‘I saw the Airone in one of Mick Walker’s Guzzi books and thought it was a really attractive bike,’ said Roger. Next thing you know he’d splashed out £3000 on a 1954 Moto Guzzi Airone 250 Sport which was barely running and in ‘very poor condition’. So be careful how much time you spend looking at the photos on this page – they might spin an hypnotic spell on you too…
The Airone isn’t particularly well known in the UK. Its bigger brother, the 500cc Falcone, attracts rather more attention, but in Italy the 250cc single was by far the bigger seller and it enjoyed an extended production run from the last years of the 1930s through to 1957. The Airone was a development of Guzzi’s 1930’s 247cc PL model, which became the PLS and then grew into being the PE for 1939.
The Airone is a PE in all but name, although why Moto Guzzi decided that their mainstream 250 should be named ‘heron’ is anyone’s guess. They’d gone for an avian theme in a big way – the 250cc clubman racer was an Albatros so we can be fairly sure that there weren’t many ancient mariners in Guzzi’s marketing department of the time! The Albatros was a right little snapper, reputedly the fastest street legal machine of its class on the market, but the Airone was altogether a more dowdy fowl.
It was built around a pressed steel frame with parallelogram girder forks, which provided splendid handling for the time. The compact cast-iron motor, with exposed valve gear and its Dell’Orto carb angled into the breeze, was considered ‘a businesslike assembly’ according to author David Styles, but its output would not have scared the skin on any nearby risotto. The prewar version weighed in at 300lb but produced less than 10bhp, giving it a top speed of nearly 60mph. The 70mm by 64mm dry-sump engine used an external gear pump for lubrication, a forged steel, bolted-up conrod with uncaged roller big end bearing and phosphor bronze bush small end.
Author Ian Falloon says that ‘even by the standards of the early 1950s the Airone was a sedate motorcycle.’ No wonder the speed-crazed English café racers didn’t look twice at it, although the market was very different in Italy. ‘Amidst a sea of micromotors, scooters and ultra-lightweight two-strokes, the Airone was a large capacity machine’ explains Mick Walker, ‘and the Falcone too large for all but the small handful of dedicated supporters.’
Continued post war
The usual process of fettling and development continued post war, and in 1947 the Airone received Guzzi’s own telescopic front forks and hydraulic rear dampers. The chrome petrol tank was replaced by a painted two-tone design and deep valanced mudguards reflected the working nature of the beast – sorry, bird. Yet it was obvious that Guzzi needed to provide the young sporting rider with something a little more snazzy than the sedate Airone and so a Sport version was created for 1948. This combined a different camshaft, heavier valve springs, a 25mm carb, revised gearing and an increased compression ratio (up to 7.1:1) with an aluminium cast head and barrel to achieve a mighty power boost, all the way to 13.5bhp at 6000rpm. A sprinkling of lightweight alloy components, including 19-inch Borrani rims and 200mm drum brakes (up from 180mm), and a different frame with a tubular rear section reduced the mass and contributed to the Sport’s impressive 75mph top speed. David Styles rated it as ‘real motorcycle with a healthy performance to match its good looks.’ A bird with wings, it seems!
The Airone featured many of the distinctive touches which small capacity British bikes tend to lack and which we associate with the models rather closer to the top of the range, reflecting the Italian philosophy that small did not necessarily mean ‘budget’. So the Airone boasted an extremely useful roll-on centre stand which works better than many later versions, substantial rubbers on the footrests, plenty of adjustment to handlebars and ’rests and even legshields as standard spec. Yet, weirdly, a speedo and tacho were only sold as optional extras. Perhaps if you need to check your speed then you’re not going fast enough?
The Sport also looked significantly more dashing, with narrow handlebars, a distinctive (and distinctly audible) fishtail silencer, and a return to the chromed petrol tank. It looked like a serious motorcycle, and so people treated it with respect. Motor Cycle magazine reported that it was highly suitable for ‘maintaining high average speeds over long distances’ with ‘near perfect’ suspension at high speeds, although the ride at lower rates was rather too stiff for British comfort. They also found the bike’s styling to be somewhat haphazard: ‘The Guzzi design is strictly functional and by British standards might be regarded as untidy… no effort is made to conceal linkages or pipes or to harmonise the machine’s lines. However, of its robustness and suitability for sustained hard work there can be no doubt.’
