Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
The Moto Guzzi Falcone is a motorcycle built by Moto Guzzi between 1950 and 1967. Born to replace the G.T.W. (which dated back to 1934), and presented at the 1950 Geneva Motor Show, the Falcone is the last of the Guzzis with the classic single-cylinder horizontal four-stroke 500 cm³. The engine descends from the one born in 1921 with the "Normale": horizontal single cylinder with pushrods and rocker arms of 500 cm³, with the "classic" bore and stroke measurements of the Mandello del Lario company, i.e. 88x82 mm. As far as the chassis is concerned, the frame is a double cradle closed in tubes while for the front suspension we find a telescopic fork and at the rear there is the classic system introduced in 1928 with the "Norge", or swingarm with spring below the engine, assisted by two compass shock absorbers. The gearbox is a four-speed foot pedal. The Falcone is offered in a single version, which joins the Astore, already in the catalog since 1949, as the more performing model. Characteristic of this first version is the tank, all chromed with the exception of a red painted band. In 1952, due to difficulties in finding chrome, some details were burnished or painted. In 1953, the Falcone "doubled": the existing version, renamed Sport, was joined by the Turismo, which is none other than the heir of the Astore. The two versions are distinguished both by external details (the leg guards, present only on the Turismo, and the tank, which is chromed again on the Sport) and by mechanical details (head, exhaust valve, connecting rod, piston, camshaft, carburettor, etc…).
In the mid-fifties, the popularity of the Falcone (like that of the Gilera Saturno, its bitter rival) decreased: its performance was within the reach of more modern motorcycles with lower engine capacity. On the other hand, the appreciation by the Traffic Police (of which the Falcone was to be the official motorcycle until the seventies) and by the Guardia di Finanza was unabated, so much so that the modifications made to the single-cylinder Mandellese were almost exclusively due to its military uses. Worthy of note, among the versions for public use, is the one set up for the corps of the Corazzieri (1957), with improved finishes and electric starter. There are also some MG Falcone 500 Turismo supplied to the national fire brigade. Production of the Falcone ceased in 1967, with the entry into the market of the V7; two years later its "heir", the Nuovo Falcone, will arrive, which however had many differences with its ancestor (among the main ones, the flywheel covered by a casing). However, the fact that the Moto Guzzi Nuovo Falcone was presented as the "largest" of the family in terms of weight, low speed and the reappearance of the front handle for the rear saddle leads many to see it more as the heir to the Moto Guzzi Superalce than to the first Falcone.
The Moto Guzzi Falcone is a motorcycle built by Moto Guzzi between 1950 and 1967. Born to replace the G.T.W. (which dated back to 1934), and presented at the 1950 Geneva Motor Show, the Falcone is the last of the Guzzis with the classic single-cylinder horizontal four-stroke 500 cm³. The engine descends from the one born in 1921 with the "Normale": horizontal single cylinder with pushrods and rocker arms of 500 cm³, with the "classic" bore and stroke measurements of the Mandello del Lario company, i.e. 88x82 mm. As far as the chassis is concerned, the frame is a double cradle closed in tubes while for the front suspension we find a telescopic fork and at the rear there is the classic system introduced in 1928 with the "Norge", or swingarm with spring below the engine, assisted by two compass shock absorbers. The gearbox is a four-speed foot pedal. The Falcone is offered in a single version, which joins the Astore, already in the catalog since 1949, as the more performing model. Characteristic of this first version is the tank, all chromed with the exception of a red painted band. In 1952, due to difficulties in finding chrome, some details were burnished or painted. In 1953, the Falcone "doubled": the existing version, renamed Sport, was joined by the Turismo, which is none other than the heir of the Astore. The two versions are distinguished both by external details (the leg guards, present only on the Turismo, and the tank, which is chromed again on the Sport) and by mechanical details (head, exhaust valve, connecting rod, piston, camshaft, carburettor, etc…).
In the mid-fifties, the popularity of the Falcone (like that of the Gilera Saturno, its bitter rival) decreased: its performance was within the reach of more modern motorcycles with lower engine capacity. On the other hand, the appreciation by the Traffic Police (of which the Falcone was to be the official motorcycle until the seventies) and by the Guardia di Finanza was unabated, so much so that the modifications made to the single-cylinder Mandellese were almost exclusively due to its military uses. Worthy of note, among the versions for public use, is the one set up for the corps of the Corazzieri (1957), with improved finishes and electric starter. There are also some MG Falcone 500 Turismo supplied to the national fire brigade. Production of the Falcone ceased in 1967, with the entry into the market of the V7; two years later its "heir", the Nuovo Falcone, will arrive, which however had many differences with its ancestor (among the main ones, the flywheel covered by a casing). However, the fact that the Moto Guzzi Nuovo Falcone was presented as the "largest" of the family in terms of weight, low speed and the reappearance of the front handle for the rear saddle leads many to see it more as the heir to the Moto Guzzi Superalce than to the first Falcone.
