New 2024 Moto Guzzi 457
Now, if this bike makes it to production, it would be a big departure from the larger capacity bikes currently in their lineup, with the smallest Moto Guzzi’s available at the moment, I think, being their V7, V9, and V85 TT at 850 cc.
A smaller bike like this suggests that they’re looking to cash in on the learner friendly customer base, but also maybe sell some more bikes out in Asia, where smaller capacity machines make up more of the market.
So that raises the question, is this just a half baked cynical way to make money, or is it a proper moto Guzzi? we’ll go through everything that we knew about it so far to find out.
ENGINE
Straight off the Above, we can see that this is pretty much the same engine as Aprilia’s recently announced RS 457 mid-capacity sports bike with pretty much the exact same engine casings and proportions.
That should mean it’s a parallel twin around the 457 cc mark, of course.
I’d expect the performance output to be pretty much the same as well at 47 horsepower peak, because that means it will qualify to be sold to A2 license holders.
Now, quite often on retro bikes, you get a slightly different tune to their more sporty equivalence. New 2024 Moto Guzzi 457
Perhaps there will be a little bit more focus on mid-range and torque, but really, with such a hard limit on top-end power, there isn’t a great deal of room for maneuvering, so it’s not going to be wildly different.
The thing that is very nice about this engine, though, is the fact that it gets a 270-degree crank, which means more of that V-twin-s sound and feel than the 180 cranks that you’ll often find on twin-cylinder bikes at this end of the market, like the Kawasaki Z500 or the Honda CB500 Hornet.
Now look, it might sound a little bit unusual to the uninitiated to have an Aprilia engine in a Moto Guzzi but keep in mind that both Aprilia and Moto Guzzi are owned by the Piagia Group. New 2024 Moto Guzzi 457
It’s absolutely not uncommon for motorcycle manufacturers to repurpose platforms and engines across multiple genres of motorcycle just to make the most of the R&D investment that’s gone into each new engine and technical platform.
What I will say, though, is I don’t really recall Moto Guzzi having a long history of making 270 Degree Parallel Twins.
They’re absolutely best known for their transverse V-twins. In fact, you could say they’re positively famous for it.
And so this bike doesn’t really feel like a thoroughbred Guzzi, and there’s got to be a little bit of just cashing in on an efficiency.
Small capacity retro bites can sell in big volumes as proven by the Royal Enfield 350 lineup, for example. New 2024 Moto Guzzi 457
And of course, other manufacturers are looking to get in on the act with stuff like Triumph’s new Speed 400 and Scrambler 400X.
So as a business move, you can absolutely see why Piaggio Group want to get in on this market.
And while they do have the perfect engine with this little 457, I would say a retro bike doesn’t really fit in with the Aprilia brand, which is much more sporty and performance-biased.
So in that way, you can see why they’ve gone with the Moto Guzzi vibe. But really, it just feels like the engine and technical side of an Aprilia wrapped up in some motor Guzzi styling cues.
STYLING
Specifically, the top half of the bike has a lot of stuff that you’d expect to find on a V7, for example, with the round headlight that’s very typical of a retro naked.
Moving back from there, You’ve got the fairly large-looking elongated fuel tank with the really defined lines along the bottom there that you’d guess would be a Moto Guzzi, even if it wasn’t branded up. New 2024 Moto Guzzi 457
Then you’ve got the brown leather saddle, which is a really common retro bike move.
It’s finished off right at the back end with the twin tail lights that you’ll see across a bunch of Moto Guzzi bikes like the V85 TT, the V100 Mandello, and the V100 Stelvio.
It’s just not entirely cohesive there, is it? Certainly from a visual perspective, because the bottom of the bike is almost entirely modern-looking with a liquid-cooled engine and the bling-looking gold forks.
Display
You can also see a little bit of TFT display mounted on a makeshift bracket that doesn’t exactly transport you back to the ’70s.
And while I would expect it to look a little bit better once it’s properly finished up and painted, and once they’ve neatened up some of these makeshift parts, there’s still a long way to go to make it worthy of the Moto Guzzi name, which produces, in my opinion, some of the best-looking retro bikes like the V7.
COMPONENTS
Looking at With the components on this bike, it appears to get 17-inch cast wheels, front and rear, which look to be lifted straight off the RS457, and they’re shod with sporty-looking road tires that, admittedly, should give it decent handling.
But normally on a Moto Guzzi retro, you’d find a slightly larger front wheel for a bit more of that old-school stance. New 2024 Moto Guzzi 457
Breaks are from Bibre, which is the budget sub brand of Brembo. You get a four-piston, radially mounted caliper up front. Again, same as the RS457.
It looks like the same disk, too. Then at the rear, you’ve got a vibrate break as well. Then, yes, those gold anodized forks, which really do stick out.
They look like they’ll get a bit of adjustability, perhaps. But certainly, they prioritize sporty functionality over charming historical esthetics.
FRAME
Now, to be fair to them, one of the things that they have significantly changed is the frame, which I believe is aluminum on the RS457, whereas this bike gets a steel trellis, which is a bit more fitting for the retro genre.
It also looks like the swing arm is new as well, and I guess that’s primarily to accommodate this rather unusual rear shock solution.
You see, if you look at both sides of the bike, you’ll realize there’s actually only one shock, and it’s just mounted off to one side on the right.
It’s pretty much in the position that you’d actually expect to find a pair of twin shocks.
And so it does seem like a design feature that’s been made to try and give the impression of a slightly old-school bike with twin shocks, but perhaps with more similar functionality to a modern-day Mono shock.
All in all, this one looks like it’s going to be a bit of a mixed bag for me. It definitely doesn’t have that Moto Guzzi styling through and through.
And I think that’s because what makes a Moto Guzzi look like a Moto Guzzi is the fundamentals. New 2024 Moto Guzzi 457
The transverse V-twin out through a shaft drive at the rear is a super distinctive look that makes up a large proportion of the bike.
But ultimately, it’s a result of its technical foundations. The technical foundations of this bike, well, they’re completely different to what you’d normally see on a Moto Guzzi.
And so you’ve got the question as to why they’ve gone down that route.
You could see it, as I’ve already said, to simply cash in on an existing platform and build a bike for the small capacity retro market with as little investment as possible.
if you’re being more generous, You might say it’s in the pursuit of making something that actually rides and handles pretty well with that 270 parallel twin, modern-looking suspension and brakes, and the 17-inch wheels front and rear, which should make it feel more flickable than a more retro alternative.
I think I’ll have to reserve judgment until the final production version hits the market and we can see what they’ve really done with the final styling.