Moto Guzzi Teases V100 Mandello and Reveals Plans for New Factory

The Golden Eagle spreads its wings with active aerodynamics

If this were any normal year, Moto Guzzi would be holding a big party this week to celebrate its 100th birthday. Because of the pandemic, however, the Piaggio-owned brand had to postpone its Moto Guzzi World Days 2021 Festival to 2022, celebrating its centennial on what would actually be its 101st year.

Nevertheless, Moto Guzzi proceeded to announce what would have been the highlight of the festival: a new Moto Guzzi V100 Mandello model and plans to build a new futuristic factory on its historic home in Mandello del Lario, Italy.

Moto Guzzi V100 Mandello

Full details on the V100 Mandello will be revealed in November at EICMA, but Moto Guzzi has given a glimpse of what to expect, including its most innovative feature: active aerodynamics. As shown at around the 31-second mark of the video below, the windscreen moves on its own from lowered to raised positions. Meanwhile, two panels on the sides of the fuel tank flare outwards, like the eagle on Moto Guzzi’s logo spreading its wings, altering the airflow around the half fairing.

The V-Twin engine appears to be new, and liquid cooled despite still having cooling fins, with an unfamiliar cylinder head design and the header pipes exiting from the downward-facing sides of the cylinders instead of the front like on other Moto Guzzi models. We don’t know any performance figures or even a displacement, though we can guess from the V100 name it will be around 1000cc.

Like other Moto Guzzi models, the V100 Mandello uses a shaft drive, but it is unique in having the cardan shaft inside a single-sided swingarm.

Moto Guzzi showed two versions of the V100 Mandello. The red bike appears to be the base model with the green V100 getting higher-end Öhlins suspension, including what looks like the same semi-active suspension system employed on the Aprilia Tuono V4 Factory.

Other details we espy include a trellis frame, Brembo brakes, a leather saddle with raised pillion seat, and Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV tires. We can’t get a good glimpse of the instrumentation, but we assume it will be a full-color TFT screen.

Brand New Factory

The other big news is the redevelopment of Moto Guzzi’s facilities. Moto Guzzi’s new headquarters was designed by American architect Greg Lynn. It combines the existing structures with new futuristic buildings, a union of Moto Guzzi’s first century and its next.

The new facilities will include a new factory with increased production capacity, along with tourist amenities like a hotel and conference center.

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