Little Italian Rocket: Moto Guzzi V50 II “Saga Racer”

Lightweight Guzzi 500 Café Racer from Revel Customs…  

In the mid 70s, Moto Guzzi decided they needed to add a midsize bike to their lineup.  The resulting machine, the V50 II, featured a Tonti frame and an all-new 490cc engine with a horizontally-split crankcase. The whole package weighed just 336 pounds as compared to the 475-lb 850 Le Mans. While some detractors preferred more size and horsepower from their Italian machinery, Cycle World called the bike “nearly ideal” as a rare, exotic Italian welterweight, making “one of the nicest sounds ever made by a motorcycle.”

“Exciting motorcycles don’t have to be fast. The Moto Guzzi V50 proves that. It creates excitement through attractive lines, a musical exhaust note, handling that’s so sensitive it could be called sensual and the rarity of a perfect mountain road.” –Cycle World

This 1980 V50 II comes from our friend Andrei Kouznetsov of the UK’s Revel Custom Motorcycles. The vast majority of Andrei’s builds are designed for customers, but in this case, Andrei got to be his own client:

“It was a personal project of mine. After owning several V7’s and a brand new V85TT, I realised that these Italian air-cooled engines have pierced deep into my soul and instead of chopping my modern bikes, I needed to customise a classic, lightweight, back to basics Moto Guzzi.”

The V50 II was the perfect platform, offering light weight, nimble handling, and the undeniable charisma of a small 500-class Guzzi twin. After rebuilding the engine with all-new seals, Andrei worked to salvage as much of the original bike as possible. He painted the belly of the bulbous factory tank black to visually reduce its size, then used its shape to inspire the proportions of the custom seat and rear loop, as well as the headlight and handlebar positions. 

“Instead of using the traditional raw method of stripping everything back and making it minimalistic, I wanted to refine what remained and apply my design skills so that everything belonged together in harmony.”

Andrei fabricated seamless fork brackets to secure the repositioned headlight and gauges, using rubber rings to dampen vibration. Other highlights include the custom front fender, one-off license plate bracket designed to match the spokes of the original mags, momentary switches to give the bars a very clean look, Motogadget M Unit Blue to handle the electronic “witchcraft,” and dual front disc brakes with a larger Discacciati radial master cylinder. Then there’s the full retro-inspired repaint of the entire bike, laid down by EAcustoms.

Nicknamed the “Saga Racer,” the bike weighs just 304 pounds dry — which has to make it one of the world’s lightest street-legal Guzzis! The riding experience is quite unlike anything else on two wheels:

“The new lower handlebars are now positively linked to the front wheel, so now with that super stiff Tonti frame and low weight, there is still no low speed wobble or high speed weave. Its characterful air-cooled engine, and the feedback I get every time I twist the throttle is very reassuring… Let’s not forget it’s only a 490cc twin, so there’s not a lot of mass oscillating side to side either. Overall, driving this little Italian rocket is as fun as a motorcycle can be without intimating you.”

Bravo to Andrei for preserving so much of the original charm, character, and design of this Guzzi model while transforming it into a sleek, lovely, and agile café racer. Below is our full in-depth interview with Andrei about the build, which includes many more details and photos. 

Moto Guzzi V50 II Café Racer: Builder Interview

• What’s the make, model, and year of the donor bike?

1980 Moto Guzzi V50 II.

• Why was this bike built?

It was a personal project of mine. After owning several V7’s and a brand new V85TT, I realised that these Italian air-cooled engines have pierced deep into my soul and instead of chopping my modern bikes, I needed to customise a classic, lightweight, back to basics Moto Guzzi. And so, after looking at several V50 examples, I knew that this would be an ideal platform.

• What was the design concept and what influenced the build?

Me being practical as always I initially wanted to convert it into a lightweight sports tourer with integrated sleek panniers and just a general electrical update with LED lights etc. However, because I was busy building other customers’ bikes, this build became a slow project in which I then realised the engine and gearbox was leaking into the dry single plate dry clutch housing.

