The Most Advanced Guzzi Ever

The all-new Moto Guzzi V100 Mandello marks a huge step forward for the Italian marque that recently celebrated 100 years of production. Water-cooling, semi-active suspension, and leansensitive are all new to Guzzi, while adaptive aerodynamic wings are a world first

- Adam Child Chad’

ON THE BACK OF THEIR CENTENARY celebrations, Moto Guzzi have launched the completely new V100 Mandello which, the Italian manufacturer hopes, will propel its historic brand into the next 100 years.

It is hard to overstate the importance of the V100 to Guzzi. Yes, it is powered by a 90° transverse V-twin not entirely unlike the hundreds we have seen before, but the technology and long-term thinking invested in the bike make a huge statement about Guzzi's future ambitions.

The new V100 features for the first time on a Guzzi-lean-sensitive rider aids, an up-and-down quickshifter, and, on the S model tested here, Ohlin's Smart EC 2.0 semi-active suspension. The bike also showcases technology unseen on any production bike in the form of adaptive aerodynamic winglets, which deflect up air away from the rider and operate automatically depending on the riding mode and speed.

For Guzzi followers, though, perhaps the biggest news will be that the distinctive engine and frame are completely new. The unique 1,042-cc V-twin finally gets water-cooling while a steel tube frame uses the engine as a load-bearing component with the swing-arm pivot mounted on the gearbox housing. 

Finally, the design department has produced a bike that looks even better in the metal than it does in the pictures and incorporates a raft of new features, including a full-colour five-inch TFT dash and a subframe designed to accommodate panniers without the need for extra mounting brackets. An electric screen and integrated LED cornering lights are standard.

Guzzi say the Vioo Mandello creates a new class between roadster and traditional tourer. Well, wherever it sits, we took the delectable new Guzzi for a ride from their historic headquarters on the bank of Lake Como in northern Italy.