We chose to include this amazing machine as one of the Makoto Endo art series labels not only due to its notable place in history for Moto Guzzi, but for its special place in the MotoDoffo Collection too.
Moto Guzzi produced the GTV model line and descendants from 1933 through the late 1960s, with the GTW model coming out between 1947-1949. The GTV was the backbone for many model descendants including the GTW, Astore and Falcone, which most would remember as early Army motorcycles and delivery tricars. The GTW was the higher horsepower model, producing 22bhp compared to the GTV which produced 20.5bhp at 4300rpm. Its engine is a horizontal 4-stroke 499cc single cylinder with a rather large exposed flywheel for which it was nicknamed the “Deli Slicer.”
Marcelo purchased this 1947 GTW in the city of Cordoba, Argentina. He then took the motorcycle to his cousin’s motorcycle shop in Rosario, Argentina, where he broke the motorcycle down into five large shipping crates of parts. Each crate was carefully packed for international shipping. Marcelo then strategically shipped one crate of “parts” to five of his closest motocollector friends in the United States. Once back in California, Marcelo made arrangements to ship each of the crates home to Temecula. Once the crates all made their way safely to Temecula, the fun began.
Marcelo called on one of his dearest friends, Enrique Suarez, to help him with the task at hand. A lifelong mechanic and fabricator, Enrique has built and worked on just about everything imaginable from his days as a young mechanic back in Argentina. Now a retired master mechanic, Enrique enjoys doing ground up fabrication and restoration of classic race cars from the 1920s. The self-imposed challenge for the day was to see if they could assemble the motorcycle from the boxes of parts and ride it by the end of the day.
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The pair started bright and early at 8:00am with the unpacking of the crates and by 10:30am, the project began taking shape. The frame was on the hoist, and the foot pegs, handlebars, fenders, oil sump and the engine (which traveled in one crate) were secured on the frame. By lunch the seat was secured, the exhaust mounted, wheels and chain installed and they had a roller! After a quick lunch break the team really started clicking; one doing the electrical and the lights while the other focused on the mechanical installations. By 4:10pm the distinct sound of the big 500cc thumper echoed throughout the Temecula Valley.
You can see Marcelo’s Moto Guzzi GTW and Makoto Endo’s original artwork in the MotoBarrel Room at Doffo Winery.