It’s been a long season of road trips, kilometres travelled and stories both on and off the road and then along came this long-awaited event at which we were able meet, share those stories and renew our passion for Moto Guzzi. We met up at the place there where it all began and where still today the legend lives on, stronger than ever: the Moto Guzzi Open House event held at the historic factory at Mandello del Lario.
15,000 of us from all around Europe and the world answered the call of the Moto Guzzi Open House 2017, braving the inclement weather that tried to stop us but vastly underestimated the extent of our passion. There waiting for us we found an entire town partying under the emblem of the Eagle: from the flags in the store windows to the beach resort set up as a free camping site for the Guzzi fans and all the way through to the municipal notice boards proudly blazoned with the slogan “The Town of Moto Guzzi”.
This was Mandello del Lario, populated by true standard bearers of the Eagle, recognising the smiling faces sticking out from under the collars of rain suits, like those of the Moto Guzzi World Club friends that we met this year during the exciting tour of their rallies and events. A trip that took us from Bari to Reggio Calabria via Arezzo, where we experienced the true Moto Guzzi spirit as well as some truly genuine and sincere hospitality.
And so, during these three days of celebrations, we finally passed through the famous red gate at No. 57, Via Parodi to explore every inch of the place while celebrating 50 years of the V7: from the museum housing the collection of more than 150 bikes representing the brand’s history, to the historic wind tunnel and all the way through to the production lines where, for the past 96 years, every Moto Guzzi bike has been assembled by hand.
