With 2022 now fully donned, the Southern Hemisphere is getting ready to host their largest collection of Moto Guzzi machines – and by all accounts, the inaugural Festival of Moto Guzzi is the place to be if you’re a Guzzi aficionado and have the time to kick around for three days in commemoration of the brand.
This isn’t just any old festival, either. The report from AMCN states that the festival – made possible by Teo Lamers Motorcycles and Moto Guzzi Australia – is more than just a good gander at pretty Guzzis. Held at the Cathedral of Guzzi (yes, they have that too), the festival will also play host to the following:
- Test rides of the latest Moto Guzzi range, including the V7 Special, V9 Bobber Centenario and V85 TT Travel
- An extremely rare opportunity to test ride a variety of classic Moto Guzzi models provided by Teo Lamers Motorcycles, including a 1934 500 GTS, a 1947 250 Airone, a 1949 and 1951 Super Alce and a pair of Ercole, or Hercules (commercial models from the late 1950s, with all bike tests subject to availability).
- Live entertainment from Mojo Mafia (Friday night) and Stoked (Saturday night)
- Authentic Italian food by Giro d’Italia restaurant (Melbourne)
- Craft beer on tap by On Point Brewery from the nearby township of Alexandra
- Handmade wines from the Victorian Pyrenees by David K. Jones Wines
- Gelato by Buonissimo Gelato (Melbourne)
- Barista coffee
- Special moto guest appearances, including “a two-valve ‘Dr John’ Replica and two Magni prototypes by Barry Jones.”
- Availability of a large camping ground on site, complete with toilets and shower facilities
The collection itself is owned by Teo Lamer, who is introduced as “a straight-shooting Dutchman with a white walrus moustache,” alongside the pure fact that “you’re unlikely to meet anybody as devoted to a single motorcycle brand for as long as [Teo].”
“Maybe I’m a motorcycle-racist,” chuckles Lamers in a report from AMCN.
“There are many better bikes however you want to look at it, but, to me, a Moto Guzzi is more than just a bike. I know the people who make them. I know the village where they live. I know the restaurants. I’ve been going there for so long. I know how important the factory has been for Italy, for Mandello, to survive after the war. It’s the Italian culture, the language, the food, it’s the whole package. Italians are warm-blooded. They have this passion.”
“I bought my first Moto Guzzi – a second-hand V700 from 1967 – at the age of about 19. I still remember when I started it up and feeling the engine go ‘boom, boom, boom, boom’. I rode it home and just fell in love with Moto Guzzi the brand from there.”
“Riding a Moto Guzzi is a completely different feeling. The DNA of 100 years is in today’s range. The bikes are still exclusive. If you ride one, it draws people’s attention. You don’t get that with other brands.”
Tickets are available on the Festival of Moto Guzzi’s website for a neat $151.24 AUD (that’s for the three days), with lunch and dinner (and those drool-worthy test rides) included for the duration of the festival.
Since it starts the day after tomorrow, here’s the address and let us know if you were able to make it:
526 Ti Tree Creek Road, Yea VIC 3717
Drop a comment below letting us know what you think, and as always – stay safe on the twisties.