850 Guzzi Eldorado

First year: 1972
Weight: 261 kg
Frame: Steel Loop
Fuel capacity: 22 liters
Top speed: 116mph
Engine: Type: Four-stroke overhead-valve V-twin
Bore and stroke: 83x78 mm
Displacement: 844cc
Compression ratio: 9.2:1
Horsepower: 64@6,500rpm
Transmission: 5-speed
Electrical: 12V battery, single coil, distributor
Carburetion: Two 29mm VHB29 Dell'Ortos

With a trail of hamburger that used to be his hide, retired California Highway Patrol trooper John Moraga bought and paid for the right to say whatever he wants about the Moto Guzzi Eldorado.

In 1974, on his 13th day of on-the-street training, Moraga was patrolling along the MacArthur Freeway in Oakland, Calif., when the driver of a pink 1959 Cadillac pulled out in front of him and jumped on the throttle like David Crosby on a Ho Ho. Moraga hit the siren, rolled the throttle and was somewhere north of 100mph when the bike went into a wobble that wrenched the handlebars from his grip and sent him sliding 317 feet along the pavement. He somehow avoided serious injury, but came home a few ounces lighter after the asphalt ate through his riding gear in spots.

So what’s his assessment of the bike that could have ended his life?

“I sure liked it,’’ he says. “It was so clean and so smooth with that shaft drive; just a really nice bike. I just wish I hadn’t had such bad luck with it.’’

Moraga didn’t bump his head during the accident: There are several perfectly logical reasons he doesn’t hold a grudge against the Eldorado. For starters, he thinks his accident was an anomaly, possibly brought on by a rare factory defect or a bad spot of road — or a combination of both. And despite the accident, the Eldo earned Moraga’s respect by serving many of his colleagues faithfully for several years.