Moto Guzzi Falcone
| Moto Guzzi | |
|---|---|
 Moto Guzzi Falcone Sport |
|
| Falcone | |
| Manufacturer | Moto Guzzi |
| Sales description | Falcone Turismo / Falcone Sport |
| Production period | 1950 to 1967 |
| class | motorcycle |
| Motor data | |
| 1-cylinder 4-stroke | |
|
|
| transmission | 4-speed |
| drive | Chain |
| Brakes | drums |
| Wheelbase (mm) | 1500 |
| Dimensions (L × W × H, mm): | 2260 × 665 (760) × 960 |
| Empty weight (kg) | 170-176 |
| Previous model | Moto Guzzi Astore |
| successor | Moto Guzzi Nuovo Falcone |
The Moto Guzzi Falcone is a motorcycle that the Italian company Moto Guzzi manufactured from 1950 to 1967. "Falcone" means "falcon" in German.
history
In 1950 the Falcone was introduced as a sportier version of the Moto Guzzi Astore . It differed from this one in that it had a more modern tank shape, different rear shock absorbers and, above all, a slightly more powerful engine. At first there was only one model called "Falcone".
In 1953 the production of the Astore ended. The Falcone was renamed Falcone Sport and continued to be built unchanged. As a replacement for the simpler, cheaper Astore, a Falcone Turismo was now offered in parallel , the engine of which corresponded to that of the Astore.
With only a few changes, such as the shape of the muffler or the color scheme of the tank, both models were built until 1967. They were used, among other things, on a large scale by the Italian police and customs administration as well as by the military, some with appropriate special equipment. While the selling price for the Falcone in 1951 was ITL 482,000 (€ 248.93), it later fell to ITL 419,000 (€ 216.40) for the Falcone Sport and ITL 399,000 (€ 206.07) for the Falcone Turismo.
The production of the Falcone Sport was stopped in 1964. With the appearance of the first two-cylinder Moto Guzzi V7 in 1967, the production of the Falcone Turismo also ended. Two years later, the Moto Guzzi Nuovo Falcone, a successor with a horizontal single-cylinder engine, was offered.
technology
Engine and drive
The Falcone has an air-cooled single cylinder - four-stroke engine with horizontal cylinder. On the left stump of the double-bearing crankshaft there is a smooth flywheel that runs outside the housing. A spur gear attached behind it drives the basket of the multi-plate oil bath clutch mounted on the transmission input shaft. The helical four-speed gearbox can be operated with a rocker switch on the right-hand side of the engine; the first gear (in contrast to the Astore) is on top. The rocker switch is connected to the gearbox preselector by a coupling rod. The transmission is connected to the rear wheel by a roller chain.
The two hanging valves are controlled by the camshaft below via bumpers and rocker arms . To switch off the engine, the bumpers are pushed forward using a valve lifter so that both valves open. The magneto is driven by a spur gear on the right side of the engine. Initially the ignition timing was adjusted manually, later there was an automatic ignition adjustment.
The mixture is prepared by a flat-flow carburetor with a round slide and without an air filter. With the Falcone Sport the carburettor has a 29 mm passage, with the Falcone Turismo 27 mm. The chrome-plated exhaust pipe is pulled back on the right side of the machine and has a cigar-shaped silencer. In the early models, the exhaust pipe ends in a dovetail, in the later models in a smooth pipe.
Frame and chassis
The Falcone has a double loop pipe / sheet metal frame with a tail boom. The rear swing arm has a cantilever suspension with friction dampers supported on the tail boom. The front wheel sits in an upside-down fork .
Tanks
The fuel tank has a volume of 17.5 liters, the oil tank underneath has a volume of 3.0 liters. The oil tank is connected to the cylinder head and the oil pump in the engine's dry sump by chrome-plated copper pipes.
Wheels and brakes
The 19 ″ wheels are wire-spoke wheels and have half-hub drum brakes . The rear brake is operated via a foot lever on the left side of the engine and a linkage, the front with a cable from the handlebars. The footrests of the Falcone Sport are positioned further back than on the Falcone Turismo. Accordingly, the brake foot lever on the sports model can be operated with the tip of the foot, on the touring model with the heel.
Materials
The engine / gearbox housing, the cylinder and the cylinder head are made of aluminum. The frame, the front fork, the tank, the mudguards and the rear swing arm are made of sheet steel.
Painting, surface treatment and emblems
All civil Falcone models - with the exception of the aluminum parts - are painted in fire red (similar to RAL 3000). In the Falcone from 1950 and the Falcone Sport from 1953, the tank is chrome-plated and partially painted. On the Falcone Turismo, the knee cushion imitations on the tank sides, which are chrome-plated on the sports model, are painted black. Both models can have gold-colored and black lines on the tank, mudguards and tool boxes. Occasionally, however, it was completely or partially dispensed with, as was the black paintwork of the knee cushion imitations.
On the tank sides of the machines there are gold-colored Moto Guzzi emblems as decals.
Technical specifications
| Type | Falcone Turismo | Falcone Sport |
|---|---|---|
| Construction period | 1953-1967 | 1950-1964 |
| Displacement | 498.4 cc | 498.4 cc |
| Bore × stroke | 88 mm × 82 mm | 88 mm × 82 mm |
| compression | 5.5: 1 | 6.5: 1 |
| power | 18.9 PS (13.9 kW) | 23.0 hp (17.0 kW) |
| at speed | 4300 rpm. | 4500 rpm. |
| transmission | 4-speed | 4-speed |
| wheelbase | 1500 mm | 1500 mm |
| Dimensions (L × W × H) | 2260 mm × 760 mm × 960 mm | 2260 mm × 665 mm × 960 mm |
| Empty weight | 176 kg | 170 kg |
| Front / rear tires | 3.50 ″ × 19 ″ / 3.50 ″ × 19 ″ | 3.25 ″ × 19 ″ / 3.50 ″ × 19 ″ |
| Brakes front / rear | Drums, 180 mm / 180 mm | Drums, 180 mm / 180 mm |
| Top speed | 120 km / h | 135 km / h |
| Fuel consumption | approx. 4.50 l / 100 km | approx. 5.00 l / 100 km |
Sources and individual references
- ↑ a b c d e f g Mario Colombo: Moto Guzzi . 2nd Edition. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1990. ISBN 3-613-01274-X
- ↑ a b c d e Falcone 500 cc sports and touring version - manual for the following work: disassembly - maintenance - assembly . Moto Falcone - Doris Mayer, Ohlstadt approx. 1986
