Did Moto Guzzi ever produce a teal bike?

[twowheeladdict]

Looking at bikes from the 1990s with their distinctive 'style' and paint schemes got me wondering if Moto Guzzi got caught up in the craze.  I see they definitely got caught up in the '90s styling fad, but haven't found a photo a teal bike.

Anyone?

[canuck750]

Close enough?

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

[Tom]

That's the one. SPIII.  Take the fairing off and you'd have a Strada. 

[Tusayan]

I have a memory of a Strada in a really early-90s color, but can't find any photos.  Might be my imagination!  Here's some Stradas anyway...

[Guzzistajohn]

Ozarks Guzzi {Tim} has a green strada like that

[Chuck in Indiana]

I had a champagne Strada..now kept by land speed racer Bill Ross. There was a champagne and  (I think ) teal Quota.

[Ncdan]

Close enough?

Sorry buddy but that's green as owl $#|+   😂

[Chuck in Indiana]

Zinc Chromate.

[LeRoy]

I've stripped and repainted a number of '70's and '80's Guzzis and found an oddly-teal colored basecoat under the top coat. This has happened often enough that I'm sure it's a factory primer of some sort. Perhaps it wasn't until the '90s that they had the nerve to use this, or something like it , as a top coat.

[Turin]

Tom, wasn't that a teal strada that you let me ride on the tune up run?

[chuck peterson]

[cliffrod]

Close enough?

Zinc Chromate.

Looking into zinc chromate for my V700 Corsa-Record project, I found these links a few days ago...

This one talks about how widely the perceived "color" varies, both intentionally and incidentally [https://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=19689

And this one talks about the lime green used on the V7 Sport, which was a direct result of the zinc chromate Record bikes, was only a coincidence.  The lime green was recommended as the Design Institute as a currently popular/marketable color.  It wasn't based upon factory history.
https://books.google.com/books?id=VeeEWX3kSDQC&pg=PA11&lpg=PA11&dq=guzzi+zinc+chromate&source=bl&ots=Ok-ukZlkwC&sig=lbAE3Ax5a2tmeRQbtGrvGfyXClo&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwivn72UmdTfAhVST98KHWOBBgMQ6AEwFHoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=guzzi%20zinc%20chromate&f=false

[twowheeladdict]

Thanks for the replies.  I somehow missed the 1990s when it came to motorcycles.  I went from a 1985 to a 2000 bike.  Although I owned a 2001 that was pretty much unchanged since 1987 except for colors.

I was too busy with school, young family, etc. to even look at motorcycle magazines.

[JJ]

TEAL - A very tough color to match exactly...but it would look cool done properly on the right Guzzi! 

[Tusayan]

Zinc Chromate.

I think this is zinc chromate, as used by Guzzi in the 50s.  In the lower picture I think it may be alodine, no paint at all (?)









I think this and the Guzzi museum photo above show bikes painted with modern (epoxy?) paint.  It's not clear to me whether any racing Guzzis were painted this color by Moto Guzzi.  I don't know why the bikes are so often painted this color today.

[JJ]

Had that same bike back in 2006 when I lived in NORCAL!  1993 model SP1000-III....good Guzzi!




what is the formula for alum

[bigbikerrick]

That Strada in teal looks very attractive to me. I almost painted my Cal II teal at one time, but then decided on red. I think a bike that has  more modern "angular" lines would look good in a shade of teal, not so much one with "round" lines, like a loop.But that is just my own personal opinion.
Rick.

[Huzo]

Close enough?

That looks like the same paint that I see on the airframe of a Piper Pawnee and other such relics..

[F-22]

Isn't this a bit like teal?



However, I've never seen one. Most early small blocks were red, some were gray, and not much more apart from police/military versions.

[slopokes]

New to me

[Guzzistajohn]

Never

[cliffrod]

That looks like the same paint that I see on the airframe of a Piper Pawnee and other such relics..

More links I found the other day.  This one includes discussion about the variations of color that can be used to denote the number of layers of application of zinc chromate primer, which is used to protect against corrosion.  Common in aircraft and military applications. The final hue of any yellow, green or other color is incidental, not determinant.  It is noted to be hard to photograph and accurately represent.  It also tends to change over time, going more towards a brown appearance as it ages and does what it is designed to do-  http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/2/t/144326.aspx.

It was also used on some coachbuilt cars (pre-crash testing era, approx. 1957) as well as during their restoration, such as this Delahaye- https://www.coopertechnica.com/_pdf/Appendix_1_Prim_Delahaye.pdf

Use on Guzzi race bikes was supposedly related to the "no paint on race bikes" edict.  It only protected against corrosion.  Now known to be carcinogenic, it isn't healthy stuff to use.   That may explain the use of a mixed, determinant paint color on contemporary efforts.

[Tusayan]

Zinc chromate isn't carcinogenic unless you sand it and breath the dust.  It's pretty good stuff for corrosion protection over decades, but modern epoxy primer has replaced it on aircraft because it's still better.

Epoxy primer is typically grayish green.  Zinc chromate is a yellower color.  I can only assume in recent years restorers have painted Guzzi GP bike fairings with green epoxy primer because zinc chromate is no longer widely available.

Another color photo of an original Guzzi racer, Dickie Dale on the Isle of Man.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Zinc chromate isn't carcinogenic unless you sand it and breath the dust.  It's pretty good stuff for corrosion protection over decades, but modern epoxy primer has replaced it on aircraft because it's still better.

Epoxy primer is typically grayish green.  Zinc chromate is a yellower color.  I can only assume in recent years restorers have painted Guzzi GP bike fairings with green epoxy primer because zinc chromate is no longer widely available.

Another color photo of an original Guzzi racer, Dickie Dale on the Isle of Man.

You are painting with a very wide brush, sir.  Zinc chromate is truly nasty stuff to spray  (goes straight to the liver ) along with sanding. Epoxy primer is not necessarily better, although I use it..because it can chip and leave unprotected metal exposed.  Zinc chromate colors can vary from a light yellow to dark green, although dark green is more common, and are widely available at aircraft supply houses.

[Sheepdog]

The first bike (the 350 Corsa) is painted in Celeste Green, a scheme made popular by Italian bicycle maker Bianchi. It also became popular on Fiat 500s, Vespas, and various Italian motorcycles.

[Chuck in Indiana]

New to me

That's the Barbie KLR.Austins KLR from hell is one of those.

[Tusayan]

You are painting with a very wide brush, sir.  Zinc chromate is truly nasty stuff to spray  (goes straight to the liver ) along with sanding. Epoxy primer is not necessarily better, although I use it..because it can chip and leave unprotected metal exposed.  Zinc chromate colors can vary from a light yellow to dark green, although dark green is more common, and are widely available at aircraft supply houses.

Actually I wrote quite specifically, no broad brush involved.  For people using zinc chromate in e.g. aircraft maintenance it can cause cancer via sanded dust in the lungs.  There are also other different hazards, as with most paints. Most of what's available in aircraft supply houses nowadays in zinc phosphate, which is sold as a replacement, not zinc chromate.  Zinc chromate is still available, but not widely available as a consumer product, particularly not in Europe where the Guzzi racers pictured were built/restored (taking into account the new build V8s etc)

Back more or less on topic, It'd be interesting to see a color photo of any 1950s Guzzi factory racer painted in a shade other than the yellowish color in the photos I've posted above.  I've never seen a period photo showing anything whatsoever like the color that is used in restoration today.

[slopokes]

Chuck, that’s why my granddaughters love it.😃😃

[Sheepdog]