Moto Guzzi celebrated the unveiling of its renovated headquarters, expanded factory, and new museum on the shores of Lake Como earlier this year. The extensive renovation project, which took five years to complete and cost more than 50 million euros ($58 million), has given aficionados fresh reasons to make a pilgrimage to the Italian manufacturer's lakeside facility.
Thousands of Moto Guzzi riders gathered at the headquarters in Mandello del Lario, Italy, for an annual event that began with an unveiling on Thursday and continued with informal rides along the lake on Saturday. The renovation added 5,500 square meters (nearly 60,000 square feet) of space for the factory and the museum, which honors the iconic brand owned by Piaggio since 2004.
The company, known for its distinctive two-cylinder engines, has been hand-building motorcycles for 105 years. The renovated factory now includes an automation belt for moving parts and engines, along with robotics for transporting finished motorcycles for final testing. This expansion has the potential to double the maximum production capacity to 30,000 motorcycles per year.
"Moto Guzzi is handmade, it is an artisanal product, it’s a piece of art," said Matteo Boddi, head of manufacturing for the Piaggio Group. "And we never substitute automation for this core part. Automation is for safety and for sustainability."
U.S. architect Greg Lynn, who was involved in the project, described the aim as creating "an accessible place both for passionate motorcyclists and people who are just curious about motorcycles being made in Italy, on Lake Como, and may never even have heard of Moto Guzzi before."
Fans like 58-year-old Timothy Bennett from Georgia, USA, who was making his second visit, expressed their long-standing admiration for the brand. "I’ve owned a Moto Guzzi since my 20s," Bennett said. "The first time I saw one in a magazine, I thought it looked very interesting. And then I went ahead and saved up some money and bought a used one, and fell in love."
Roland Rampnoux, a member of a 150-strong Moto Guzzi club in Paris who has been visiting the factory since 1980, noted the brand's distinctiveness. "When you see a Moto Guzzi it is immediately recognizable. It is a legendary brand."