Moto Guzzi Daytona
The Daytona’s 992cc engine produced 95bhp and brought a new level of refinement to Guzzi’s traditional transverse V-twin layout.
Guzzi’s flagship was a sportster in the finest Italian tradition, with sleek sc arlet bodywork, a big aircooled V-twin engine and a high quality chassis.
V-twin cylinders jutting up and out from beneath a bright red fuel tank, the Daytona 1000 was unmistakably a Moto Guzzi. But this was a Guzzi with a difference: a faster, sharperhandling. more sophisticated sportster that arrived in 1992 to re-establish the famous old firm from Mandello del Lario in northern Italy as a serious superbike manufacturer.
Guzzi had been in the doldrums for years, its air-cooled, pushrod-operated V-twins becoming increasingly uncompetitive. Then Guzzi boss Alejandro de Tomaso hired Dr John Wittner to develop a roadgoing version of the Guzzi-powered racebikc with which the American engineer and former dentist had been having spectacular success in twin-cylinder racing. After three years' work at the Mandello del Lario factory, Wittner had the Daytona 1000 ready for production.
Its 992cc ‘high-cam’ powerplant was Guzzi's most advanced roadgoing V-twin yet. Each cylinder's belt-driven camshaft was located on the inside of the 90-degree Vee. from where it worked the valves via a pair of rocker-arms. The bottom-end was a revised version of the old Le Mans unit, with lightened By wheel and straight-cut gears. A Weber- Marelli fuel-injection system contributed to a peak output of 95bhp at BOOOrpm.
Guzzi’s traditional transverse V-twin layout was well suited to a spine frame. The Daytona used a rectangular steel tube running through the middle of the Vee, from the steering-head to aluminium sections that held the swingarm and footrests. The rear end comprised a steel cantilever swingarm acting directly on a diagonally-placed shock unit.
A parallelogram linkage, developed by Wittner, combated shaft-drive reaction.
The Daytona was notably revvier, more responsive and faster than its predecessors, with the trade-off that it lacked a little of their trademark bottom-end torque. Even so the Daytona pulled cleanly from as low as 20()0rpm - below 40mph (64km/h) - in top gear. At around 4000rpm it breathed more deeply. giving strong acceleration towards a top speed of 145mph (233km/h).
Handling combined old-style Guzzi stability with a more modem feel. Thanks to the parallelogram swingarm linkage there was little of the traditional shaft-drive reaction when the throttle was open or closed in mid-turn. At 4521b (205kg) the Daytona was respectably light and manoeuvrable. Its suspension consisted of 41mm Marzocchi forks and a Koni rear unit. Brembo's brake system dispensed with the linked discs of previous Guzzis, and gave efficient, if not outstanding, stopping power.
Essential Guzzi: the 1100 Sport
In 1994, two years after launching the Daytona, Guzzi added to the range with simpler new model along similar lines. The 1100 Sport combined a Daytona-based chassis with an old-style 1064cc pushrod V-twin engine that used carburettors instead of fuel-injection. The result was a bike that produced 90bhp, 5bhp down on the Daytona, and was a fair bit cheaper and almost as fast.
Two years later Guzzi created the 1100 Sport Injection (pictured) by giving the Sport a Daytona- style fuel-injection system. Peak power was unchanged, but the low-rev response was much improved. At the same time the eight-valve model was uprated with the new Daytona RS. Its 992cc engine featured higher compression ratio, hotter camshaft, forged pistons, Carrillo conrods and a lightened crankshaft. The RS produced 102bhp and was good for 150mph (241 km/h).
For all its advances over the Le Mans, the days when Guzzi’s finest could show a pack of production racers the way around a circuit were gone. Despite its racy name and competition background, the Daytona excelled in traditional fashion: as a sporty, long-legged roadster that provided performance in its own unique way. It was modern, but not that modern. Above all, the Daytona 1000 was still every bit a Moto Guzzi.
Specification Moto Guzzi Daytona 1000 (1992)
- Engine Air-cooled high-cam eight-valve 90-degree transverse V-twin
- Capacity 992cc (90 x 78mm)
- Maximum power 95bhp @ 8000rpm
- Transmission Five-speed, shaft final drive
- Frame Steel spine with aluminium plates
- Suspension Telescopic front; monoshock rear
- Brakes Twin discs front; disc rear
- Weight 452lb (205kg)
- Top speed 145mph (233km/h)
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