Table of contents
- “Moto Guzzi doesn’t represent any futuristic stuff” Interview with chief designer Galluzzi
- “We don’t need big hammers”
- “I don’t have to stretch my feet so far forward”
ZepGori
17th pictures
Michael Orth
1/17
Machine 11: based on Le Mans 3, 950 cm3, 82 hp, weight 184 kg.
Michael Orth
2/17
Finished conversions are provided with the emblem of the coffee machine label.
Michael Orth
3/17
Budde buys his first Guzzi, a Le Mans 4 on spoke wheels, with his best friend in Aalen.
Michael Orth
4/17
Axel Budde’s workshop.
Michael Orth
5/17
Just looks like doing nothing. “Mr. Guzzi” while tinkering.
Michael Orth
6/17
You have to drive yourself. “Sometimes,” says Budde, “I just hear and feel the engine and I feel better.
Michael Orth
7/17
Michael Orth
8/17
The Superman figure stands with legs apart on the universal milling machine and stretches his right fist towards a ring spanner and an open-end wrench, as if the tool had to be conjured up, provided with special powers in order to be able to carry out its special task.
Michael Orth
9/17
The shrunken head has the best place. He’s hanging on the drill press.
Michael Orth
10/17
Axel built the first commissioned coffee machine for John Purser from California.
Michael Orth
11/17
The Guzzi conversions are made by Axel Budde in Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg.
Michael Orth
12/17
“There was little in life,” says Axel as he walks over to the lathe, “that got me on my knees like mopeds.”
Michael Orth
13/17
Axel Budde builds coffee machines under the label Costum Cafe Racer based on Moto Guzzi.
Michael Orth
14/17
Machine 6: SP frame, V11 engine, Le Mans gearbox, 95 hp, 176 kg.
Michael Orth
15/17
The picture of Rolli Free hangs on his Vincent above the welding machine. Axel Budde recently also built a coffee machine for its current owner.
Michael Orth
16/17
Axel Budde takes apart what Moto Guzzi once built and then puts it back together again.
Michael Orth
17/17
Axel’s own machines, in the back the Guzzi for the road, in the front those for the racetrack.
Sports & scene
Interview Moto Guzzi news
“Moto Guzzi doesn’t represent any futuristic stuff”
Interview with chief designer Galluzzi
Miguel Galluzzi, chief designer of the Piaggio Group, is working on new models in Pasadena, California. During a trip with MOTORRAD editor Ralf Schneider, Galluzzi explained the concept he intends to use to design future Moto Guzzi models.
Ralf Schneider
09/11/2014
Mr. Galluzzi, why does the Piaggio Group have a design studio in California, more precisely in Pasadena??
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For Piaggio, the question is why not? At the moment we don’t just have to think about the next step, we have to think further and differently than before. The motorcycle market in Europe has been completely turned inside out, sales have fallen in the past six years and they will no longer reach the heights of yore. In the future, success will come from different people, different customers with different needs. But if you’re stuck in everyday business in Italy, that’s more of a hindrance, so we thought, why don’t we go to California? California has always been an area that has pioneered new ways in many things, art or technology, and invented things that we hadn’t even thought of. When we were talking to Roberto Colaninno about what we need to do for the future, he asked, “Why aren’t you going to California? ”
That was his idea?
Yes, the group management is aware that we have to look ahead. We can only do that if we can think outside the box.
What role did your personal California story play in this?
When I came here in the 1980s to study at the Art Center … You know, the school didn’t really teach me anything except a certain attitude towards my job: the possibilities are endless, the only limit is yourself. If Once you understand this, anything is possible.
Moto Guzzi motorcycles on markt.motorradonline.de
cutter
Miguel Galluzzi, chief designer of the Piaggio Group, is currently working on new models in Pasadena, California.
Yesterday you had the ten-year plan for the future of Moto Guzzi mentioned. How about that?
Roberto Colaninno announced this plan to relaunch Moto Guzzi at the celebration of the company’s 90th anniversary. That was three and a half years ago and we are right in the middle of it. At EICMA you will see what we have achieved so far, not only for Guzzi, but also for the other brands.
