Flying Fortress a slick tourer
MOTO GUZZI MONSTER: Matte black bagger is stylish but low-speed manoeuvres difficult
Even hardcore Harley riders take notice of the 2017 Moto Guzzi MGX-21 Flying Fortress as it’s parked on Main Street, Sturgis.
While most attending the 76th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally have nice things to say about the bike, many have never heard of Moto Guzzi, while others think the Italian company stopped producing bikes decades ago.
Launching the bike at the Sturgis rally offers the bike maker the opportunity to increase brand awareness among dedicated cruiser riders, while the Black Hills of South Dakota offer an ideal backdrop to test ride the blacked-out bagger.
Like the World War Two bomber after which it is named, the Flying Fortress is massive, boasting a 1,695-millimetre wheelbase — 70 mm longer than the Harley-Davidson Street Glide, 27 mm longer than the Indian Chieftain, 25 mm longer than the Victory Cross Country — heck, and 5 mm longer than even the Honda Gold Wing FB6.
But unlike its American and Japanese rivals, it’s not a dressed-down dresser but rather a spiffed-up cruiser, based on the California 1400.
Although MGX-21 designer Miguel Galluzzi now heads Piaggio’s Advanced Design Center in California, he has created memorable machines en route, including the 900SS and Monster for Ducati, and the Aprilia Dorsoduro, Shiver and RSV4 among others at Piaggio. He has a keen eye for style, immediately apparent with the MGX-21.
Galluzzi takes a more sinister approach to the bagger, avoiding chrome entirely. Instead, he uses matte black and carbon fibre throughout, the only highlighted items being the bright red cylinder heads and front calipers. While the angular batwing fairing contrasts the bike’s curved lines elsewhere, the overall effect is quite stylish.
Beneath the bodywork is an aircooled, 1,380-cc eight-valve V-twin that produces 95 horsepower and 89 pound-feet of torque, and drives the rear wheel via a six-speed gearbox and a shaft final drive. The engine shakes side to side at idle due to its rubber mounts, which is amusingly reminiscent of a V8 in a hot rod, but the rubber mounting also quells vibration to an almost electric smoothness once you get rolling.
Seat height is low at 740 mm (29.1 in), but ergonomics are large-sized, with lots of legroom to the footpegs, which are comfortably mounted just a smidgen ahead of mid-position. The handlebars are a moderate reach forward, but they are comfortable, especially since the fairing cuts wind to the torso, so you’re not always pulling forward at speed.
The MGX-21 is big, and quite heavy at 341 kg wet, taking a heroic effort to lift it off the side stand, while manoeuvring it around a parking lot is a good enough workout to save you money on gym memberships. In fact, at low speeds it’s probably the heaviest-steering motorcycle I’ve ever ridden.
The combination of raked-out steering geometry, a cast 21-inch front wheel (carbon-fibre covers conceal the spokes), and a fork-mounted fairing with incorporated sound system really add heft to the front end, causing it to flop over when turning at low speeds. So much so that Guzzi engineers had to fix a small spring-loaded shock under the lower triple clamp to counter the heavy weight as the fork reaches its steering stops. The system is undetectable at speed, as it’s designed to assist parking lot manoeuvres.
Once up to speed, steering is neutral and relatively light but the bike prefers long, flowing bends to tight turns. It flows gracefully through long, sweeping curves, unless there’s a dip or bump mid-turn, which causes the bike to weave quite noticeably. Despite its long, sweptback appearance the MGX-21 has abundant cornering clearance, and it leans surprisingly far before footpeg-feeler sparks fly. It should be noted that the roads in the Black Hills are impeccably maintained, so it’s no surprise that the suspension is quite compliant in these conditions.
The engine is remarkably smooth with a wide-ish powerband, though if you want to get by slower traffic quickly you have to drop at least two gears. Of course, no ride in Sturgis is complete without a slow cruise down Main Street, where I discover that the MGX-21 really turns heads, and it doesn’t bake you with excessive engine heat.
On the highway the fairing protects you from the windblast to about shoulder level, and what wind you do feel above that is free of buffeting; a taller touring screen is available for added wind protection. The saddlebags are very easy to open and close with a single latch, but capacity is a scant 29 litres per side and they are shallow — a leather jacket alone is enough to fill one.
The bike has cruise control, but it lacks a resume function and has to be reset anytime the brakes are applied. It also has an USB port allowing you to connect a media device to the sound system, but the port does not charge the device, which is curious since you can also connect via Bluetooth — so why the port? Another oversight is that the ignition switch does not have an accessory position, which would allow you to listen to the sound system without turning the ignition on. And finally, since I’m nitpicking, the turn signals are not self cancelling. ABS, three-level traction control, and three selectable ride modes are standard.
Moto Guzzi admittedly does not expect to sell boatloads of the MGX21 Flying Fortress. It is a unique take on the bagger, and like all baggers it is designed primarily to look good. And it does.
It’s a premium motorcycle with excellent fit and finish, and it’s also fairly exclusive, which adds to the appeal for potential bagger buyers.
However, it also demands a premium price at $23,990, and that alone might make it difficult to swing buyers away from the traditional madein-USA baggers to one with an Italian flair.