Guzzi Nuovo Falcone

[goatroper]

Originally Posted by leafman60

The magneto drive alone makes this one unusual. Sorry for the interruption.

[leafman60]

Ahhhhhh. Elaborate on that a little .... Id like to hear.

[goatroper]

Originally Posted by leafman60

Ahhhhhh. Elaborate on that a little .... Id like to hear.

In to the '40's, AJS magnetos were mounted to the front of the cylinder while Matchless magnetos were mounted to the rear. The bike in the picture is mostly from a later era, (mid fifties)when both AJS and Matchless had the mag up front. The bike pictured has what looks like an automatic advance for the magneto that was not part of the rear mounted magneto's design. I am guessing that the builder must have had a new cover cast to make it all work. Lots of very nice bits assembled with care. The rear shocks are the Jampots which were used up to '56- a good shock, totally rebuildable. The gearbox is an AMC box. The bike is son of a thousand fathers but so damn nice looking.

[volano]

Hello, all! Newbie---long time lurker here. But, if there was one thread that would get me to join in, it would be this. I can't let Leafman be lonely.

Here's my NuFalc. 1973 bona fide Militare- Carabinieri model, in original dark blue livery.




She was run hard and put away wet by the Carabinieri in the Old Country. Made her way over here in a container of odd Italian bike parts about 18 years ago, and sat untitled, unregistered, and unused in the corner of a warehouse 'till I dragged her home 4 years ago. She had 69,000 kilos on the clock when I got 'er...now shows 79,000. Got it roadworthy without having to do any major mechanical work...which pleases me no end, as when I bought the bike I was told "The tranny's shot and will need a rebuild. Who knows what else is wrong". Got 'er cheap. Admittedly, the trans is a bit tired, with prolly some beat dogs on 2nd gear, but with a little lever preload, and listening to what the bike tells ya it wants, she moves along no prob. The bike gets used, and delivers more smiles per mile than my other rides. Stuff comes and goes, but the NuFalc stays! I luvs the old girl.
By the Barkhamstead Reservoir in NW Connecticut, on the way to a camping trip in the Catskills.

Outside the Miss Bellows Falls Diner, Vermont--

Close by my home turf in Central Massachusetts--

[leafman60]

Now that is one helluva bike ! Good patina and great condition ! Being used and not stashed away in a collection to look at is very commendable on the part of the owner. Congratulations.

[leafman60]

Originally Posted by goatroper

In to the '40's, AJS magnetos were mounted to the front of the cylinder while Matchless magnetos were mounted to the rear. The bike in the picture is mostly from a later era, (mid fifties)when both AJS and Matchless had the mag up front. The bike pictured has what looks like an automatic advance for the magneto that was not part of the rear mounted magneto's design. I am guessing that the builder must have had a new cover cast to make it all work. Lots of very nice bits assembled with care. The rear shocks are the Jampots which were used up to '56- a good shock, totally rebuildable. The gearbox is an AMC box. The bike is son of a thousand fathers but so damn nice looking.

You, sir, are a very knowledgeable chap regarding old Matchless bikes. I was curious if you could identify what very few people would know. You passed with flying colors.

The engine is from a '53 and the frame from a '62. The big thing is that you caught the magneto set-up. Yes, the sleek automatic advance casting that holds the mag is a one-off special casting made by a clever New Zealander (now deceased) who was an engineer in the Royal Navy.

That style of magneto holder was cast at the factory for much later motors and it positioned the mag in front of the motor. This special casting is an exact mirror-image of the factory piece and is designed to move the magneto to the rear. It mounts perfectly with the crankcase castings.

The side tool box and the oil tank were both cut-down and welded back together as was the gas tank.

KUDOS FOR GOATROPER. Now back to NFalcones ....

[volano]

Originally Posted by leafman60

Now that is one helluva bike ! Good patina and great condition ! Being used and not stashed away in a collection to look at is very commendable on the part of the owner. Congratulations.

