Testing On the Move

TESTING ON THE MOVE

ROUNDUP

What isn't explained in this issue's test of the Moto Guzzi V50 is why we went to Montana to test a motorcycle.

The 490cc Guzzi has been sold in this country for about two years, and during that time we’ve seen just enough of the bike to get us interested. Unfortunately, we were unable to borrow a test bike from Berliner Motor Corp., the U.S. importer of Moto Guzzi. According to a Berliner spokesman, the V50 simply wasn’t available for testing.

That’s where Jim Buck comes in. Buck, a dedicated motorcycle enthusiast from Helena, Montana, owns a couple of BMWs, a Ducati, a Norton, a Matchless and an Aermacchi. When he saw the Guzzi at a Great Falls, Montana dealership he was as excited by the bike as we'd been. But Buck knew nothing about the V50, no road tests having been printed in this country.

Buck called the Cycle World offices and asked for information about the Guzzi. We couldn't help him, but Buck bought

the bike anyway and invited us to test it. His invitation was accepted, of course.

We normally do all our performance testing—acceleration, top speed and brake runs—at Orange County International Raceway, a local dragstrip. However, our computerized test equipment allows us to perform acceleration and top speed tests anywhere there is level pavement.

To transport the test gear to Montana, we borrowed a quadracycle from Road & Track, which is, like Cycle World, a CBS Publication.

Helena is a charming town with rustic stone buildings, but lacks serious traffic. The problem, however enjoyable, was that our normal 100-mile mileage test includes about 50 percent stoplight-to-stoplight and slow, in-town riding. Without available traffic and traffic signals, the Guzzi spent more time at speed on open roads and the mileage figures dropped accordingly.

Montana’s straight, level highways and

realistically tempered (read, lax) enforcement of the 55 mph speed limit suit a large displacement motorcycle just fine. A smaller machine spends much of its time wide-open in Montana, though that didn’t bother the V50.

Local newspaper reporter Gordon Warren observed the performance testing of the Guzzi, taking photos and notes for an article later published in the Helena Independent-Record. Visiting motorcycle journalists are regarded as something of celebrities in Montana. But the most obvious demonstration that the testing wasn’t being done in California came when a local police cruiser drove past the flying, computer-equipped Guzzi with nary a sidelong glance.

Things could have been less pleasant. A week of rain ended just as our crew arrived in Helena. A week after we left, Mt. St. Helens blew her top and covered western Montana with a layer of soot.

Obviously the timing was set correctly.