2017 Moto Guzzi MGX-21 Flying Fortress: FIRST RIDE

Rennie Scaysbrook | September 17, 2016

A carbon-fiber bagger!? In the words of the immortal Johnny Mac, “you cannot be serious!”

There are certain machines out there that scream a massive “f-you!” to anyone within earshot. Think Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, Apache helicopter, any WWII tank. These mechanical marvels are built for humans to trample the world on as conquerors.

They represent a sign of superiority.

2017 Moto Guzzi MGX-21 Flying Fortress — **The Guzzi is indeed a massive motorcycle but it carries its weight well.**

And, even though we are just talking about a motorcycle here and not a weapon of war, the brand-new, carbon-fiber-clad Moto Guzzi MGX-21 Flying Fortress still has that same throaty malice in its voice. It’s cut from the same cloth.

The name Flying Fortress even sounds military, like some wonderful aerial jail that specifically targets those Taliban and Isis wankers, which, in my view, ratchets the MGX further up the badass list. Or, of course, like the famous American Flying Fortress B-17 bomber that wrecked havoc wherever it was assigned to do business during WWII.

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Photography by Kevin Wing

The reason for my thoughts comes down to that glorious, sexy material covering the MGX—carbon-fiber. Thirty-five-years after McLaren produced the first carbon-fiber monocoque for a Formula One car, carbon-fiber has reduced in value to the point where it has become a feasible and accessible material for high-end production products—like this MGX.

Light and strong, unless you’re going to plaster sponsor logos all over it, carbon-fiber is best left clear-coated and on full display to let you get a full sense of its presence. It’s like rolling with a Rolex outside your cufflinks, while in your Bentley, with Miss America in the passenger seat.

Moto Guzzi gets this, and when the world first stole a glimpse of the MGX last December, there was a collective gasp. Victory has been the dominant one of late in the “mine is louder than yours” bagger styling department. Harley-Davidson’s styling has been rather sedate by comparison, and the MGX sits somewhere in the middle. The red valve covers and brake calipers are the only other splashes of color in what is otherwise a black-on-black landscape. Even the front wheel is carbon-fiber. Well, sort of. It has a carbon-fiber cover, and isn’t a real CF wheel. You could add an extra $2500 to the price if it was.

At $21,990, the MGX sits just below the Magnum and above the H-D Touring Street Glide in terms of price and for that you get a pretty gnarly motorcycle. The most obvious being that transverse cylinder (not crankshaft), 1380cc, shaft final drive V-twin, based off the Moto Guzzi California that pumps out a claimed 95 horsepower and 89 lb-ft of torque. But that’s about all the MGX shares with the Cali, as it’s also got that massive 21-inch front wheel, different suspension, ergonomics, obvious styling differences and the honor of being the first Guzzi to come with a stereo system with 50W speakers as factory fitted, accessed by a rather clunky switch panel on the left handlebar.

Interestingly, the 21-inch front wheel ties in with a few milestones unique to Moto Guzzi. The year 1921 was the first to see a Guzzi roll off the production line in Mandello del Lario, and 21 is the number of inches in wheel travel from the front end. Manufactured coincidence? Possibly, but who cares? Get the thunder rolling to 65 mph and the ride quality of the MGX is absolutely superb. Crack up through what is a pretty slick six-speed gearbox by bagger/cruiser standards and at that speed the engine is ticking over at about 2600 rpm, barely trying, with the carbon-fiber batwing fairing doing a magnificent job of deflecting the oncoming air to the point I could ride visor open, no sunglasses, and not look like I’d been bawling my eyes out at the next stop.

Moto Guzzi has used elastic-kinematics for mounting the 90° dual-spark engine, making acceleration to and cruising at sub-70 mph as smooth as riding on glass. Elastic-kinematics basically allows the engineers to control the parameters of the flex and stretch of the mounts, which in turn allows them to better control the unwanted vibration felt by the rider—it’s a similar method to what Victory uses with their baggers.

There’s 89 lb-ft of stump-pulling torque here, which is a good thing as the MGX is a big ol’ girl at 751 pounds dry and you’ll use almost every one of those pounded feet to get it going. Acceleration isn’t what I’d call aggressive but it’s ample enough for a bike this size, although there’s nowhere near enough exhaust noise for my tastes. The induction noise has some bite to it, but the exhaust sounds too flat for a bike that looks this good.

But there’s an upside to this—it allows you to hear the stereo! Above 80 mph the stereo is drowned out as it doesn’t have the wattage to overcome the wind noise, but it’s brilliant below those speeds and will let everyone know how crap your music tastes are the next campsite or bar you roll up to (it happened to me at Sturgis multiple times).

