Moto Guzzi Daytona
The Moto Guzzi Daytona was never going to match the Japanese fours of the day, however, that wasn’t the point. This was a Guzzi that became an instant classic.
Moto Guzzi sportsbikes – for at least the last 30 years or so – have always been a bit of an oxymoron. Unquestionably elegant but also lagging in the technology race, the Lake Como company was one of the dominant forces in Grand Prix racing, especially the 1950s with their salubrious singles and the technically fascinating if short lived 500cc V8, however their engineering prowess failed to move adequately with the times as the 1980s approached and their Le Mans model went from modern superbike to a stately sports commuter. There was always one man who famously didn’t believe any of this, American dentist Dr John Wittner, who spent much of his life making Le Mans Guzzis go fast on racetracks they really had no business being at – let alone winning on. Wittner is the father of the modern Guzzi and was summoned to Lake Como to help develop a new Guzzi in the mid 1980s after his Le Mans battled for and won the 1984 and ’85 American Endurance Series.
The original prototype Daytona was ready by the summer of 1989 but, with typical Italian lethargy, nothing was done about it until 1991, when work on the production project finally began in earnest. By this time the technology race had moved on again – the thought of an air-cooled sportsbike was already deemed ancient, but Guzzi continued undeterred and by 1992, and carrying a price of $23,000 no less, the Daytona was ready. This was no ordinary Guzzi. Designed primarily by Umberto Todero, who was part of Guzzi’s glory years as understudy to legendary Guzzi designer Giulio Carcano (the man responsible for designing the 1950s 350cc GP engines which won five straight world championships), the Daytona 1000 was the most powerful engine the Italian company had produced to date, with 70kW on tap at 8,000rpm and 98Nm of torque available at 6,000rpm. By contrast, Kawasaki was claiming 86kW at 10,500rpm and 73Nm at 9,750rpm for its ZXR750 and Ducati reckoned its 888 superbike had 77kW at 9,000rpm and 78Nm at 7,000rpm – so the eagle brand from Italy was definitely in the ballpark in terms of engine numbers. The 90º Daytona engine wasn’t entirely new.
It still utilised the Le Mans crankshaft (but with lightened flywheel) and cases and retained the 90mm bore to match a longer 78mm stroke, bumping up displacement from 978cc to 992cc with a compression ratio of 10:1. This was the same configuration Wittner used in the 1987
Battle of the Twins race at Daytona, where, with rider Doug Brauneck on board, he took the ageing Le Mans fitted with the updated engine to third place behind Ducati and Harley-Davidson. This was the birth time and place for the new model to be labelled the Daytona. Contrary to belief, the only win Moto Guzzi took at Daytona (after 1985) was in 2007, when Giovanni Guareschi (brother of Yamaha factory Superbike racer Vitto, later Ducati MotoGP tester and team manager) defeated a fleet of
Ducati superbikes aboard a Moto Guzzi with a
BB1 race engine installed in an MGS-01 chassis.
Even though Moto Guzzi wrote OHC 4V on the cam covers, the truth was the Daytona’s cams were a cam-in-head design of Wittner’s own doing, high up in the cylinder head operating the valves via short, stubby pushrods mounted on rocker shafts. A separate toothed belt for each cylinder bank drove the cams that in turn were driven by a series of reduction gears off the crank. The Guzzi engineers thought against gracing the Daytona with a sixspeed transmission, staying with tradition (and perhaps economy) and going for a five-speeder. What was not traditional was the use of a WeberMarelli fuel injection system, replacing the ancient 40mm Dell’Orto system that graced the Le Mans model. An advantage of this was not just the more consistent fuelling, but the throttle was now much lighter in its action as it wasn’t reefing open massive carby slides. The fuel injection system was delightfully noisy, burbling and sucking as the fuel pump primed and the starting process began. As a fun fact: Moto Guzzi became the first manufacturer to fit Marelli fuel injection on a production model when they released the original California touring model in the early 1980s.
The four-valve head enabled better breathing and higher power figures, however the factory shied away from creating a double ‘cam-in-head’ ‚
version as it would have made the engine too tall and top heavy (which it nearly was anyway). One of the design briefs was the engine was to be on full show, so there was nothing more than a half fairing that slid over the back of the cam covers and left the 90º V-twin displayed for all to see. Clearly straight-line slipstreaming ability was lower on the cards than outright beauty, probably a good thing as you’ll be hard pressed to find anyone who thinks this is not one of the most beautiful production Guzzis ever made.
The frame itself was a rectangular-section, chrome-molybdenum single-beam unit which used the engine as a stressed member, using two subframes that bolted to the main frame. Like Wittner’s Le Mans racers, the Daytona sported a monoshock parallelogram swingarm, including the tiny, spindly, exposed driveshaft. The swingarm was mated to a White Power shock absorber that had adjustable spring preload, compression and rebound damping – not bad kit for the time. A torque arm running parallel to the swingarm transferred the forces from the drive case to a fixed point on the frame, thus removing the torque-induced rise and fall of the chassis as it tried to climb around the rear axle under acceleration and braking and instead directed the forces into the frame.
The 42mm forks were interesting in that they were created by Marzocchi, with adjustable rebound and compression damping and an adjustable steering damper, but they could be re-set on the go via the three-position knobs on top of the forks. Stopping the $23,000 show was a pair of front Brembo four-piston calipers up front mated to a pair of 300mm discs and a single, twin-piston caliper gripping a 260mm disc out the back.