Thank you, Leafman! You, sir, have the sweetest Civile NuFalc I've seen! Very nice, indeed.
It's a small owners group we belong to, my friend...not many around, and I like that.

[norton73]

this just dropped into my inbox today;



from Silodrome

[leafman60]

Wow ! I like that ! Sheeze.

[nick949eldo]

Originally Posted by volano

Hello, all! Newbie---long time lurker here. But, if there was one thread that would get me to join in, it would be this. I can't let Leafman be lonely.

Here's my NuFalc. 1973 bona fide Militare- Carabinieri model, in original dark blue livery.

You sir, are a man after my own heart. If there's one thing better than seeing an older Guzzi all loaded up with camping gear and on the way to some distant place, its seeing one loaded up with camping gear in the snow. Bravo!

Nick

near tadoussac, Quebec, March 2009

[hunter_greyghost]

Didn't realise that Guzzi made these beasts as recent as '76!
Only seen the older 'baconslicers' out here in Australia,
Most impressed with the general look of the little beasties!!!!
Make a great lightweight rally bike for out here, especially in the hilly country, be great on dirt roads too!

http://www.devce.demon.co.uk/falcone.htm found on that website
starting to grow on me these beasties!

Cheers
Baza

[leafman60]

Yeah, they continued production until 1976 but, my understanding is, the last two years' production centered around the model known as the Sahara. I can find little information indicating that the '74-type Civile was produced beyond 1974 except that a few examples MAY have been produced in the white/red combination.

Guzzi Nuovo Falcone Sahara, 1974-1976

[F_Sahms]

This one was for sale at the Guzzi national rally this summer:



$6,200 I believe.

[leafman60]

Yeah, prices seem to be minimum 6500 these days and inching towards 7000-8000

[Nitram]

I don't have a Nuovo Falcone, but I've lusted after one for a long time.

I now live in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, but back in about 1980 or thereabouts I lived in Hobart for a year while at the Uni of Tasmania. I used to ride a 350 Desmo around while I was down there, and my mate had a 450. There was a bike shop up a little north of Hobart that I used to frequent, and once I spotted a Civilian Falcone there and managed to persuade the bloke to let me have a ride. From memory they wanted $700 for it.

I still have a strong recall of the generally asthmatic feel that the engine had as it tried to suck 500cc of air through the little 29mm DellOrto carb and the slow, slow, slow tickover when it idled. But it went up the hills just fine and despite the massively over-engineed frame, it felt surprisingly agile to steer. It was slower that my 350 Desmo, but more solid and I loved the way it rumbled along bomp bomp bomp at every lightpost. I thought that with just a little exhaust and inlet work it could be allowed to breath. But having one baby and another on the way it was hard to free up the measly $700 and so I passed it up.

About 10 years ago I made a trip back to Tasmania and part of the purpose was to see if the 500 was still around down there (A long shot I know- I had the usual dream of finding it languishing with flat tyres and battery but otherwise intact in someones shed.....) but my inquiries turned up nothing- not surprising after 20 years. I even ran some ads in the local papers, and in the Guzzi club newsletters.

Eventually I abandoned the quest- God only knows where it ended up, and there are only a very small handfull of other Falcones in Australia. I don't think I've ever seen one advertised for sale since. I ended up getting an R80G/S which isn't quite as ashmatic but maybe similarly relaxed in its power delivery, it's simplicity and general feel.

So for the past 10 years or so I've had to satisfy myself with collecting pictures like the one below (which I'm sure you've all seen, but for me at least it's one of the all-time great-looking bikes), and reading articles about Falcones when they come up. I did get a 350 Imola, and inherited my father's 1956 Lodola, both I which I enjoy owning but never ride, and I doubt I'll ever get a Falcone now-there don't seem to be any around and if the o/s prices are anything to go by- out of my price range.

But thanks for creating the thread. It seems that I'm not the only one who has been attracted by the allure of the big flat single.

Cheers,

Nitram