At low speeds the enormous front wheel isn’t as much of a big deal as you’d think. Although, push the bike above 90 mph and the bike suddenly feels disconnected, like the front-end has gained an extra three inches of trail. The 21-inch wheel, as one of my riding buddies at Sturgis puts it, feels like it tries to climb over itself when you pitch it into a corner at anything resembling high speed, thus giving the disconnected feel (which means the front now matches the back, as the driveshaft does the same thing!). Get higher than 90 mph and you’ll be privy to some pretty gnarly wiggles and mini tank slappers, reminding you not just of the overall girth but what this bike was originally intended for.

Watch this video on YouTube

At normal cruising speeds (75 mph and below), the MGX felt great. It was planted and lazy, just happy to bumble along and look cool, transverse red covers blowing in the breeze and carbon-fiber covered front wheel rolling like batman’s had a day off. It’s even pretty maneuverable in tight spots around town—despite its size, feet up U-turns aren’t too much of a hassle on the MGX as the weight is carried low in the chassis, which in turn helps that 60-80 mph stability.

For a bike that’s designed to take large amounts of luggage, I wasn’t totally enamored with the volume of the panniers. As awesome as they look they are pretty shallow—I had to twist and contort my half-filled backpack just to fit in the left pannier—so if you’re planning on doing a big trip with an MGX, you’d get worse advice than to purchase the leather top case as an accessory (although then you can’t take a passenger).

And that’s exactly what this bike is designed for—big mile trips. The ergonomics and seat offer some of the most comfortable riding I’ve had in a long time. Normally, my ass goes to sleep if I sit on pretty much any bike with a standard seat for more than an hour at a time, but the MGX’s pew is beautifully sculpted and generously wide, and gives it real big trip chops in the process.

As does the cruise control. It’s a bit finicky to use and doesn’t come with set/res written anywhere on the switchblock, meaning I got a touch lost on how to use it from time to time, but its appearance on the MGX is a nice touch for those wanting to chase the sunset.

While we are on the switches, the kill switch is an absolute pain in the ass. Mounted on the right side, it’s an in/out switch, and I know how ridiculous this sounds, it’s so easy to forget if “out” kills the engine or if “in” lets you start it! I was not the only one on the test with this issue, which makes me feel a touch happier. Better to be stupid together than stupid on your own, right?

There is a definite charm and charisma about Moto Guzzi that is simply unobtainable to every other motorcycle manufacturer on earth. And this year the firm celebrates 95 years in production, when you think of all the famous names who have since come and gone, you really get an idea for how important this brand is to world motorcycling.

The fact they have made a real bagger, and one entirely different to what is currently available, is nothing short of awesome. And I don’t seem to be the only one to think so. Everywhere we stopped in and around Sturgis, these MGX-21 Flying Fortress Taliban destroyers were mobbed by riders who didn’t even know Moto Guzzi was sold in the U.S. (a problem Moto Guzzi needs to solve and solve quickly, but that’s another story). These American-only riders were legitimately interested in this Carbon Dream, asking thorough and inquisitive questions about a bike that looks nothing at all like the hundreds of thousands of H-Ds surrounding us in the parking lots.

Hey, if even one of those riders finds a dealer and rides out on an MGX-21, Guzzi could be on its way to finally re-establishing itself in the Land of The Free. CN

Five minutes with Miguel Galluzzi

We sit down with one of the most prolific motorcycle designers in the modern era to chat about the birth of the MGX-21, his history behind the design pencil and where he thinks biking is headed.

When did the original concept for the MGX-21 start?

We did in California the first, I think for us was 2008. We already thought of creating variations of the same because as a small manufacturer we cannot make just one bike. So the whole idea of creating variations was from the beginning.

The first we did was the California, the touring, the more traditional one. And then we got the El Dorado. This one was more looking towards the future instead of looking towards the past. We wanted to get new customers, new blood, so then we start to think about the MGX-21.

Miguel Galluzzi — **This man is responsible for designing some truly iconic Italian motorcycles, including the original Ducati Monster.**

Is that why there’s so much carbon fiber on the bike? To attract a new type of customer?

We started thinking, besides looking really cool, all those pieces in carbon are a little lighter. So it has style and form. Technology right now allows us to do carbon fiber for a reasonable price.

Is it a standard weave carbon?

Yes. In some cases, we’re finding out that even carbon sometimes is cheaper than having pieces of plastic, because a piece of plastic is cheap but the painting, the process right now, is becoming very expensive. So, for example with a fender, carbon fiber is much easier to do than in chrome because the finish is already there.

So this the MGX-21’s the same basic chassis platform as the California?

As the California touring. The core is the same, which means the frame and engine.

Moto Guzzi seems to have a problem with its brand awareness here in America.

