Moto Guzzi MGX-21 Flying Fortress (2017) - first ride and review

In many ways the MGX-21 Flying Fortress could hardly be more American. It’s a big V-twin bagger that was designed in California, is named after Boeing’s B-17 bomber from WWII, and was launched to the US press last month at the world’s biggest bike meeting at Sturgis, South Dakota.

But those big, red-headed cylinders are sticking out sideways because the MG of MGX-21 stands for Moto Guzzi, Italy’s oldest and most traditional motorcycle firm. The Flying Fortress was shaped at Piaggio’s design studio in Pasadena by the firm’s head of design, Miguel Galluzzi, in an attempt to boost Guzzi’s attack on the US market, where most of the world’s big V-twins are sold.

This is the fifth of Guzzi’s new-generation family of 1380cc V-twins, following the two California models, and last year’s Audace and Eldorado. It’s the most aggressively styled, combining a batwing style handlebar fairing, plenty of carbon-fibre, and a 21-inch diameter front wheel that is reflected in the MGX-21 name.

It’s a striking bike, closely based on the prototype that was unveiled to rave reviews at the Milan Show almost two years ago. Carbon is used for the tank and pannier covers, the front mudguard and belly-pan, as well as the centre of that big front wheel. The sharp-edged fairing holds an LED front light. Splashes or red on the Brembo front brake calipers and cylinder heads add contrast to a bike that is otherwise almost completely black.

Despite those “Testa rossa” heads, the 90-degree V-twin lump has the same level of tune as the other California-based models, so kicks out a maximum of  96bhp at 6500rpm. It also follows the others in having three riding modes, labelled Veloce, Turismo and Pioggia (Fast, Touring and Rain) and a three-way adjustable traction control system.

The MGX should also live up to its heritage by being able to cover serious distance, despite its ultra-fashionable look. The tank’s fairly generous 20.5-litre capacity should give most riders a range of getting on for 200 miles. I found the stepped seat fairly comfortable too, though the pillion doesn’t get as much room. The panniers are useful large and easy to open, and come with inner bags, though they aren’t big enough for a crash helmet.

On the launch route from Milan to Guzzi’s Mandello base and back, the Fortress chassis’ performance was mixed. That big, carbon-covered front wheel is seriously heavy (Guzzi wouldn’t say how much heavier than the other Cali models’ smaller wheels it is), and tends to make the bars flop into slow turns. So the firm has developed a special steering damper that it calls a “manoeuvring assistance system”, which gives increased resistance as the bars approach full lock.

This presumably helps, but it can’t prevent the MGX feeling distinctly unwieldy at low speeds, even by the standards of other big cruisers. Several shorter riders, in particular, found the bike hard work in traffic, and struggled with tight turns. At least the seat is pretty low, at 740mm, so allows most riders to get both feet down at the lights.

At higher speeds the handling was much better. In medium speed turns the Guzzi handled very well for a shaft-drive cruiser that weighs over 340kg without fuel. It seemed to shed most of that weight on the move, and was reasonably easy to aim into bends with a nudge of the wide handlebars.