Rare Moto Guzzi V8 To Feature At Broadford Bike Bonanza.
Visitors to the 2016 Penrite Oil Broadford Bike Bonanza will have the only opportunity in Australia to see an extremely rare Moto Guzzi V8 motorcycle in action.
The bike will feature at the event to be held at the Broadford complex over the Easter weekend of 26th – 27th March.
The Moto Guzzi V8 was designed specifically for the Moto Guzzi Grand Prix racing team and used in the 1955 to 1957 seasons.
The engine is a water-cooled, 500cc unit that produced an unprecedented 58kW at 12,000 rpm. The engine itself only weighs 45kg, and the total bike weight is just 148kg.
On track the bike reached speeds of 280 km/h, and it was another 20 years before that speed was again reached in Grand Prix motorcycle racing.
However, it’s powerful engine and high top speed were well ahead of tyre, brake and suspension technology, and the bike was a handful to manage on track.
Only about 8 riders were ever able to ride the bike, and several serious crashes occurred in the process of trying. By 1957 there were two bikes available and no one willing to race the bike.
One of those 8 riders was Australian Keith Campbell.
Three complete and running bikes still exist in private hands and two are in the Moto Guzzi Factory Museum at Mandello, Italy.
This bike is owned by Giuseppe Todero, the son of designer Umberto Todero who played a major role in the development and execution of the V8 engined machine.
It will be in the Shannon’s Moto Guzzi Marquee and ridden on the road track at selected times during the Broadford event.