1963 Moto Guzzi Falcone Sport

By Robert Smith

Years produced: 1950-1963
Claimed power: 23hp @ 4,500rpm
Top speed: 85mph (est.)
Engine type: 499cc air-cooled OHV single
Weight (dry): 162kg (367lb)
Price then: $900 (approx.)
Price now: $4,000-$12,000
MPG: 50 (approx.)

One of the main attractions of motorcycles — to gear heads like you and me, anyway — is that they wear their insides on the outside. Unlike a car, the motorcycle’s inner workings (its modus operandi, if you will) has — for better or worse — been an integral part of its appearance.

Better or worse? Well, there are those who might consider that some motorcycles are over exposed, and that some of the parts on display would be better hidden. Take the Moto Guzzi Falcone Sport, for example. Is it perhaps a little too naked, maybe wearing too much of its heart on its sleeve? The huge outside flywheel on the engine’s left side, for example? Or the rear suspension’s chrome-plated friction dampers, the positive-stop gearshift mechanism, the clutch actuator and oil pump, all bolted to the outside of the engine?

In the Falcone’s case, this exuberance comes honestly, because the bike’s basic design can be traced back — without fundamental change — to the first Moto Guzzi of 1921 and even to Guzzi’s first design, the Guzzi-Parodi prototype of 1919 (see sidebar below).

Michael Blumberg’s Falcone Sport
Like BSA Rocket Gold Stars, it seems there are more Moto Guzzi Falcone Sports around now than the factory ever produced. The reason? A few unscrupulous “restorers” have been buying up ex-police and military “Turismo” models, fitting them with alloy rims and other Sport cosmetic items, then selling them as genuine Sport models. It was just such a machine that Michael Blumberg spotted online at a U.K.-based Italian bike dealer’s website.

Born in the deep south of the U.S., Blumberg now lives in Vancouver, Canada, and is an Italian bike and car nut, a passion that dates from his teens. He worked as a Fiat mechanic for a while after college, and as a sideline, began restoring old Fiat 500s and 600s while also acquiring a taste for Italian motorcycles. Into the stable went a pair of Moto Guzzis (a V7 Sport and a touring SP1000, as well as a Ducati Monster), but what he really hankered after was a Falcone. And it had to be a Sport.

“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.”

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.

“Mine is probably a very, very late one,” says Blumberg. “According to Ledger and Lacey, most Falcones were produced to around 1957 or so. After that, just a handful was built every so often as orders accumulated.”

Life with a Falcone
There is, of course, a technique to starting any big single, and the Guzzi is no exception. The Guzzi’s big, exposed flywheel has an interesting effect on how the engine spins over, and one long lunge on the kickstarter will spin the engine through a half-dozen revolutions.

On my visit for our photo session, however, the bike hadn’t run for a while and was a bit slow to start. Even so, after a few reluctant coughs the Guzzi started and settled into a remarkably slow, almost catatonic idle. Also unique is the exhaust note: like firecrackers exploding in a paint can — sonorous and resonant. The sight of the huge flywheel spinning — backward, because of the gear-drive primary — evokes memories of stationary “hit-and-miss” engines and fairground equipment. The flywheel seems innocuous enough, its red and chrome finish glinting in the October sunlight, but potential pilots might be recommended to avoid long scarves and loose clothing.

The engine’s lazy power and steamroller torque haul the Guzzi away at very modest revs, which is probably just as well because the huge flywheel effect means throttle response is lethargic at best, and its considerable inertia continues to drive the bike forward after the throttle is closed. The flywheel was cited in contemporary tests for inducing a reluctance in the Guzzi to change direction at speed, something that’s difficult to test on city streets.

As I line up my camera for some action shots, though, Blumberg swings the Guzzi easily through a series of turns, easing the long-wheelbase single to quite respectable lean angles.

My most memorable experience of the single-cylinder Falcone is riding behind it, listening to the steady, hollow beat of the exhaust. Michael credits good parts availability from Paul Montgomery at www.guzzino.com in California with helping him keep the Falcone in fine fettle.