Once I rebuilt the engine with new seals and a new clutch was installed, I then finally focused on the proportions of the bike, particularly the tank. At first I wanted to ditch the old bulbous tank and find an alternative but I just couldn’t throw away such an authentic part of the bike.

Instead, I decided to explore ways I could keep the original tank and celebrate its curves and proportions — this is when I gained a concept which allowed me to design a traditional, back to basics Cafe Racer, meaning low profile seat and low handlebars.

The profile of the original tank has some graceful curves and shapes which influenced me to fabricate these new positions of the headlight bracket and handlebars. At the front of the tank there is a distinctive curve which started to point downwards towards the bottom fork clamps. This is where I started extending these tank lines and made custom brackets to secure the new headlight.

Behind the tank is a custom solo seat which I also shaped in a specific way in order to repeat the tank’s proportions but replicated the tank’s shape in the seat hump.

So now the concept became apparent and I wanted to continue this simple and graceful approach throughout the rest of the project. Overall, it became what is known as a Cafe Racer project but instead of using the traditional raw method of stripping everything back and making it minimalistic, I wanted to refine what remained and apply my design skills so that everything belonged together in harmony.

• What custom work was done to the bike?

The entire seat, the rear loop frame, the seamless fork brackets which secure the headlight and gauges. The front fender, the entire rear brake set up and of course the colour respray of the bike. Some elements are not even noticeable, mainly because it’s rarely ever considered to be part of a design. Take for instance the rear registration plate bracket. It’s almost invisible, mainly because the solid round-bar tubes are angled to match the original wheel spokes. This bracket therefore seamlessly wrapped around the rear tyre. This is both a practical approach and a visually pleasing one too.

The custom brackets that secure the headlight are just a pair of tubes which are wedged in between rubber rings. The bracket that holds the Motogadget Chronoclassic 2 clocks are also in between rubber rings, which again is there to reduce the amount of hardware but also to dampen any harsh vibrations.

• Does the bike have a nickname?

Yes. “Saga Racer.”

• Any idea of horsepower, weight, and/or performance numbers?

Power remains the same at 48hp, however the weight has been reduced to just over 138kg dry, which makes this bike incredibly light. The braking performance has been improved significantly. Originally most Moto Guzzis produced during this period had the rear brake pedal linked with both the rear disc and the left front disc while the front brake lever was pretty useless applying too little braking power to the single front disc on the opposite side.

Here I have opted for the more common set up — a larger 16mm Discacciati radial master cylinder hand lever which now powers both front discs and a new Brembo master cylinder for the rear. Overall, the braking performance has been improved and works very well.

• Can you tell us what it’s like to ride this bike?

It’s a very pleasant and nimble bike to ride in town and on an open road. The new lower handlebars are now positively linked to the front wheel, so now with that super stiff Tonti frame and low weight, there is still no low speed wobble or high speed weave. Its characterful air-cooled engine, and the feedback I get every time I twist the throttle is very reassuring.

Generally, it does produce very obvious vibrations every time I accelerate (which makes it all very dramatic and engaging), but as soon as it settles down at any cruising speed, it becomes very smooth and civilised — a very common attitude with all Moto Guzzi engines. Let’s not forget it’s only a 490cc twin, so there’s not a lot of mass oscillating side to side either. Overall, driving this little Italian rocket is as fun as a motorcycle can be without intimating you.

• Was there anything done during this build that you are particularly proud of?

I like how the new parts became so well balanced in terms of their proportions. I’m not a huge fan of using lots of fancy electronics like Motogadget M Unit Blue, however in this instance I really wanted to see a clean handlebar set up which complimented the chrome/alloy finishes and so the momentary switches I installed needed this fancy Motogadget witchcraft, so in the end it paid off.

• Is there anyone you’d like to thank?

I would like to thank my painter who is also called Andrei, from EAcustoms, who did a fine job at following my strict designs and colour choices. Also to James Hall who made the leather seat cover. Lastly, I would like to thank Adam from Untitled Motorcycles who made me realise that painting the belly black on these original and huge Moto Guzzi fuel tanks makes them look a lot smaller 😛

 

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Web: www.revelcustom.com
Instagram: @revelcustoms

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