1974 Moto Guzzi 850 T3 , 1974 Moto Guzzi Custom 850T/T3 Le Mans Racer in Gulf livery with graphics paying homage to renown racer Pedro Rodriguez. Too many upgrades to list, this bike was a labor of love for the builder.


At the dawn of the Seventies, Moto Guzzi’s U.S. fortunes were on the rise thanks to the popularity of its V7 and Ambassador V-twins. Yet Moto Guzzi chief engineer Lino Tonti knew that continued success meant building the brand beyond touring bikes. What Guzzi needed, Tonti believed, was a sport bike.
By late 1969, Tonti was already sowing the seeds that would grow to become the Moto Guzzi V7 Sport. With a new welded, triangulated frame of Tonti’s own design and a 748cc version of the V7/Ambassador’s 757cc V-twin, the 5-speed V7 Sport proved beyond doubt that Moto Guzzi could make a sport bike to run with the best of them. Building on this new foundation, Guzzi applied Lino Tonti’s brilliant frame to a succession of new models.
In 1974, Guzzi introduced the 850T (for “Tonti”), which featured the V7’s frame and a mildly tweaked version of the Eldorado’s 844cc V-twin. A single front disc brake gave it reasonable stopping power, and the big engine in the Tonti frame gave lively performance.
The 850T had only been on the market a year before Moto Guzzi introduced what many consider its best motorcycle. Introduced in 1975, the improved 850 T3 (the “3” signifying the triple-disc brakes) was in many ways the most important Moto Guzzi made in the Seventies. Lighter than the touring-oriented California and far more sporting than the also new 949cc, 2-speed semi-automatic Convert, the 1975 Moto Guzzi 850 T3 was the bridge between the Moto Guzzi V7 Sport and Guzzi’s larger touring bikes.
A sport touring motorcycle in the best Italian tradition, it had all of the improvements Guzzi had prepared for the Convert — linked triple-disc brakes, dual-point ignition, full air filter, a real oil filter (albeit buried in the sump; more on that later) — but with less weight and better agility for riders looking for both performance and long-distance capacity.