The Falcone is truly a trip back in time. Essentially obsolete when it was launched, it nevertheless survived, in various forms, for another 25 years; yet its exposed mechanicals and in-your-face engineering provide a direct link to the early years of the 20th century. Beauty? Well, that’s subjective, of course. But it’s totally candid: no dressing up, paneling over or unnecessary trim. And there’s an honest beauty in that. MC

The history of Guzzi
Aircraft mechanic Carlo Guzzi, and aviators Giorgio Parodi and Giovanni Ravelli were all serving in the Italian Air Corp during World War I when they conceived the idea of a motorcycle company. Guzzi would design the bikes, the wealthy Parodi would contribute startup capital, and Ravelli would promote the machines by racing them.

Sadly, Ravelli was killed in the last days of the war, but his spirit is commemorated in the Guzzi eagle wings logo. Bereaved but undaunted, Guzzi and Parodi set up shop in Mandello del Lario on the eastern shore of Lake Como.

Not surprisingly, the first Guzzi-Parodi borrowed much from aircraft-engine technology, with a horizontal engine for optimum cooling, a 4-valve OHC cylinder head, automatic pressure lubrication and an external flywheel. The production 1921 500cc Normale retained many features of the prototype, but substituted an inlet-over-exhaust (F-head) system.

The 1928 GT introduced rear suspension, employing a pivoted fork with coil springs hidden in a box under the frame — an idea that would be revived in the 1980s by Harley-Davidson.

The basic road-going 500cc single continued into the 1930s as the GTW, joined by the less expensive, lower compression GTV. Sportier was the 26hp GTC of 1937 with distinctive high-level, two-pipe exhaust and overhead valves. The sportiest of the pre-World War II Guzzi 500 singles was the 28hp Condor with alloy barrel and cylinder head, and a new alloy rear subframe that contributed to a weight savings of 44 pounds.

The GTW and GTV continued after World War II, but with Guzzi’s interpretation of the telescopic fork, an upside-down unit presaging the much later trend to inverted types. Both machines retained their cast-iron cylinders and heads with exposed valve springs, but gained hydraulic rear dampers.

In 1946, the 33hp Dondolino replaced the Condor as Guzzi’s highest performance street racer. It’s said the name (“rocking horse”) derived from the effect the extra power had on the always-elastic frame during enthusiastic cornering!

In 1949, the GTV finally acquired an alloy cylinder and head, and enclosed valves, to become the Astore. The Falcone joined the existing road models in 1950. Essentially a detuned Dondolino, the Falcone featured alloy wheel rims and a sporty riding position. Although the engine produced just 23hp at 4,500rpm, the Falcone was pretty sporting for its day, with a top speed of around 85mph.

Because of its racing heritage, a standard Falcone could easily be fitted with the (relatively) high-compression piston, cam and carburetor from a Dondolino to give 105mph top speed — this at a time when, for most Italians, a powered two-wheeler meant little more than a bicycle with a motor — literally — like the Ducati Cucciolo or Guzzi’s own Motoleggera.

The Falcone was an instant success, even if production was relatively low. Around 8,400 were built between 1950 and 1968, much of that going to police and military use.

Regardless, the popularity of the Falcone prompted a rationalization of the 500cc singles range into two models. In 1953, the Astore was dropped, the GTW became the Falcone Turismo, and the former Falcone with its alloy wheels and higher performance became the Falcone Sport. It was in this format that the Falcones saw out their lives, with production tapering off in the late 1960s.
But even then it wouldn’t die. Military demand prompted Guzzi to produce the Nuovo Falcone, essentially a Falcone engine with the flywheel enclosed and fitted into modern cycle parts. Though it never achieved the acceptance (or the performance) of the “old” Falcone, almost twice as many Nuovos were built, with production ending in 1976. The same basic design had endured over 50 years. — Robert Smith

Moto Guzzi National Owners Club
www.mgnoc.com

Guzziology — The M-G Bible
www.motointernational.com/guz_spl.htm

PARTS
Moto Guzzino
www.guzzino.com