“My Dakars with Moto Guzzi”: Claudio Torri, from the African rallies to the V85 TT

“It’s been 26 years since I last rode a motorbike and just as long since I told these stories”.
So begins Claudio Torri. He turned 68 in July 2019, has an accent from Bergamo, Italy, which a quarter of a century of living in Eritrea hasn’t softened, and a string of accidents which he took on the chin. He has the smile of a likeable rogue and eyes that light up whenever the Paris-Dakar is mentioned.
He took on the challenge 6 times between 1984 and 1991, 4 on a Moto Guzzi: more than anyone else, and the only Italian to have attempted it. He never made it to the mythical Lake Retba, at least not when competing, but to him it doesn’t seem to matter. He raced with a different prototype each time, built with his own hands and with the help of Moto Guzzi’s Testing Department. The livery of his first Dakar bike – yellow, white and black – inspired the design of the iconic “Sahara” colour of the V85 TT. The real story? The colours were a tribute to a special friend…

Claudio tells The Clan about his genuine and unquenchable passion for Moto Guzzi. As soon as he starts, it all comes flooding out, while he shows us his small private museum in Val Seriana, just a few kms from where he was born, with myriad memorabilia, mementos, spare parts and 2 of his Dakar bikes. Much however, too much, was lost in those years far away from Italy, during which – he confides – he never even thought about motorbikes. So much so that when he returned home, in mid-2019, he was astonished by the fans’ interest in him, and by the invitation to appear on Open House. He tells us that, for him, the Eagle wasn’t just a bike, it was a companion, a friend and a partner, in those Dakar Rallies that – as he puts it – saved him and made him a free and happy man.
For him, the words “Moto Guzzi” have always been synonymous with excitement and adventure, just as they are today for the many proud owners of V85 TTs. We can’t resist the temptation to ask him to get back in the saddle, this time riding the one and only Classic Enduro, an overt tribute to his story and that of the V65 TT-based prototype. It was on this, in 1985, that he reached Agadez without a hitch, before withdrawing due to a banal problem with the battery.

We invite him to the historic plant in Mandello del Lario, Italy, and continue the interview in the Museum, right next to a replica of the Moto Guzzi bike he raced in the Dakar Rally of ’86 in the French-Italian team, assembled by the French importer. With him were Drobecq and Rigoni, all sponsored by Neff and Total: by far his most determined attempt, and the only one as part of a team, with a competitive bike; unfortunately, it was also one of his most disastrous ones. Weakness in the swingarms put one bike after another out of the race.
We move into the internal courtyard to photograph the real gem that Claudio has brought with him: the Moto Guzzi Tropicana that he raced in the Dakar Rally of 1988, entirely assembled at the plant and in perfect condition. There’s a photo of it taken right here during its presentation in 1987: there’s Claudio, a few technicians in overalls and, in the background, the Wind Tunnel. We manage to recreate it almost identically, and it makes us smile how little has changed in 31 years in this hidden corner of the factory.
The V85 TT is brought in, and we stand in silence for a few moments, admiring the two bikes side by side. Claudio seems to waver a little before moving in to take a closer look, but just by handing him the keys, we see in his eyes the excitement of a little boy – the one we all have inside – take over.

“26 years ago, I drove for the last time my Moto Guzzi Severe” – the other prototype in his museum, which he rode to Dakar in 1991, and then, after major modifications, in the Paris-Moscow-Beijing Rally in 1992. “Getting on this bike today, it’s kind of like a trip down memory lane”.
There’s a slight hesitation in letting the clutch go (although the saddle’s just 83 cm above the ground, Claudio’s foot only just touches the tarmac), before the racing-driver spirit suddenly kicks in. It’s not easy trying to get him to stop for the photo and video shoots, chasing after him through the narrow lanes of Lake Como. We’re following him on another Tuttoterreno, and excited at the thought of what Claudio is experiencing, for the smile behind his helmet doesn’t lie: it says that, in this moment, Claudio is no longer just the teller of old Guzzi tales, but the lead in a new adventure: a biker happy of riding his Moto Guzzi, just like us.