Moto Guzzi v7
Moto Guzzi was established in 1921 in Mandello del Lario, Italy, the company is noted for its historic role in Italy’s motorcycling manufacture, its prominence worldwide in motorcycle racing, and industry innovations—including the first motorcycle centre stand, wind tunnel and eight-cylinder engine.
The year is 1966, The Moto Guzzi boys take what was basically a Fiat 500 engine, make it bigger, turn it sideways, and cram it into a motorcycle frame, and just like that, the Moto Guzzi V7 was born.
The V7 was originally 703.3ccs, made 40 HP, and weighed 507 pounds. It was the result of a request for proposal from Italy’s highway police. They had a big contract to award to the manufacturer that could make a motorcycle that met their strict standards, including being able to cover 100,000 km with the lowest possible repair costs. The V7 did this very well.
The V7 was so reliable in fact, so good at meeting the police standards of it’s time, and beating out it’s foreign competition, that before long, police forces from all over the world, including the LAPD, were reaching out to Moto Guzzi to make them V7 police motorcycles.
The V7 has housed a 750cc V-twin since 2009, but now the model boosts up to the air-cooled 853cc V-twin while maintaining the classically Moto Guzzi transverse configuration and meeting Euro 5 emissions standards. A six-speed gearbox and shaft drive work with the engine to deliver the power; the manufacturer claims 65 hp at 6,800 rpm and 53.8 pound-feet of torque at 5,000 rpm. Handling is very neutral. It drops into turns, handles low-speed maneuvers easily, and is stable on the highway. Braking on the V7 is done with a 320mm front disc and four-piston Brembo caliper and 260mm rear disc and two-piston caliper.