Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
The Moto Guzzi Le Mans is a sports motorcycle produced since 1976 by Moto Guzzi. Its name derives from the 24 Hours endurance motorcycle race of Le Mans, France. The original 850 Le Mans was a café racer with clip-on handlebars and a "bikini" fairing, but later models were developed as sport touring bikes with a three-quarter fairing. A huge sales success, the Le Mans competed against fellow Italians Ducati and Laverda. The Le Mans was developed in several subsequent models, until 1993. The one-litre version of the Le Mans was launched in late 1984 and was produced with minor modifications until 1993. The Le Mans 1000 had a 949cc engine with oversized 40mm B10 carburettors and a racing-derived camshaft. De Tomaso himself chose a 16-inch front wheel and instead of redesigning the frame to incorporate a smaller front wheel, Guzzi simply fitted the smaller wheel into the existing frame (which had been designed for 18-inch wheels) without reconfiguring its geometry. Stronger forks and smaller semi-floating discs (270 mm) were adopted. The new bike was therefore larger in size than the previous ones but the performance was slightly better. An 18-inch wheel version was available from 1987 but at this stage the Le Mans struggled to compete with the Japanese four-cylinder machines and the popularity of the Le Mans series reached an all-time low.
The Moto Guzzi Le Mans is a sports motorcycle produced since 1976 by Moto Guzzi. Its name derives from the 24 Hours endurance motorcycle race of Le Mans, France. The original 850 Le Mans was a café racer with clip-on handlebars and a "bikini" fairing, but later models were developed as sport touring bikes with a three-quarter fairing. A huge sales success, the Le Mans competed against fellow Italians Ducati and Laverda. The Le Mans was developed in several subsequent models, until 1993. The one-litre version of the Le Mans was launched in late 1984 and was produced with minor modifications until 1993. The Le Mans 1000 had a 949cc engine with oversized 40mm B10 carburettors and a racing-derived camshaft. De Tomaso himself chose a 16-inch front wheel and instead of redesigning the frame to incorporate a smaller front wheel, Guzzi simply fitted the smaller wheel into the existing frame (which had been designed for 18-inch wheels) without reconfiguring its geometry. Stronger forks and smaller semi-floating discs (270 mm) were adopted. The new bike was therefore larger in size than the previous ones but the performance was slightly better. An 18-inch wheel version was available from 1987 but at this stage the Le Mans struggled to compete with the Japanese four-cylinder machines and the popularity of the Le Mans series reached an all-time low.
