Guzzi in Superbike Racing???

[Tobit]

A support class spec series, like BMW did a while back with the R100s.  Teams apply to Piaggio to lease a pair of V7s then are free to mod them but retain the stock chassis.  Restrictions could be no forced induction, no nitrous, no chain final drive conversions.  Suspension and everything else is open for change, but bike must retain stock appearing tank, seat, fenders. 

No claiming rule but Piaggio owns the bikes and reserves the right to inspect / strip between events.

Top finishers in the series earn favorable lease arrangements for the next year and eventually, maybe a shot at a seat on Aprilia?  That's a big jump.  Losers get coupons to Olive Garden. 

Tobit

[youcanrunnaked]

The idea of a Mfg. being in WSBK is to sell more copies of that race bike to the public as a street bike.  Piaggio has Aprilia for that purpose, not Moto Guzzi.  End of story.

I think you are taking too narrow a view.

Winning races can result in more and faster development of advanced technology throughout the vehicle manufacturer's model line, as well as yield favorable publicity for the entire brand. 

There is also the "halo effect" that a race-winning model can lend to an entire brand.  Not everybody can afford a race bike with lights, and few people with that kind of money will actually part with it for what is essentially an adult toy.  However, many customers get a warm and fuzzy feeling shopping for a vehicle in the same showroom where a race-replica is also for sale to the public.  Race victories signal that the manufacturer makes a tech-rich, durable, and  "cool" product.  Beyond selling race-replicas, a race-winning Moto Guzzi is likely to result in more sales of whatever else Guzzi might be making at the time.

When I was a kid, my dad was a Mopar fan.  We would root for Richard Petty in NASCAR races, and he would buy his cars from the local Dodge dealer.  Every few years, we would visit the dealer and ogle the latest and hottest Challengers and Chargers, but no matter how much I begged, we always came home with a 4-door Coronet.  :'(

[Frulk]

Perhaps Guzzi/Piaggio needs a car mfg involved to field a top level contender. I vote for Fiat.

Owned a Fiat "Fix It Again Toni" once. No way would I want that name associated with Moto Guzzi.

[LowRyter]

No Yamahas this year but American Larry Pegram is running the EBR. 

[Murray]

Yes they could however they would need to keep the sticker that is the symbol for the company and start with a complete new motorcycle. They would also need to punch out a representative road bike available to the general public that will hopefully buy it and here in lie the rub the company is not known for that kind of motorcycle. It will need water cooling fuel injection and possibly direct injection cassette gearbox and chain drive (purely for the re gearing options). There will be much suspender snapping and corn pipe breaking.

[Cheese]

Owned a Fiat "Fix It Again Toni" once. No way would I want that name associated with Moto Guzzi.

Perhaps. Although there was a manufacturer known as the "Ferrari of motorcycles" even though they had no actual connection to Ferrari, or their parent with deep pockets, Fiat. EBR also has a partner now, presumably for their money.

[leafman60]

I think you are taking too narrow a view.

Winning races can result in more and faster development of advanced technology throughout the vehicle manufacturer's model line, as well as yield favorable publicity for the entire brand.  

There is also the "halo effect" that a race-winning model can lend to an entire brand.  Not everybody can afford a race bike with lights, and few people with that kind of money will actually part with it for what is essentially an adult toy.  However, many customers get a warm and fuzzy feeling shopping for a vehicle in the same showroom where a race-replica is also for sale to the public.  Race victories signal that the manufacturer makes a tech-rich, durable, and  "cool" product.  Beyond selling race-replicas, a race-winning Moto Guzzi is likely to result in more sales of whatever else Guzzi might be making at the time.

When I was a kid, my dad was a Mopar fan.  We would root for Richard Petty in NASCAR races, and he would buy his cars from the local Dodge dealer.  Every few years, we would visit the dealer and ogle the latest and hottest Challengers and Chargers, but no matter how much I begged, we always came home with a 4-door Coronet.  :'(

Ditto ditto

Wouldn't that be a huge shakeup for Guzzi!

The trickle-down effects from racing would soak through the entire production range and improve the breed to better compete.

If they could retain their signature transverse V somehow, all the better. If they had to adopt a new configuration as did BMW, the benefits of a racing program would still spill over to the traditional line-up of transverse V's.

Wouldn't that help Piaggio instead of hurt them?  To the extent that it helped the market position of Guzzi, the bottom line for Piaggio would only get better. Instead of a zero-sum game and a deterrent to sales of Aprilia, wouldn't it provide better diversification for Piaggio?

All of this is big talk. If you visit the Guzzi factory, you will clearly see that the Guzzi operation appears doomed to languish in a status-quo position of barely eeking through an existence to keep the current Mandello facilities open. The whole thing is so small, so low-tech, so old-time.  It's like a small cottage industry of sorts. Having seen it all, I am still in a state of amazement that they can still do things that way.

Maybe what little attention paid by Piaggio to Guzzi is to spin it down a marketing path as a heritage brand, a la Harley Davidson. That's fine but that focus will not hold up well when competing against the likes of BMW etc and their steady progression along the path of better performance and innovation (despite reliability problems).

Then, I'm reminded of that famous quip- "Moto Guzzi, going out of business since 1921."








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[LowRyter]

there's no way a longitudinal crank V motor would ever competitive in WSBK.

[rocker59]

there's no way a longitudinal crank V motor would ever competitive in WSBK.

Why not?

What would be different about an Aprilia RSV or a Ducati Testastretta if the engine was turned 90-degrees in the frame?

[oldbike54]

there's no way a longitudinal crank V motor would ever competitive in WSBK.

 
 Yep. One question . How is fielding a race bike that is going to be ruinously expensive and doomed to be a back marker going to burnish the Moto Guzzi reputation . Even Nascar has figured out to make the drivers the stars , the manufacturers nameplate is secondary . Moto Guzzi would be better served by somehow associating the brand with a lifestyle like the MoCo has so successfully done .

  Dusty

[oldbike54]

Why not?

What would be different about an Aprilia RSV or a Ducati Testastretta if the engine was turned 90-degrees in the frame?

 First off , the drive would need to be turned 90 degrees to accommodate the chain drive , then there is the fact that this won't really be a Guzzi .

  Dusty

[Aaron D.]

The main problem with the longitudinal engine is length.

Guzzi made, and raced, a longitudinal 4 in 500 GP racing. Didn't do well, but it was quite fast. Shaft drive, too. I always wondered if it shared a U joint with the V7/Ambo etc.

[LowRyter]

Why not?

What would be different about an Aprilia RSV or a Ducati Testastretta if the engine was turned 90-degrees in the frame?

1.  engine bulky, wide and in the air flow  (affects aerodynamics, CG & balance, packaging nightmare)

2.  power loss to run a chain drive or even more power loss to run a shaft

[LowRyter]

The main problem with the longitudinal engine is length.

Guzzi made, and raced, a longitudinal 4 in 500 GP racing. Didn't do well, but it was quite fast. Shaft drive, too. I always wondered if it shared a U joint with the V7/Ambo etc.

pretty bike

[oldbike54]

1.  engine bulky, wide and in the air flow  (affects aerodynamics, CG & balance, packaging nightmare)

2.  power loss to run a chain drive or even more power loss to run a shaft

 Yes , the chassis dynamics would be a nightmare .


   Dusty