Top left : V7 at the Milan Show in 1971 Bottom left : Le Mans Mark 1 Right : Mike Hailwood gives the V7 the thumbs up at Monza
of single cylinder victories that went back to 1914 . After the Second World War Moto Guzzi won 45 World Championship Grand Prix in the 250 , 350 , and 500cc classes , the last in 1962 , although the factory had officially withdrawn from racing in 1957 . In all they won 14 World Championships .
ICONIC ENGINE DEBUT At the Milan Show of 1965 , a shaft driven 90-degree transverse V-twin engine that would become as familiar as BMW ’ s flat twin , or Ducati ’ s Desmo V-twin was launched . It was called the V7 because of the engine configuration , and the 700cc capacity engine . Over fifty years later , the same configuration has survived . Following the success of the V7 , and a fine showing by a privately entered model at the Bold Or endurance race in 1970 , also with an eye on production racing which was becoming very popular , Moto Guzzi produced the V7 Sport in 1971 . In his authoritative book ‘ The Moto Guzzi Story ’ Ian Falloon says that Mike Hailwood tested the bike at the Monza circuit proclaiming that the V7 Sport was the best handling street bike he had ridden . Capacity was up to 750 . It had a hotter cam , 30mm Dell ’ Ortos , and produced 52bhp .
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