Carlo Guzzi, Giorgio Parodi and Giovanni Ravelli, three friends with a common dream, namely to create the “perfect motorcycle”. A dream that became a reality in 1919 in the workshop of Mandello del Lario blacksmith Giorgio Ripamonti, “mentor-mechanic” to Carlo Guzzi who, right here in this very workshop that can still be visited to this very day, brought to life the “Guzzi” that came before Moto Guzzi, namely the G.P. (Guzzi-Parodi).
That prototype from so long ago, with no eagle logo on the tank at that stage and forerunner of the Mandello del Lario manufacturer that we know today (founded just two years later, on March 15, 1921), celebrates its 100th birthday in March 2019. Although already exceptional in and of itself, this achievement is rendered even greater by what it represents for us. Indeed, for us Guzzi fans, that prototype with a horizontal single-cylinder engine, external flywheel, geared primary drive and internal camshaft represents the foundations on which the Moto Guzzi legend was built.
The legend of the G.P. is one that really deserves to be properly celebrated, particularly by us members of Proud Owners, perhaps by going on a pilgrimage to the Moto Guzzi Museum in Mandello del Lario, where that fantastic prototype stands proudly at the head of the queue and directs visitors towards its illustrious descendants.
And there’s plenty of more of those “legendary” Moto Guzzis at the Museum, bearing names such as the “250”, the “Dondolino”, the “4 valvole 500” (or 4-valve 500), the “Condor”, the “Bicilindrica” (or Twin) and the “8 cilindri” (or 8-cylinder) to name but a few. Those are the motorcycles that made technical and racing history, but none of them would ever have exited through the famous red gates at No. 57, Via Parodi if it weren’t for that prototype born in the blacksmith’s workshop in Mandello.
So now, while we’re talking history, here’s a story that truly deserves to be told…
