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Moto Guzzi Superbike Concept by Luca Bar

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Moto Guzzi superbike prototype by Luca Bar
Moto Guzzi superbike prototype by Luca Bar - click to enlarge

Just poking around looking at designs and noticed this prototype for a Moto Guzzi superbike by Luca Bar. From the look of it, he’s using the 8 valve 1200cc engine found in the Griso mounted in a frame of his own design with a girder front suspension.

It looks to me like it would be a satisfying ride and it would give Moto Guzzi something to offer those folks looking for an Italian sportbike who prefer something other than Ducati.

Probably nothing more than a design exercise, but very nice.

Posted on Filed Under: Motorcycle Design

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Comments

  2. This bike appeals to me because of my love for everything Guzzi, however it looks about 50-60 hp less then would be found on such a beast! If Guzzi redesigns that engine then it would be my bike of choice in theory. Thanks!

  3. If I had the money I’d opt for that 92 Guzzi Daytona to the right! The carbon fiber, rims, exhaust would give anyone a good place to begin assuming the motor would be refined/rebult at some point!

  4. Nice work — imaginative and contemporary. I like the Guzzi quarter-V8, and it should make enough power to be interesting, although it will be no rocket. But Guzzi riders don’t want Ludicrous Speed. Riders who want an extreme sport bike will go elsewhere; I see Bar’s machine as a gentleman’s sportbike. The Guzzi V-twin has its roots in agriculture, so maybe a gentleman farmer would buy one to dash about on country roads.

    • Imaginative? Not really – its an RSV4 with a big block 8v Goose motor, a girder and a Ducati swingarm/wheel. Looks like a cut and paste mashup of other bikes.

      Cool looking but not a real design effort.

      • Look at any “new” design and you’ll see bits of other bikes throughout. Unless there’s some brand new technology involved, all designs resemble past designs in some way.

        • Paul,
          This bike does not just look like a RS4v it quite literally is a RS4v. This isn’t a serious design effort, it’s a Photoshop cut and paste of pictures found on google. Anyone can do this with a modecum of photoshop knowledge and an Internet connection. The rear CARC is also way out of proportion and the shift linkage is not connected to anything, not to mention the Y pipe bisects where the primary/clutch would be located.

          • I agree, he’s got a lot of Aprilia in there and the “design” isn’t totally original by any means, but it’s not some presentation ready to put in front of the Moto Guzzi board either. He seems to be thinking with an image and sharing it with others, sort of a “here’s a thought of what Guzzi could do” mockup. If they ever went in that direction, it would be far more original.

            Don’t take this image as being more than it is.

  5. –Kneeslider
    Oh yeah! That is a nice prototype, I especially like the single swingarm and rear wheel spindle design. But that’s why I keep coming back to your site, you always have something interesting to see.
    PS: Any recent news from Musketman Aniket Vardhan?

  7. Looks like a potential winner ( sales wise ) to me . Too bad it’ll never get built . But then again ….. considering the financial state Moto Guzzi is currently in ………. we need to count our blessings for anything that does come out of the factory .

    But back to this . Tasty . And not nearly the pastiche some here are claiming ( in truth if you were to compare it to anything it’d have to be the last Buell superbike to roll off under H-D’s ownership )

    Nope . Looks like a winner ! Hands down .

    • If you’re not used to looking at Guzzis, it might seem that way, but there’s plenty of room, unless you have some really, really long legs.

  9. Looks a lot like another Guzzi prototype featured here about 6-8 months back only with body work this time.

    • That is a girder fork, probably a direct photoshop cut and paste from the Confederate Wraith.

      With the advent of Hossack, I am not sure why people would want to go with a heavier-steering girder on a new design. The only advantage Girder has over Hossack, is that it can mount to an existing steering head tube, instead of modifying the frame to receive control arms directly.

  11. This is the logical next step for Guzzi, with watercooling, 8 valves and dohc it would be easy to make 150hp. But if they did that who would buy an Aprilia?

  12. The bike isn’t a super bike, so why would you dress it to look like one?

    The engine looks strange with the bottom exhaust port. I know BMWs are going that direction with liquid cooled boxers for the future, but I hadn’t heard that MotoGuzzi would be doing that.

    I would much rather see a production version of the V11 LeMans attributes added to the V12 Griso platform, with a bullet-shaped half-fairing, and leave the engine exposed.

