Not too many motorcycles look good in screaming yellow, but I think the Guzzi 1100 Sport is definitely one of them. A two-valve version of the exotic Daytona that was developed by Dr John Wittner from his successful Battle of the Twins racer, the 1100 Sport was a very unconventional motorcycle. By the 1990s, sportbike…
A sportbike powered by a 1064cc two-valve pushrod twin seems positively antediluvian in context and was absolutely outclassed by the competition even when new. But Moto Guzzi managed to take their rugged and very entertaining powertrain and fit it into their 1100 Sport that, while not cutting-edge, offered up charisma, handling, durability, and exclusivity. I’ve…
Following the final Le Mans model in 1993, Moto Guzzi introduced a similarly-styled model with an 1100cc engine. Guzzi had tested the waters for a 1000cc 4-valve overhead cam Daytona model in 1992-93 and decided there were still a couple of good years in a carburetted pushrod machine. With a revised frame and rear suspension,…
The story of Guzzi’s 1100 Sport is a bit like the story of Judas Priest and Tim “Ripper” Owens, but with motorcycles. It’s the story of an unlikely amateur being asked to join the big boys on stage, and in this case the “unlikely amateur” was former-dentist-turned-endurance-racing-guru Dr. John Wittner. Wittner’s heavily-modified Guzzis were very…