Italian designer Oberdan Bezzi calls his latest creation a modern interpretation of the Moto Guzzi’s iconic Le Mans motorcycle, but we get a distinct MGS-01 Corsa vibe from the concept sketches.
MV Agusta is poised to make some interesting motorcycles over the next few years, many of which will be focused on smaller displacement categories, rather than large big displacement machines.
To help us imagine what is ahead, Oberdan Bezzi has a concept for us to ponder upon, dubbed the MV Agusta F1 650 Supersingle.
Oberdan Bezzi has an interesting concept for us today, taking a peak into the world of Italian heritage at the motorcycle factory in Mandello del Lario, Italy.
We are of course talking about Moto Guzzi, and the bike in question is an idea that is built off the Moto Guzzi V85 platform, which we know Moto Guzzi is keen to use in a variety of motorcycles, not just the current V85 TT adventure-touring bike.
Dubbed the “Black Eagle”, the concept shows a sporty usage of the air-cooled 853cc transverse 90° v‐twin, with the bike using a half-fairing design, clip-ons, solo seat, and copious amounts of carbon fiber.
The Moto Guzzi V85 TT motorcycle has been a big hit for the Italian brand, exhibiting the happy merger of Moto Guzzi’s retro flare with the popular ADV bike scene.
Moreover, the Moto Guzzi V85 TT is a solid bike to ride, and we gave it solid reviews when we rode in Sardinia last year. But, what if you want to hit the dirt a bit harder than this 90/10 bike provides?
Italian designer Oberdan Bezzi has been thinking this thought (as have many of you), and he has penned what he calls the Moto Guzzi V90 TTR concept.
What can one say about the Suzuki SV650 motorcycle? The bike is in its 20th year of production, and though the model has changed a little by little over time, the same basic formula has stayed the same.
Here, we have a special idea from Oberdan Bezzi, who takes the venerable SV650 and turns it into large-format off-roader.
Dubbed the Suzuki SV650 Rally, the concept looks quite convincing, and it plays into the strategy that Suzuki seems to be building off of.
When we look at Aprilia’s lineup, it is surprisingly sparse. The brand has only a pair of models with its V4 engine, and another pair with its 900cc v-twin. Four bikes – that’s it.
The revised middleweights – the Shiver 900 and Dorsoduro 900 – debuted in 2017, bringing some refinements to the lackluster 750cc machines that they replaced. The 900cc bikes are not the stars in Aprilia’s lineup though, and they struggle to sell at Aprilia dealerships, but they have a tremendous amount of potential.
We say this because it always felt like Aprilia could have done more with the engine platforms available to the Italian brand. A long-travel suspension adventure-sport makes a ton of sense for the V4 platform, and today we see what could be done with the v-twin platform.
When we first heard that Ducati was bringing back the Supersport line, we were excited. The original SuperSport wasn’t exactly the best selling model for the Italian brand, but Ducati created some loyal enthusiasts with the half-faired sport-touring machine.
The new Ducati Supersport does a good job of tapping into the ethos of the old model, but visually it draws too close to the Ducati 1299 Panigale Superbike, rather than the lines of yore.
Here, Oberdan Bezzi plays another one of his “what if” games, drawing an air-cooled Supersport model (based off the current Scrambler platform), complete with the more classic half-fairing design.
BMW basically created the adventure touring category, popularizing the segment with its Gelände Straße motorcycles. Ever since, the German brand has created more and more “GS” bikes to help diversify its lineup for the tastes of riders, and also to defend its position from other brands.
Here, designer Oberdan Bezzi imagines a different kind of GS – a grand sport. Living somewhere between a scrambler and a maxi-motard, Bezzi’s creation sees the use of an air-cooled 1250cc boxer engine, wedged into a light adventure-sport format.
It is an intriguing idea (and design), and it pokes an obvious hole in BMW’s current crop of motorcycles. We didn’t think the Bavarian brand could use another boxer-powered motorcycle in its lineup, but Bezzi’s Global Sport makes a good case for such a machine.
Yamaha really hit on something when it made the MT-07 and MT-09 motorcycles – two machines that still offer plenty of features and fun, while enjoying the benefit of not emptying the bank account.
Similarly, we have already seen that the Yamaha MT-07 makes a convincing track bike, especially when you change out the lower-spec components and add a full set of fairings.
Today, Oberdan Bezzi imagines a similar treatment for the Yamaha MT-09, with a slant toward endurance racing duties, which we find very appealing.
The BMW G310R is an unassuming small-displacement machine, from little German company called BMW Motorrad.
Joking aside, the minds in Berlin might be the most successful in the motorcycle industry right now, with BMW continuing to release intriguing new bikes, and also continuing to see steady growth in its sales year after year.
Some of that success is built around BMW repurposing motorcycle platforms for different segments. The company’s boxer engine powers the entire R line, the company’s inline-four engine powers the entire S line, and so on and so forth.
For the G lineup of bikes, BMW is drawing upon its 313cc single-cylinder, for both its beginner model street bike, and an entry-level adventure-tourer. Taking a look at the rest of BMW Motorrad’s lineup though, Oberdan Bezzi has imagined some other niches that BMW could take its G line.
As a young sport bike enthusiast, I never really took the BMW HP2 Sport seriously during its brief tenure as part of BMW Motorrad’s two-wheeled lineup (the BMW HP2 Sport was discontinued after the 2012 model year).
Under-powered, overweight, with clearance issues from the air-cooled boxer engine – I just didn’t “get it” when it came to the HP2.
As a more veteran rider, who too now is a little underpowered, overweight, with some clearance issues, I have a better appreciation for this quirky street bike, and a sort of longing for the HP2 to return to BMW’s arsenal. So too does Oberdan Bezzi.
Here, the Italian designer imagines a machine that benefits from BMW’s liquid-cooled version of its boxer-twin engine, the same lump that powers the current line of R-bikes, like the venerable BMW R1200GS adventure-tourer.