Which philosophy, which basic idea does this plan follow?
Based on Moto Guzzi?
Yes.
For Moto Guzzi, the matter is clear. We need to get back to enjoying motorcycling. That means we don’t ride around on 250 horsepower motorcycles that are crammed with electronics so we can keep something under control that we don’t need. We need to get back to the kind of motorcycling that is not only determined by the machine but also by the environment. Just as you experienced it today on your trip on the California. Now I would like to ask you something: When did you start riding a motorcycle??
At 15, 16.
Can you still remember the moment when you first felt something that was indescribable??
Very accurate.
They are still enjoying that, that was evident. But a lot of other people have left that behind, that simple feeling. Not that they forgot, but they need to find it again. A Moto Guzzi should help them with this. Italian motorcycle brands are very convincing because they don’t have to rely on producing millions of motorcycles.
“We don’t need big hammers”
What technical and creative means do you want to use to develop such motorcycles??
Moto Guzzi has a unique engine. We will not give up on this concept for a long time. That’s why we design around this engine. This is also the reason why the cylinders on the California virtually break through the tank. We are often approached here by Harley riders wondering why the engine is upside down in the frame. And then we say, “Hey, that’s a Moto Guzzi, it’s different.” And we explain the concept. Most understand
it, and then they have it in their minds.
Moto Guzzi has many engine variants in its range. Will they all continue to be built?
No, we will streamline. Three or maybe only two variants will remain. I don’t think it takes many engine variants to meet the needs of Guzzi customers. That is not the right approach. There were times when Guzzi engineers designed an engine because they wanted it. And finally, quality has suffered from quantity. We should avoid that in the future. We have to understand the customers and build the engines they want.
How important do you think the tradition, the legacy of Guzzi is?
This aspect is very important. Moto Guzzi doesn’t represent any futuristic stuff. We will make good, simple Italian design that you will like.
Sports & scene
Portrait of Axel Budde
Mr. Guzzi
read more
Naked bike
BMW R nineT, Moto Guzzi Griso 1200, Yamaha XJR 1300 and Honda CB 1100 in comparison
Far from cornering ABS and traction control
read more
Many of our readers, Guzzi fans we speak to, my colleagues and myself, we have long dreamed of a motorcycle with a traditional Tonti frame and the Bellagio 940 two-valve engine in it. This engine has excellent properties. What do you think of this idea?
I agree. It’s something we have to do, part of the tradition we were talking about. It is a good Guzzi tradition that the engines are very drivable, you got a taste of it today. The 1400 will stay in the range for a very long time. And then we have to add something next to the V7 series, something handy and contemporary. We don’t need big hammers, we need smarter products. In Milan you will see a V7 engine with a new gearbox. That allows us to build a different type of engine on it in the future. I agree with you, we need this kind of motorcycle, but we shouldn’t go back to the past and think only of the 40 to 55 year olds, but also of the 25 to 30 year olds. Such a motorcycle will then also last longer on the market.
A new gearbox … Does that mean the V7 will also get a new cardan drive, a new swing arm, a new look?
It will look the same in a different way (laughs). The machine will remain a typical Guzzi, only improved. We will also strengthen the parts that look a little weak at the moment.
“I don’t have to stretch my feet so far forward”
Can you be a little more specific about the status of the ten-year project??
At EICMA this fall, you’ll see – well, let’s say developments within the California family. And the already mentioned improvements of the V7. At the next but one EICMA there will be something that will be a lot of fun.
Which machine from the current Guzzi range is the motorcyclist Miguel Galluzzi favorite?
This is one of those that we will present in November. When we developed the California Touring, we also built a custom version that was shown at a meeting in Florida. However, the California Custom did not go into production as we had thought. Now let’s go back to that approach. It’s more like my motorcycle, something, hmm, I don’t want to say sportier, but I don’t have to stretch my feet that far forward.
You mean a more active sitting position?
Exactly. The routes you rode today (including the Mullholland Highway, the Red.), You will be able to drive faster. And that’s more like my preferred type of motorcycle.
Thank you for this interview.
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