The Complete Book of Moto Guzzi: 100th Anniversary [Review]

In 1921, one of the world’s foremost brands in motorcycling took flight; in 2021 that company, Moto Guzzi will mark its 100^th Anniversary. Moto Guzzi is the oldest European motorcycle manufacturer in continuous production.

To mark the event, one of the foremost motorcycle historians of our time, Ian Falloon, has updated his 2017 book, The Complete Book of Moto Guzzi Every Model Since 1921, which we previously reviewed.

The 100^th Anniversary Edition adds a new introduction, new images, and additional pages that extend the model-year coverage to include 2018 to 2020.

Having written extensively on multiple motorcycle brands, including Moto Guzzi, Falloon’s latest book, The Complete Book of Moto Guzzi Every Model Since 1921—100^th Anniversary Edition, is the definitive work on the brand.

Falloon brings his background in engineering and years of experience writing for motorcycle publications such as Classic Bike, Cycle World, Motorcycle Sport, Motorcyclist, and others as well as having authored books on Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, and BMW to the creation of this remarkable book.

As he did in his original edition, he recalls Moto Guzzi’s history of achievement in competition. There is quite a story to tell on that count; by the time it ended its factory Grand Prix racing program in the 1950s, it had competed in 3,329 races, won 14 World Championships, 6 Constructor’s Championships, 47 Italian championships, and 11 Isle of Man TT victories!

Falloon recalls the company’s technological achievements, including the stunning 500cc liquid-cooled, DOHC V8 that debuted in 1955. Despite having won only 3 GP events in three seasons of racing with reliability problems causing frequent DNFs, the V8 was way ahead of its time.

My personal favorite was the 254, a diminutive 250cc SOHC four-stroke, four-cylinder mini-multi that debuted in the Moto Guzzi line in 1977 after first being sold by Benelli as the Quattro 250 in 1976.

Any company with a history as long as Moto Guzzi will have plenty of ups and downs, which Falloon details as well. The financial fluctuations, as well as multiple changes of ownership on the way to today’s Moto Guzzi, is covered in detail.

Illustrated with 350 historic period black and white images and color images of models from the very first—the 1921 Normale—to today’s state-of-the-art 2020 V7 III Stone S and V85, with technical details of each model, Falloon has created an authoritative resource that is also a collector-worthy Centennial celebration of the brand.

Book Data:

• Title: The Complete Book of Moto Guzzi Every Model Since 1921 (100^th Anniversary Edition)
• Author: Ian Falloon
• Published: Nov. 2020 hardcover, 272 9.75” x 12” pages, 350 color and black & white images.
• Publisher: Motorbooks, Quarto Publishing Group, 100 Cummings Center, Suite 265-D, Beverly, MA 01915, USA
• ISBN: 978-0-7603-6770-4
• MSRP: U.S. $60