Yeah, but in this case for example it’s important to be here (in Sturgis). People are going to see this bike. How many people ask us, what you guys are doing? We were looking at the demographic that is the big chunk of the market; it is not the old guys that bought the Harley-Davidson within the last 15 years. For sure, there’s going to be a new one, that is the rider that he doesn’t want to look like his grandfather.

As a designer, how do you view current motorcycle design? Do you like the aesthetics, the way things are going?

We are in a bad period of design because we are not designing to satisfy the need. Design has been used as a tool to sell more stuff, just because of the design. In the spirit of design, you have to satisfy a need.

We need to make cheaper bikes. Not cheap in the sense that they are a piece of crap, but more affordable and sustainable. Those are the two things that the new people are going to get into the motorcycle world can understand. Not 250 horsepower with a lot of electronics. That’s not what motorcycling is about. It’s a bicycle with an engine. But it’s better than a bicycle. That’s what my grandfather used to tell me. That’s the same as we have to start thinking about now. We are thinking we are trying but with the way the industry has been for the last 30 years, it’s very difficult to change. And it’s not going to take only a couple of guys that make custom bikes that look nice and cheap. That’s not enough. It’s one symptom. That’s not going to change the way we understand the motorcycle.

How are you attempting to fix this issue?

We try every day (laughs). It’s going to get to a point in which people are going to have to change the way they think about the bike. That’s the key. Everybody, the team that is working abroad needs to think in a different way, which is the difficult part.

When you look at the retro scene that’s come up over the last 10, 15 years, how do you view that?

That’s part of the symptom I’m talking about. I always say this story because when I moved in 2010 to the ’States I quit the company (Piaggio) because we are not working on something that solves any problems. So I quit, and I was convinced that the young kids don’t ride motorcycles anymore. That’s what most market research and surveys.

I came to LA, my son was riding motorcycles there and I met a friend of his, and then you realize they are riding more than ever. But they are buying old bikes. Old bikes that are extremely cheap. At all of the DMV when you register an old bike, insurance is cheap, affordable. They should be cheap. That’s the way motorcycles should be.

Like we had from the ’60s all the way to the ’80s. Motorcycles were affordable. Anybody could buy a bike.

What’s the smallest capacity Guzzi that is currently out?

Right now it is the 750.

What about a 500? Would Moto Guzzi make a 500?

No, not any time soon. But it would be good, the affordable thing to do.

What are your thoughts on bikes like the Ducati Scrambler? That bike has bought some new riders into the fold.

For Ducati, in the first year they do a good job with the Scrambler, then they f-ed it up.

It was the first year they presented the 800. It was almost $9000, which was affordable, but on the expensive side. So they sold lots. Then they introduced the 400, which is only $1000 less. So they f-ed up the 400 and the 800. That’s it. They stop selling. By doing that they killed many other bikes that they were selling for many, many years, too.

I see it as a guy interested in the motorcycle. What I see is that you don’t need to follow fashion. That’s what Ducati did. They present it too much as a fashion statement. Fashions last one season and then they’re gone. The bike itself won’t have much success.

So it was a good chance but they didn’t choose the opportunity in a different way. So the way we do it at Guzzi is we don’t follow. We do stuff. Trying to figure out what the client needs and what will like to have. Then it could become the fashion. CN

SPECIFICATIONS: 2017 Moto Guzzi MGX-21 Flying Fortress
Engine:	90° V-twin, 8-valve, 4-stroke, three stage traction control
Displacement:	1380cc
Horsepower:	95HP @ 6500 rpm
Torque:	89.2 ft-lb @ 3000 rpm
Clutch:	Wet multi-plate
Transmission:	6-speed
Chassis:	Double cradle tubular frame in ALS steel with detachable rear subframe
Front suspension:	46mm conventional, non-adjustable
Rear suspension:	Single shock absorbers, adjustable spring preload
Front brake:	Dual 320mm discs, Brembo radial calipers with 4 horizontally opposed pistons: ABS as standard equipment.
Rear brake:	282 mm stainless steel fixed disc, Brembo floating calliper with 2 parallel pistons: ABS as standard
Front tire:	120/70-R21 62V
Rear tire:	180/60-R16 80H
Overall width:	37.0 in.
Fuel capacity:	5.4 gal
Weight:	751 lbs (wet, claimed).
Color:	Black
MSRP:	$21,990

2017 Moto Guzzi MGX-21 Flying Fortress: FIRST RIDE

**To read this in the Cycle News Digital Edition Magazine, click HERE**

For more Moto Guzzi motorcycle reviews, click HERE.

**For more Cycle News Cruiser motorcycle reviews, click HERE.**

**For more Cycle News Touring motorcycle reviews, click HERE.**