Page 84 - Australian Motorcycle News (January 2020)
P. 84
LINO TONTI
1. Tonti at Misano in 1985
with a Linto and its owner
Massimo Zaghini
2. Giuseppe Pattoni with
Mike Hailwood about to
start his first IoM TT race
in 1958 on a Paton
3. Tonti on the Moto
Guzzi I-Convert 1000
4. Tonti with a 1953 Linto
Dama scooter
5. The 1967 Paton 500
Bicilindrica
1 2 3
THE 750 HAD 4 5
A TOP SPEED
OF 200KM/H
prototype V7 Sport telaio rosso (red frame) originally a café racer with clip-on handlebars and
was completed and, after shakedown tests a bikini nose fairing, before evolving into a sports
at Monza, set 19 World records including the tourer with three-quarter fairing and a 1000cc
1000km distance at an average speed of 206km/h engine. As a prelude to this, Tonti had helped his
(128mph), the 100km at 218. km/h (135.8mph) and longtime friend Reno Leoni with special parts
the one-hour mark at 217km/h (134.8mph). for the Moto Guzzi AMA Superbike racer he was
But it also handled well, too, thanks to what’s campaigning for US importers Berliner, with which
become known as the telaio Tonti – Tonti’s frame – Mike Baldwin beat the Japanese fours to win the ’76
which allowed the factory race team with riders like AMA round at Loudon.
BITTER Brambilla and Jack Findlay to become successful small-block V50 motor which was also available in
In 1977 Tonti also completed development of the
in both Endurance and Formula 750 events. This
PILL led SEIMM to sanction a customer street version, tax-busting V35 guise, and powered the range of
for which Tonti was set three pre-requisites: 200kg,
entry-level Guzzi models until it was phased out
Ironically, the Linto’s 200km/h and a five-speed gearbox. The Moto in 1989. Tonti’s final card in a lifetime of creativity
Guzzi 750 V7 Sport which entered production in
was the Moto Guzzi V-1000 Convert, introduced for
greatest rival to be best of 1971 encompassed all these as the first streetbike the US police bike market as the first large capacity
the rest in its five years of
GP racing was the Paton, in the world with a homologated top speed of over automatic motorcycle with shaft final drive. The
which Tonti had helped 200km/h, setting a significant milestone in the manual gearbox grew a Sachs torque converter,
his former partner Pattoni history of the Italian manufacturer. which let you stop the bike in either gear and
develop into a fast and Before that, in 1970 Guzzi had launched the accelerate away again without using the clutch.
reliable package. California as its first fully focused contender for In 1990 Lino Tonti retired to spend more time
the American cruiser dollar, which Tonti had cultivating his garden in picturesque Sacro Monte
developed from the V7 Police model that in 1969 in Varese, until he passed away on 8 June, 2002
had been chosen by the California Highway Patrol aged 81. He’d spent a lifetime in motorcycles in
over Harley-Davidson. The California was also a pursuit of perfection – albeit most frequently
huge commercial success, prompting Argentinian starting out with someone else’s design which
Alejandro de Tomaso to purchase Guzzi from the he’d substantially redevelop to achieve the
banks in 1973. Tonti’s calm but decisive manner performance and appeal it had failed to secure
went down well with the mercurial de Tomaso, first time. For that reason many consider him to be
and Lino’s insistence on developing the V-twin a top troubleshooter rather than a progettista par
model range proved to be the right call. excellence – but either way, Lino Tonti left a rich
In 1976 Lino Tonti unveiled Moto Guzzi’s best- heritage of desirable and significant motorcycles
selling model of the era, the 850 Le Mans which was behind him.
84 amcn.com.au