The Airone quickly became Moto Guzzi’s bestselling single, and Italy’s most popular lightweight machine. By 1952, Guzzi were building some 3500 Airones every year – the smaller bike was out-selling its 500cc sibling by four to one. Even the army wanted some, so a new Militaire model was created for that market.
A general overhaul of all three models re-styled the Airone to match the Falcone’s more modern appearance (with a switch back to the two-tone painted tank for the Sport, as seen on the example here), and its ancillaries were updated with an auto-advance magneto and such. Although maximum output on the Sport was dropped to 12bhp at 5200rpm from 1952, top speed didn’t decline significantly. Even so, Guzzi were by this time preening a fairly ancient bird which had been in flight since the early 1930s. 25 years later its wings were getting tired, and the Sport was phased out during 1956. The Turismo and Militaire lasted until 1958, then a Police version resurfaced in 1961 for a short production run. The Airone was replaced by the 235cc Lodola which went just as fast but was smaller, lighter and cheaper to build.
Yet the Airone had created a considerable impression. ‘If any models have come to symbolise the marque,’ says Ian Falloon, ‘it has been the post-war Airone and its larger brothers. They had such long and distinguished production runs that they have become representative of Moto Guzzi in the post-war period.’
Caught owner
That cache was what caught owner Roger Slater’s eye back in 2005. He’d owned plenty of Guzzis and was riding an oilhead BMW when he located an Airone Sport for sale. ‘I bought it in a barely running state’ says Roger, ‘and did ride it a few times, but it wasn’t well and so I embarked on the restoration. The last time I rode it before I started work, I had forgotten to turn the oil tap off and it had dry sumped. I filled up the apparently empty oil tank, went for a ride and it pumped two pints of hot oil out of the filler and into my left boot…’
A complete chassis, engine and electrical overhaul were the result, running to a total of around £2000 including paintwork, wheels, tyres and all. ‘The only good bits of the engine were the barrel and piston. It needed new bearings and seals throughout, as did the gearbox. The cam was OK, but the valves, guides, springs and pushrods needed replacement. I completely rewired the bike and the only part of the wheels which were salvageable were the hubs.’
However, the news wasn’t all bad. ‘It’s not a problem to work on’ reveals Roger. ‘I have the original overhaul manual and the parts book, with its exploded diagrams, which help a lot. There is great support from the Guzzi Club and the yearly Bacon Slicer Rally too.’ Roger was also able to call on the services of Guzzi singles experts including Ian Ledger (01460 53145) who he cheerfully recommends.
All the effort attracted the attention of our judge at the NEC Show, where Roger’s Airone was awarded a RealClassic Commended prize. One of the things we really liked about the bike is that although it is superbly finished, and had been very well polished for the event, the Guzzi has plainly been in use during the year’s riding season. And anyone who has the commitment to keep white twistgrips clean and gleaming deserves some kind of recognition!
If you’re considering a purchase of an Airone then you will need to set aside a fairly substantial budget for your purchase. Think Velocette, not C15 and you’ll be in the right ballpark, which is appropriate because back in 1953 a new Airone in the UK cost much the same as a Triumph Speed Twin and a whopping 50% more than the BSA 250 of the day. The Airone qualifies for entry to Italian sporting events like the Moto Giro so, like Banbury Run bikes in the UK, it attracts a price premium. It’s also popular at home and the Euro is strong, so few are being shipped to the UK on spec. 18 months ago a couple of Sports, both needing work to get them on the road, sold at auction for £3500, while a recent online auction saw a 1954 Airone fail to sell at £4650. So if you want to secure a ready to ride, recently rebuilt example, then you’d better set aside in the region of £5000.
Owner Roger Slater reckons an Airone will be worth the expense. ‘I found it to be beautifully engineered and full of character. It starts easily with a couple of kicks and is great to ride, with a high top gear, giving it a long-legged feel. It’s comfortable and the suspension is excellent. It’s great to look at and goes well with a proper vintage feel.’
Classic and British bikes like this one appear every month in the pages of RealClassic magazine. Our in-depth articles by expert and enthusiast authors reflect the old bikes we buy and ride in the real world: frequently fabulous; occasionally awful, but always interesting…