    • As Justin notes above, a Guzzi engine could make considerable horsepower and they always have made lots of torque so, it may not be a Panigale alternative, but it would still be a great performer.

      I agree, keeping a Guzzi engine exposed is always a plus, it just looks good from every angle.

      • I was speaking more of style identification, than performance.

        I have ridden a V11 LeMans, and GREATLY enjoyed it, other than the high pegs that cramped up my knees. (the owner was much shorter than me)

        It would make for a great road bike, I am not doubting that. But it isn’t going to compete on the track with Panigale, Aprilia RSV, BMW S1000RR, or any of the others… I just don’t get why it should be styled like it was trying to copy those, aesthetically.

        I badly want someone to retro-fit the V11 LeMans fairing to the V12 Griso, by melding it with the panels between the Griso’s valve covers and frame spars. A Monoposto tail section, removed rear pegs… and it is nearly golden.

        I really liked the MotoGuzzy Ipothesys bike shown on this site a while back, and maybe went a little farther in re-styling the Griso than is really necessary, but it kept the engine open, with a half fairing above it,

        The Luca Bar rendering seems to be trying to make the fairing, tank, frame, and tail section look like a Yama/Kawa/Honda/Zuki race-replica bike. I don’t get the aesthetic convergence between a MotoGuzzi sport bike like the Daytona, LeMans, or MGS01, compared to tupperware-wearing race replicas. Italian bikes, MotoGuzzis especially tend to have a more unique style than that.

  13. Do Guzzi’s have an inherent pull due to the crank orientation? Like the Beemer Boxer.

    Caution, Rant ahead!
    In the olden days most of us bought liter bikes because of the power everywhere in the rpm range. It seems now that to get the big (advertising driven) H.P. numbers the engineers are giving us 2-stroke like power bands (gotta spin it). My BMW RR is a good example.
    This may be fine for the track but for the real world I see this trend as a detriment. I want my midrange torque back even at the cost of lost top-end (who can use it anyway).
    Back to the Guzzi… I can see this bike as a wonderful street-bike with midrange grunt and the use of the fork spars as a way of tuning front wheel feedback. As an old guy the lack of boy-racer styling is also appealing.
    It would be a pity if this too died on the design table.

    • Rose tinted rear view mirrors? Liter bikes pretty much have always had around 60 ft-lbs of torque, even in the low-speed RPM ranges. The difference with the new bikes like the RR that 60ish ft-lbs jumps up to 85 or so at 10k and keeps it up well into 14k. So now you still have the same torque as your old KZ1000 at all the same RPMs with the option of getting more at higher revs. This means you can drop the gearing (or hold a gear longer) and get tons more torque multiplied to the rear wheel than ever before (we’re talking close to 200 hp!).

      You do realize that the BMW limits the torque at lower RPM so that it can keep the front wheel on the ground. Right? What good is it to increase torque when you can no longer use it for acceleration?

      -todd

      • That’s not correct about liter bikes having around 60 lb-ft. The RC51 and TL1000R (both admittedly twins) have significantly more than 60 lb-ft at far lower than 10K RPM. Heck, even my SV1000S has over 70 lb-ft at around 7500 RPM. Want a torquey, streetable bike in the 1000cc range? Skip the inline 4 and buy a twin. Or just go bigger like a Bandit 1200 or a Hayabusa.

        • Exactly, I did say the BMW RR reached up to 85. Liter bikes currently can and do make more than the typical 60 ft-lbs of yester-year. I was arguing against the idea that earlier liter bikes were more torquey. There simply is no loss of torque in new engines, rather more of it.

          -todd

  14. I love GUZZI,especially the old round barrels.I think a brand like that should have much more courage,these bikes have plenty of potential and more room to improve design.It is silly that they decide to follow BMW rather than have them own personality.Luca Bar is very talented but still i can’t see in this bike the character that GUZZI used to have and still deserved.
    Design meaning they should follow other directions.
    Luca i know you can do much better from frame to all bike.
    Thanks to allowed me to express my opinion

  15. Guzzi already made this, and actually did an original job. It’s called the MGS-01 Corsa. Or you could go with one of Ghezzi Brian’s creations. Either way, you’ll get something real, not just a photoshop job.

      • I confess to a fascination with the “just ran into a wall” look of the front end; it is at once disturbing, and …. attractive …..

