at the age of 26. By then I had had a lot more motorcycles than girlfriends. It started with a 250cc Jawa (which the village police took away from me because I was sixteen), via a Norton 99 (which the village police took away from me because I was seventeen), via a couple of junk bikes and a row of Hondas, Suzukis, two BMWs, to a Triumph T150 V with which I made it to the board of the TOCN. There were also a few XT500's and XS650's. Two more Jawas, an MZ and some loose stuff.

But somewhere in the back of my mind, the white Moto Guzzi V7 of the boyfriend of Irma de Jong, Jan Vijver, always played a role.

My motor loves have always been between 'old' and '(a kind of) classic' for practical reasons. By the way, they are now all Real Classics that are now worth serious money. But when I once bought a perfect Honda CB450 Black Bomber for three thousand guilders, I was declared crazy. My beautiful Suzuki T500 for 1.000 guilders was also far too expensive. But at a certain point the Moto Guzzi California 2's were worth pleasantly little. That was my first Guzzi. It didn't come close to Jan Vijver's white beauty, but it was a Guzzi. And the thing completely suited my character: not so fast, simple and a bit clumsy. But honest and reliable.

Such a pushrod V-twin rides great, is very easy to service, maintain and repair yourself. (Used) parts were pleasantly priced. And Moto Guzzi riders turned out to be a pleasantly relaxed subspecies.

With a lot of extra kilometers the Guus just got old. The emotional bond was not strong enough to have the thing revised and recolored. During one of the last rides I came to TLM, where a Cali had just been traded in. The thing was nicer than most motorcycles I had had up to that point. It stayed with me for a ton and was succeeded by an SP, the type of Guzzi that was not worth much then (and still is not).

A while later, after back problems, two V65s arrived. And I thought that was also handy because I was getting older in the meantime. It didn't feel like a step back, because in my youth a 650 cc was still a real heavy boy. Moreover, I never understood the use of power above a hundred hp. After all, hadn't the Bavarian block heads of BMW said when they introduced the BMW R75/5 that das house had investigated what the maximum safe power for motorcycles on public roads was? 50 hp!

Somewhere in that Moto Guzzi history I came across a motorcycle that reminded me most of Jan Vijver's: a 750 V7 'loop frame' that had grown to 1970 cc. A machine that had started its working life with the Guardia Civil and later ended with a KLM pilot. The twin had been given a polished black coat. It had a windshield, the chrome on the tank flanks was almost worn out. The front fork had stereo 2 LS brakes and the Guzzi had five gears instead of four. It was my dream motorcycle. My Love and I were self-employed. My Love got sick. Our business model crashed. My Guzzi had to go. Because you can't eat off a dream motorcycle.

Fortunately, my health got back on track. I could start on 'damage control'. I could save a euro here and there. I started a savings pot for 'another V7 someday'. Because that Guzzi was the only one of all the mopeds I had owned that had been hard to part with.

In the meantime the prices of the 'loop frame' Guzzi's were rising faster than I could save. But hope springs eternal. And I still had a Guzzi?!  

I still had my dream, but I wasn't losing sleep over it.

And then I heard through the grapevine about a strange advertisement. Someone who offered his V7 for sale in the middle of the holiday season. I checked the advertisement and understood why it had been online for a while: it was either holiday season or the holiday money had already run out. And on the header photo of the advertisement was a box with loose, sad parts. I clicked through the photos and saw my ex's brother.

And the asking price was pretty close to what I had saved up. The seller and I made an appointment. The bike was 'left over'. The owner had five Guzzis. Mine and a beautiful LM1 had to go. The LM because of a double hernia. My bike because of... Well. It had been bought in parts, technically fixed and for practical reasons reassembled. Then it had been given a test drive and put away. And stood in the shed for about three years between its family members. That had, apart from the thumb-thick patina, created an impressive layer of dust and floating dirt.

I bought the Guzzi without hearing it. Forgot all my good intentions to negotiate hard. With permission from my Beloved, the 700 cc V7 was bought. What am I saying?! Adopted!

After a few days he was picked up and came for some serious cuddling on the bridge. In the meantime it had become apparent that I had probably bought the oldest V7 in the Netherlands. And that the specific parts supply for that generation was at least exciting. But hey: the technology had been fixed. And the fat one would no longer be used for 20.000+ km/year.

Looking and feeling revealed a few more details, but nothing serious. After its sleep, the Guzzi simply asked for TLC to be kissed awake. The supplied new starter button did not fit in its mounting. So a new aluminium copy was sculpted. The front mudguard was given a new coat. The zinc/aluminium spray from the Action appeared to have exactly the right colour and structure. After a week or so, five litres of petrol (with a dash of two-stroke oil) were added and then the petrol hoses appeared to be porous. The local car parts store came to the rescue. It would not start. There were no sparks. This appeared – very old school – to be caused by affected contact points. These were stroked briefly with a strip of sandpaper number 600. Problem solved.

The V7 ran and it ran beautifully. With just over 40 hp there is little speed in it. But fortunately the brakes are so bad that the ride remains exciting.

So now I'm stuck with a neat Moto Guzzi V65 and a 125 cc Mash that are looking for new owners. Instead of the Mash I'll be doing my shopping on my bike. And the garage needs to be a bit emptier and my wallet needs to be a bit fuller.

Sales are not going too fast yet. Because where the potential buyers of the V7 were on holiday, the lovers of a neat V65 are back now. But they spent their money during their holiday.

But I have to say: it is a doubly rich feeling to have two Guzzis in the garage.

The technical experiences in 25+ years of Guzzi riding
The clutch cable of the big Guzzis sometimes breaks. With an extra inner cable and a few barrels on board, that is no problem. With old(er) Guzzis, the electrical problems as delivered 'from the factory' have usually been solved. After another winter of riding, I thought the clutch of a Cali was done. A set of new clutch plates was installed. The problem remained. Due to corrosion, the clutch lever ran twice as heavy. And with an SP, when the traffic light turned green, I suddenly could not get away. That was due to a surprising material break in the final drive. For 70 euros and with a good hour's work, the thing was okay again.

I have found my brand…
For questions there is the unrivaled Moto Guzzi forum. For all educational purposes the Net offers 'This Old Tractor'.

Oh yes: my second brand 'forever' is Ural. Mine has a 750cc sidevalve block from a KMZ: 23 hp from 750 cc. That is fast enough to drive in front of every traffic jam.

The final Moto Guzzi loop frame story is under construction. It will be published soon Auto Motor Klassiek, the monthly magazine. The monthly magazine of which the subscription dirt cheap is.

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