1963 Moto Guzzi Falcone Sport
(Page 2 of 5)
July/August 2009
By Robert Smith
“While owning V-twin Guzzis, I became intrigued with Falcones through reading various books and articles,” says Blumberg. “I wanted to find one that was in good original shape, and a Sport model that was originally a Sport when it left the factory. A true Sport has higher compression, a different cam, a different carb and many other detail differences.”
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Blumberg forwarded a picture of the suspect bike to legendary U.K. Guzzi guru Ian Ledger, who has been collecting and restoring Guzzis ever since a trip to Italy in 1974, when he discovered and fell in love with a 1953 Falcone — then rode it home to England!
“I happened onto Ian Ledger early on while reading an article in an early-Nineties classic bike magazine,” says Blumberg, “and saw a little ad for his Guzzi Singles specialist business on an adjacent page.”
Ledger carefully examined the picture and concluded that it was indeed a Turismo that had been converted to a Sport, and while fixing the cosmetics would be easy, the Sport engine internals were a different matter. Blumberg passed on the deal.
Now knowing that Blumberg was in the market for a Sport, Ledger offered to sell him a Sport from his own collection. But while Blumberg was waiting for photographs of the bike to arrive by mail (Ledger, at the time, had no Internet access), another purchaser pounced, offering Ledger a price he couldn’t really refuse.
But as marque specialist with the U.K. Vintage Motorcycle Owners Club and singles advisor to the Moto Guzzi Club GB, Ledger is well placed to hear of Falcones going up for sale. So it was that Ledger contacted Blumberg late in 2005 to let him know a Sport belonging to a Michael Lacey would soon be available. The fact that Ledger had once owned the bike and could vouch for its authenticity was a bonus.
It wasn’t all plain sailing, though. The bike had a checkered history, as Blumberg found out from Lacey. After being “restored” in Italy, the bike had passed through numerous owners, recording just 12 miles, before passing into Lacey’s hands. Lacey bought the Sport to ride, but after adding another 2,500 miles or so, noticed a serious drop in performance.
Dismantling the engine, Lacey discovered the “restoration” had been cosmetic only. To make matters worse, the engine had been “cleaned” with a bead-blaster without dismantling, and some of the beads had found their way in, damaging the engine’s internals.
The Guzzi needed a rebore, new piston and rod, bearings and many other parts. That took care of the engine, and Lacey added another 11,000 miles without incident, including a “Round Britain” circuit with a group of riders from the Carlo Guzzi Club in Mandello del Lario, Italy, home of Moto Guzzi. But advancing years and knee problems meant Lacey found the big single more and more difficult to start, and he decided to sell it. Blumberg bought the bike sight unseen and had it shipped to Vancouver. As Lacey was at that time treasurer of the MGOC, Blumberg felt pretty safe about the deal and wasn’t disappointed.
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