2009 Moto Guzzi Café Classic: A Modern Classic

It seems I am getting obsessed with Café Racers, first Royal Enfield, then Triumph Thruxton and now Moto Guzzi Café Classic V7.

Amongst the first mass produced motorcycles to run at 124mph in 1970s, Moto Guzzi V7 Sport has its share of history when it comes to motorcycling. Wrapped in a radiant paint and pure café racing sporty styling Moto Guzzi launched its V7 Café Classic in 2009.

A 744cc OHV, air-cooled, 90-degree V-twin engine producing 49bhp of power output and a thrilling top speed of approximately 115mph, it’s a stunning display of speed and beauty. Moto Guzzi Café Classic V7 has a beautifully crafted fuel tank with a nice chrome filler cap and a gorgeous bum-stop seat. I will not say that it’s blisteringly fast but the speed is enough to give thrills to any Café Racer enthusiast.

Its Weber-Marelli electronic fuel injection provides a decent economy while front brake, a floating 320 mm stainless steel disc and rear a 260 mm stainless steel disc, do a good job to bring this classy Moto Guzzi Café Classic to a quick stop. A Marzocchi telescopic front forks and light alloy swingarm with 2 pre-load adjustable shock absorbers are just fantastic.

It’s a true stunner of a Café Racer and packs enough punch to give that thrill of hopping between Cafés of Rome

Triumph THRUXTON900 Café Racer, A Timeless Beauty

Ever since I have written about Royal Enfield Bullet Café Racer, I was wondering… rather doubting if there is any motorcycle manufacturing company in the world which can create a modern classic. I got up in the morning switched on my computer and I don’t know why just went on to Triumph website. There it was right on the homepage, Thruxton 900, a Modern Classic, which cleared all my doubts about who can create a motorcycle which can be a Modern Classic. Nobody can do it better than Triumph and Thruxton a Café Racer says it all what Triumph Motorcycles is capable of.

Royal Enfield Bullet Cafe Racer

Royal Enfield Bullet is all set to give the bike makers like Honda, Bajaj, Yamaha, Suzuki and TVS a run for their money. A lot of sleepless nights are in store for these bike makers for sure. Based on their Classic UCE EFI500 Model, Royal Enfield has unveiled their new “Cafe racer concept motorbike” at the 10th Auto Expo in New Delhi. In the beginning of year 2012, it’s going to be exported to the US and Europe, but eventually towards the end of year 2012 they have a plan to launch this in India.

The Motorcycle is for those who want to hop to a coffee shop for a coffee or to a bar or pub for a beer. It’s aimed at the youth primarily. It’s a lot different than the Royal Enfield Bullet we are used to as it includes a host of sporty features like a retro tail lamp cluster, “Bump Stop” seat, clip-on bars, new twin pod instrument cluster, chopped mudguard, racing number plates on sides and megaphone muffler.

Royal Enfield is planning to price it around Rs.170, 000. It will be fitted with same UCE500 motor doing job in Royal Enfield Bullet classic 500 when it will be launched in 2012. It will be for sure a bit quicker than the Royal Enfield Bullet 500 of today though.

I am sure Harley Davidson will take a serious note of this development.

I am waiting for a V-Twin from Royal Enfield now. Am I getting a little too greedy?