“It’s been 26 years since I last rode a motorcycle and just as long since I told these stories”.
So begins Claudio Torri. He turned 68 in July 2019, has an accent from Bergamo, Italy, which a quarter of a century of living in Eritrea hasn’t softened, and a string of accidents which he took on the chin. He has the smile of a likeable rogue and eyes that light up whenever the Paris-Dakar is mentioned.
He took on the challenge 6 times between 1984 and 1991, 4 on a Moto Guzzi: more than anyone else, and the only Italian to have attempted it. He raced with a different prototype each time, built with his own hands and with the help of Moto Guzzi’s Testing Department. The livery of his first Dakar motorcycle – yellow, white and black – inspired the design of the iconic “Sahara” colour of the V85 TT.
Claudio tells Proud Owners about his genuine and unquenchable passion for Moto Guzzi. We invite him to the historic plant in Mandello del Lario, and ask him first to tell us about some of his adventures, and then to get back in the saddle, this time on the one and only Classic Enduro, an overt tribute to his Paris-Dakar attempt of 1985.