On the Bike
Seeing a Daytona in Australia is a pretty rare occurrence. Being given the keys to one with little more than a “just have some fun” from the owner is like finding a real live rocking horse that drops gold nuggets. Owner Barry Board, formerly the owner and proprietor of Bikers Motorcycles in Bathurst, NSW, a rabid collector who has every one of Valentino Rossi’s helmets in separate glass cases – signed by the man himself – along with hundreds more equally collectable items. Barry also has two Moto Guzzi Daytonas. His eyes light up whenever the words Daytona and Guzzi come tumbling out of his mouth.
“These are race-winning bikes, and they don’t make any more of them. They’re a piece of rolling history,” he says. No pressure then. Sitting astride the Daytona, I’m immediately struck by how long it is. This is a riding style that belongs on Manx Nortons, not bikes designed for the ’90s. It’s very flat in the seat but also wide, and I can tell immediately this is a bike that will require a fluid and smooth riding style, rather than a ‘scruff of the neck’ style like a Ducati 888. Turning the key and seeing the dash light up is met with an electronic buzz as the fuel pump sucks and burbles and primes the injection system in the same kind of analogue way as an army loading arrows. Once the starter has turned the crank and the massive pistons are firing on their own, the Daytona produces a gloriously throaty exhaust note (no doubt helped by the Staintune mufflers fitted). The standard transverse twin rocking from side-to-side is evident but not as much as I thought it would be. The throttle is also not as heavy as predicted, although it’s certainly not the fastest revving machine as the engine is slowly brought up to temperature in the garage.
Engaging first gear with a solid clunk and letting the heavy clutch out, the Guzzi rattles through the first 2,000 rpm before clearing its throat and rolling up the rev range. Rolling is something you do a lot of on the Guzzi – there’s not the horsepower of modern bikes and the chassis likes a high corner speed style, although with the ancient tyres fitted I’m not game to push it too hard. There’s a surprising amount of power on offer that you don’t expect to find with the 992cc twin. Power is nicely spread across the rev range and while not arm-wrenching does give spirited acceleration in any of the lower three gears. By fourth and fifth the Guzzi is starting to run out of puff, but that’s where the rolling factor begins to chime back in. The fuel injection system doesn’t provide super-crisp throttle response but it’s certainly not bad, although a set of finely tuned carburettors would give better performance,
especially given production fuel injection systems were in their infancy when the Daytona was sitting on showroom floors.
One thing that’s undoubtedly from another era is the brakes. The Brembo calipers are soft and spongy and don’t feel adequate in the relation to the weight they have to pull up. Using engine braking is a must, like a truck driver uses compression braking, to bring the Guzzi to a safe stop from speed. And just as important is matching the revs on downshifts correctly to maximise the braking stability of the long wheelbase chassis, which is inherently stable and one of the Guzzi’s cornering trademarks. This stability comes to the fore when cornering and when you mix it with a fast corner entry speed, and keep that speed going for the exit, the Guzzi is great to ride. It’s not a machine that likes to be thrashed – you have to be deliberate and gentle in your movements and let the bike take you on the line you have chosen – just make sure it’s the right one because changing of direction at speed isn’t what I’d call fast. Suspension is pretty good for a machine of this vintage – the rear shocks are soft but provided you’re smooth in your riding the front won’t dive too much under braking. The ride itself is plush, comfortable and just adds to the character.
The Daytona has that feeling of class that only comes from something exotic. Never mind that comparative superbikes of the day would munch the Daytona on a racetrack; the Guzzi has exclusivity and style – not hindered by the fact that it cost $23,000 back in the day. Now it’s probably worth twice as much. I’ve ridden a same year model
“It’s not a machine that likes to be thrashed – you have to be deliberate and gentle in your movements and let the bike take you on the line you have chosen...”
Kawasaki ZXR750 and it feels infinitely wider, but at the same time much faster, although the Guzzi is on a different planet in terms of the sensations it brings while riding. It feels older than it is but at the same time fast and smooth, requiring a riding style that’s long forgotten in sportsbike terms. As we head back to base, I’m very happy to have returned Barry’s pride and joy in one piece. It was a delight to ride, like some kind of red transverse time machine.
An owner’s opinion
The last word (words) belongs to the owner. “When this bike came out I thought then, as I do now, that this is the most beautiful motorcycle on the planet. If you look at the world figures of 1433, they literally built 200 per year, plus there were some race bikes on top of that, which were built for Dr John.
“I don’t know how many Daytonas are in Australia. The research I have done tells me there’s something between 85 and 95 here. I’ve got two and I think I’m pretty lucky. I’m not really sure what they’re worth – all I can say is they’re worth what someone will pay for them – they’re truly a collectable bike. You still see the odd Daytona come up for sale overseas for reasonable money, but one day everyone will realise what there is available and prices will go up. It’s a part of motorcycling history. It’s a race-winning motorcycle and there’s only 1400 in the world.
“When looking at a Daytona as an investment, have a look at the engine cases. The second hand ones I’ve seen, the first place they rust is there and the exhaust. You really want to buy a country bike if you can find one and stay away from bikes on the coast as the salt can do some pretty nasty things to the bike. Big country miles are good, funnily enough being a bike designed as a racebike, because the longer they sit at idle the easier parts corrode and break.”