As well as its more famous vee-twins, Italian manufacturer Moto Guzzi also made a 500cc single cylinder motorcycle. One is coming up for sale at H&H’s classic scooter and motorcycle auction at the National Motorcycle Museum in Solihull on 12 July 2023.
The Moto Guzzi Nuova Falcone was designed specifically for the Italian army which wanted a less expensive and more rugged motorcycle than Guzzi’s V7 vee-twin. It was first shown at the 1969 Milan Show in military guise but it was also sold to civilians from 1970.
The Nouva (New) Falcone followed a few years later and the one up for auction is a 1973, one of the first. It appears to be an ex-military motorcycle, says the auctioneer, and that’s certainly backed up its dark green paint. There’s very little paperwork, apart from old MoTs, tax disc and a current V5C. It’s thought to have been imported in 2002.
It’s clearly a tough old bird, with functional rugged frame design and it looks to be complete and original. There’s no info on running condition. The odometer shows 51, 634 kilometres ridden which is not much more than the last MoT records, in July 2015. So, it will certainly need recommissioning at the very least.
Production of the Guzzi singles stopped in 1976, with more than 13,000 military versions and 2,974 civilian produced.
The Wisconsin guide to classic motorcycles prices suggest a 1973 Moto Guzzi Nuova Falcone to be worth $1,000 at the bottom end (grade 6 – poor) up to $6,000 at the top (grade 1 – perfect). This one appears to be grade 4 or 5, which puts the value around $2,000 to $3,000. It’s being auctioned with no reserve.
