A 500 V-Twin would be nice, but that would be a huge investment for what is still a relatively small Company/Factory.
Still, less than a decade ago, who’d have predicted the V100 and Next-Gen Stelvio, so who knows . . . 
2 Likes
They also need to get another engine platform as well as the shaft drive v twin.
What about if Aprilia persuaded Loncin to make a horizontal 350 single maybe?
Aprillia have the 400 single that is used in the GT scooter.
A Guzzi branded A2 entry adventure bike for the young and oldies( lightweight) would be a brand winner IMO
Just look at what BMW have done with their baby GS 310 single
This is how you hook new riders to the brand and retain those older Guzzi riders who have no choice but to move to other brands for a more lightweight but still fun riding
experience if/when needed.
Im not sure a single would be the way to go. It would need to be really cheap to compete with Enfield, Triumph and the various Chinese options. The transverse V twin gives that unique selling point, there would be nothing else like it so it could be more expensive and a lot of the older buyers of small, light bikes would have the money to buy it.
The engine from this 36bhp in a lightweight ADV would be a winner among the plethora of twin ADV.
Harley and Moto Guzzi have missed a trick IMO as you don’t need to have entry bikes that are cheap as chips in terms of Chinese bikes.
Why? Riders will expect to pay that little bit more of a premium for either brand as long as the product is good 
My old Yam single was a hoot off and on road.
For me, and I’m sure most of the current Guzzi fans, the big attraction to them is their l-o-o-o-o-n-g History, the fact they’re still in the same Factory, and the way you can see their current models’ lineage stretching back so far.
I don’t see any ‘new’ riders being too bothered by all that, so maybe an ‘Entry-Level’ model made elsewhere is the answer to their continued (albeit slow) growth.
I’m sure the marketing men would still milk the Heritage/History stuff for all they’re worth though . . .
1 Like
I think the key is “stick to what you are good at and be wary of unrealistic ambitions?”
Recent numbers quoted show a pretty steady increase in output/sales for MG over the last ten years or so. Perhaps modest compared to industry giants with much wider genres and offerings but MG has a market unique to them and recent updatings are keeping that healthy for now at least. Additionally being a dedicated and hopefully protected part of the Piaggio empire allows them to continue to evolve and sell their product to a steady market fan base. Right now they are in a relative sweet spot continuing to make machines that are not and never have attempted to be the biggest/fastest/ultimate spec out there.
Any read of Guzzi new model reviews for many years all display the endlessly repeated comparisons to whatever the glitziest/latest fire breathing offerings on the market. Then they condescendingly and somewhat grudgingly admit that despite not quite being as fashionable or eye popping as the competition the bikes are endlessly competent and smile inducing and just ‘get the job done’ quietly and efficiently as MG’s do supremely well. They have enviable style, real world usability in spades and now filling in the tech gap with the sharing from Aprilia. As long as found profitable to justify their space I think it would be dangerous to mess with that too much or try too hard to chase unrealistic expansion.
I have to agree that there is likely an opportunity to possibly look at a V50 iteration smack in the A2 segment that is lighter than the V7’s without straying too far from the MG philosophy. That 350-500cc segment is burgeoning right now.
Despite adventures into other configurations BMW have shown the boxer engine like Guzzi’s V twin and even Ducati have attributes that are hard to ignore or beat for better than half a century. I’d keep tweaking and developing that as long as price and sales can support it.
I am just glad they exist and hope they will for another 100yrs. My fear is that our children will all be riding electric scooters eventually. Just my tuppence worth.
1 Like
Very well put.
I think the V85 did for Guzzi what the ‘modern’ 500 did for Fiat, basically stopped them going under.
Some may argue the modern V7 range did that, but I feel that range just about kept them ‘ticking over’ until the V85 came out.
Who knows?
Doesn’t really matter, the important thing is they’re still churning out decent Bikes, for now.
2 Likes
Just for clarity, the V7 850 isn’t A2 compliant in its standard form but it can be made so - you’d presumably have to take it to a dealer to get the ECU mapped to cut the power down.
1 Like
same as the v85, it can be software restricted for A2
1 Like