62 :OLD BIKE AUSTRALASIA
leaving Giovanni to run the Magni concern. The
Magni company is still in operation and still with
Giovanni at the helm, although these days more
concerned with restoring existing examples than
building new ones. The final production Magni
appeared in 1999, fitted with a 1200cc Suzuki
Bandit engine. Arturo died on 2nd December,
2015 at the age of 90.
Bruce’s Magni is of 1987 vintage with a 949cc
two-valve engine in a frame made from chrome
moly tubing and featuring ‘Parallelogrammo’ rear
suspension which employs two parallel box-section
arms which pivot below the triangular intersection of
the middle frame tubes, as on Tonti’s original. The
aim is to reduce the torque reaction from the in-line
crankshaft working with the final drive shaft which is
no longer part of the swinging arm itself and
incorporates U-joints at each end to reduce binding
impeding suspension movement, and according to
the bike’s owner, it works. Dimensionally, the frame
is similar to the Tonti design, but split in the standard
Magni practice just below the steering head instead
of on the bottom frame rails – meaning the complete
duplex cradle can be removed. The majority of the
chassis is in conventional 32mm round tubing, argon
arc welded, but the rear sub frame leading to the
tops of the suspension units uses flattened tubing to
produce an oval section.
After getting quite excited about his latest
Moto Guzzi, Bruce had to cool his heels for a while.
“There were some delays in getting the bike”, he
says, “and when the bike arrived it had no seat,
and was fitted with Jingushi mufflers, made inMAGNI MOTO GUZZI 1000 ARTURO
TOP Dashboard has a very home-made look
about it. ABOVE Fuel tank is very similar to the
MV Magnis.