Friday bike

Another 'bike I nearly bought'.

Moto Guzzi V50 Monza

Back in about 1981 I was starting to get tired of the limitations of my SR500, so was  thinking about what to buy next. I still had a hankering for European touring, so a friend and I planned a camping trip to France. We hit upon the the idea that we would both buy the same model of bike (to minimise spares we had to carry), and after a lot of delibertion, decided on the Moto Guzzi V50 Monza. This was the 'sportier' version of the popular V50 with lower bars, fairing, different saddle and upswept silencers. So we started saving, planned selling our existing bikes, and a few months before the holiday buy a pair of Monzas, fit them with Krauser panniers, and the world would be our oyster.

Monza with Krauser pannier frames.

Except, of course, it didn't work out that way. I had real difficulty selling the SR500, and after about 6 months of trying had to accept a much lower offer than expected to get rid of it. Also, I was offered a BMW at a really good price, so bought that instead. My friend bought a Ducati Darmah (which rarely left his garage!), and our European trip never happened.

Still think the Monza is a good looking bike, but very rare now as it only sold in small numbers compared to the 'standard' V50 model.