This A3-sized Art Poster features a detailed illustration of a Moto Guzzi V2 Bicilindrical 500cc by George Morgan.

Produced on 250 gsm silk art paper this Art Poster is suitable for framing with or without a mount and will be supplied inside a sturdy cardboard postal tube. The frame and mount shown are not included.

1950 MOTO GUZZI V2 BICILINDRICAL

Carlo Guzzi made use of his successful single-cylinder 250cc engine by adding a second cylinder and in 1934 the Bicilindrical appeared on the Italian circuits. A 120° V-twin with bore and stroke similar to those of the 250cc racers gave a displacement of 493.6cc. Both cylinders had single overhead camshafts and valves closed by outboard hairpin springs. Two Dell’Orto carburettors were used and each cylinder had its own straight-through exhaust. As with all Moto Guzzi’s, dry sump lubrication was employed.  

In the early years a mixture of petrol and benzol was allowed for racing, which resulted in 44 hp at 7800 rpm, but afterwards racing required the use of commercial grade petrol and the output was reduced to approx 42 hp.  

The frame was a double-cradle tube of bolted construction with the engine acting as a load bearing part and the rear frame was the same triangular structure used by the 250cc racers. To compete in the 1935 TT, proven Guzzi rear suspension was fitted. This was a set of coil springs with the spring tubes placed either side of the rear wheel and damping provided by friction dampers next to the rear wheel which were even adjustable while driving from a lever next to the tank. In 1934 it became the machine to beat. Winning the Grand Prix des Nations, the Grand Prix of Italy, the Grand Prix of Spain and the Milan-Naples long-distance race. Outside of Italy, Carlo Guzzi soon decided that the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy race was by far the most important and with a circuit length of 60km he realised it was vital that he employ a rider with TT knowledge and experience, so for 1935 Guzzi hired TT veteran, Stanley Woods.   

Woods had competed from 1922 and amassed a large number of victories for Cotton and Norton and 1935 turned into an impressive year for the Moto Guzzi racers as Omobono Tenni became Italian champion and won Milan-Naples, but things didn’t go entirely his way. Along with Stanley Woods, Tenni took part in the TT but in the 250cc class he crashed in fog on the mountain section.  Stanley Woods however won both the 250cc ‘Lightweight TT’ and the 500cc ‘Senior TT’. This was only the second time that a ‘foreign’ motorcycle had won the Senior TT. Moreover, it had been another technological step forward as it was the first time that racing machines had been equipped with rear suspension.   

In 1951, the Bicilindrical’s last year, output had risen to 47 hp and together with aerodynamic improvements, this had allowed a top speed of 210kph.

Size 420mm x 297mm (16.54" x 11.69")

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