        • I just bought a 1971 BSA Thunderbolt that also has the “just ran into a wall” look…

          Wait a minute… I think it DID run into a wall. Gotta get new forks!

    • It is a girder.

      The angle of the spars doesn’t affect the kinetics, the location points of the control arms that are hidden under the fairing, are what dictate the kinetics.

      The convex forward curve, rather than the straight-legged look, is what makes it look pre-damaged, when it is not.

      • Yeah, I was deliberately ignoring the shape of the fork and specifically looking at the wheel axle nuts and as much as can infer about the location of the fork mount. In no way can I reconcile the rake to anything near that of other production/track bikes. I am just suggesting that it seems that this part of the photoshop exercise may be more about form than function.

  17. Doesnt look like there is enough room for the hardware for the front end. Maybe its a rigid (not) but I like the brake claliper mounting.

  18. If nothing more this should stoke discussion about Guzzi doing a MGS-01 for the street. Important point is Guzzi doesn’t even have to make it water-cooled to be a great streetbike that will sell. Anyone who has ridden a Guzzi will tell you the torque & power delivery is great for the corners, so just cut weight and sharpen the steering & chassis geometry. Ghezzi-Brian proved it can be done (he was part of the MGS-01 development)

    The MGS-01 is 423 lbs. with a 56.22″ wheelbase.
    The V11 Sport Is about 482 lbs. with a 57.9″ wheelbase.
    Ghezzi-Brian is about 423 lbs. with a 55.3″ wheelbase…hopefully those specs are right …taken from:

    http://www.motorcyclesdetails.info/Ghezzi-Brian_SuperTwin_2006.html

  20. I’ve always liked Guzzi for their old-fashioned, long-stroke air-cooled engines and unique character, Why modernize it with water cooling and the latest technology? If you want a sport or race bike there are Ducati, Aprilia and others.
    MG reminds me a bit of HD – let the others come up with new models every couple of years with more and more hp and technology, but some buyers perefer a well-built, good-looking and sounding, solid bike that even though it has “only” 80 – 100 hp and looks a bit dated still has its charm!

  21. I am a big fan of the Guzzi engine, and this is a nice looking concept…but…it looks too much like a “me too” configuration, at least to me. The Guzzi engine lends itself to some unique design configurations, and I much prefer to see those ideas as opposed to the offerings of all the other manufacturers. I would still ride this beast if it was built though!

    • How do you figure the wheels are Wraith?

      The near worshipping that bike gets is f ‘n annoying.

  23. Not to my taste at all. This appears to be a late-2000s clone of your standard “superbike” with girder forks. Very derivative and not at all in keeping with what makes Guzzi, Guzzi.

    I’m with Racetrack Style. The Ghezzi-Brian style is a much better way to go for a sporting Guzzi. The air of lightness and grace around that wonderful engine. Not Captain Fantastic Plastic-clones. We already have enough of those from other manufacturers.

  24. Hi All, ciao Paul,
    thak you for discussing around my “copy and paste” design. Yes, McFly has a good eye and found out an RSV4…not too difficult.
    My proposal was to begin from Aprilia’s technology and spend it on their luxury brand (MG) to make something serious. So I imagined a new engine liquid cooled (maybe in 2013??), I rotated intake and exhaust to optimize the injection and give extra room for the riders legs…than an Hossac/Girder front fork to keep the wheelbase as short as possible, the frame is more or less and RSV alu frame adapted to the Guzzi block.
    All the rest is literally taken from an Aprilia in order to save time and money during the testing. Yes it’s a prototype (PROTOTIPO in italian).
    Please have a look at my blog for other info:
    http://www.lookathesign.blogspot.it/2012/03/moto-guzzi-prototipo-bar-design.html

  27. So what’s wrong with borrowing/stealing stuff from other bikes when you want to build something different than stock. It’s been going on since the early days, before there was access to an aftermarket parts catalog.
    I remember seeing in my area; a chrome Beezer fuel tank on early ’60’s Sportster, a Gold Wing dual-disc fork on a 70’s shovelhead bagger, 16″ Harley wheels on a KZ1000. My riding buddies thought it was great innovation. I still cruise the local scrapyards occasionally just to see what junk is around.

    Bella prototipo, Luca!

  28. Beautiful, must be good at riding in the cold, I reckon the legs will be quite close to the cylinder heads.