By Moto Guzzi, the famous Italian motorcycle manufacturer, has just opened its new production facility at its historic home on Lake Como and with it, a new brand museum and visitor experience.
Moto Guzzi’s parent, the Piaggio Group, has invested over 50 million Euros and spent five years redeveloping the former factory site in Mandello del Lario on the Lecco side of Lake Como. The town has been the home of Moto Guzzi since its foundation in 1921 and the famous red gate on Via Parodi, which has been the entrance for Moto Guzzi’s technicians, workers, engineers and riders since then, and which over the years has become a place of pilgrimage for motorcyclists from all over the world, now opens onto a dual role site – a state-of-the-art factory and cultural centre.
The entire site, designed by architect Greg Lynn to reflect the classic style elements of Moto Guzzi machines, now features an expanded 38,000 m² state-of-the-art factory space raising production capacity to over 30,000 bikes a year, AND 4,200 m² of new multi purpose spaces open to the public and intended to create a cultural experience for visitors.
In the factory, latest-generation automated engine assembly lines are linked to he final motorcycle assembly plant by a sophisticated, fully robotised conveyor system.
Here, at the end of the production line, the motorbikes are handed over to kilo™ ground drones, designed and manufactured in Boston by Piaggio Fast Forward (PFF), and sent for final testing, thereby keeping the physical demands on workers to a minimum and maximising safety.
In the new Moto Guzzi museum, more than 160 meticulously restored bikes are on display, ranging from the G.P. (1920 prototype) right up to current bikes in production. The exhibits include models that have become legendary and the racing bikes that won 14 MotoGP World Championship titles, and many of them are displayed in sections dedicated to cinema, racing, travel, the arts, and military and police vehicles.
The museum and factory are directly linked through a window that allows visitors to see the brand-new assembly lines and follow the production process of every new motorbike.
The new spaces also include extensive outdoor pedestrian areas, the restored Galleria del Vento wind tunnel, a terrace overlooking the central piazza with its mosaic of the Moto Guzzi eagle, a large Motoplex Store, a café, spaces for workshops and events, and a new auditorium. All these areas are within the original perimeter of the factory and have been designed to welcome visitors from around the world, all year round.
The new Moto Guzzi site was officially opened last Thursday (3 Sep), with a programme of visitor events extending over the weekend, including motorcycle test rides, in-house workshops for a service and tune-up, Motoplex shopping, street vendors and visits to the museum and archive.
* Carlo Guzzi’s 1920 prototype (“Guzzi Parodi”), the precursor to the Normale, which was the company’s first production model in 1921.
