Moto Guzzi: Practical Magic

I'm going to be honest with you.

I did not need this motorcycle.

I wanted this motorcycle. 

My other motorcycle -- a 2017 Kawasaki Versys 300 - X ABS was all I needed. I purchased it in the teeth of the pandemic when I realized that supply chains were being disrupted and I'd better get an indestructible piece of Japanese designed unkillable Kawasaki to get me back and forth to work. It is a great bike, 70 mpg, upright riding position, but a seat as hard as a block of wood. Seats can be upgraded of course, but I knew I wanted something else. As the horrors of the pandemic faded and supply chains started churning again, I went looking for the bike I was shopping for prior to the world catching Covid. 

Actually, it is bike I've been wanting for a dozen years. 

On a ferry from Seattle to Bremerton a dozen years ago -- when the girls were still little and so we rode the ferry to break up the long car ride back from Seattle -- I spied a Moto Guzzi California. It probably wasn't the first time seeing a Moto Guzzi, but in person - out in the wild - something about this bike sang to me. 

It was beautiful in its design, but rugged and indomitable in the flesh. The sculptured tank was a work of art. It was no adventure bike, but looked ready to ride around the world. 

I snapped a few photos and tried to put riding motorcycles again out of my mind. I'd been off them for more than a decade at that point, being the responsible father and husband and safe in all things. 

Soon, however, I found a Honda CB400A and started riding again. Since that bike I've had a series of others -- cycling through every two years or so trying to find a cross between a practical and magical promised by that Moto Guzzi California.  

Two Vstar cruisers, (comfortable, but not nimble and cruiser pegs are hard on rough roads)  A Piaggio MP3400 (the perfect commuting machine, but not quite a motorcycle) a CBR250R (super fun, but not for the backs of old men)  a Honda PC800 Pacific Coast (comfortable, practical and heavy - hard to find parts) and lastly the Versys.

The problem with the Versys was that it was very easy to ride, but the high revs required even at putter round the valley speeds made it less relaxing for lazy rides. It is an amazing all weather commuter, however and I was glad to see it go to a good home. It is the perfect adv bike to learn on -- light, super easy clutch, almost impossible to stall, easy to pick up. 

I can tell you why I wanted the Guzzi from a practical standpoint. I wanted the simplicity of air-cooled,

v-twin, shaft drive. Get on it and go type of bike. I wanted to be able to do maintenance jobs without first disassembling an jigsaw puzzle of plastic panels. 

In truth however, I wanted practical magic and I finally realized that only Moto Guzzi could give it to me. 

The bike I found is beautiful. 

There is simply no other word. The lines, the color ... it is just handsome. It was almost too beautiful for me to buy it. I'm going to be flogging this bike in the rain after a 12 hour night shift, what if I scratch it?

I looked at other Moto Guzzis around - the Stone version has less chrome no chrome in fact. It is all attitude and blacked-out bad-assedness, but I wasn't trying to impress anyone anymore - if I ever was. I don't recall every riding motorcycles to look cool, or to make people think I was cool. I've ridden automatic Hondas and three-wheeled scooters not because they were cool, but because they were fun.

This bike was a blue and orange not seen since my 1978 CB400A, but so much deeper and alive.

Part of me is getting old enough to just say what I like and embrace it. In truth, I am in a mood to celebrate what has been overcome and embrace living and not just surviving.

My older daughter is just about to graduate from college -- debt free. That's a huge accomplishment for her and for our family. At the same time, I am seeing men my age die in their beds. Makes me think a that putting off what you love in life is a gamble all its own. 

Riding around this week under clear blue skies on a burbling V-twin powered, willing work of Italian industrial sculpture, I felt guilty. I felt overwhelmed by a mountain of blessings I don't deserve. 

But I am going to embrace those blessings, and ride that mountain road as long as I can.