Moto Guzzi Guardia d’Onore V85 special edition pays homage to elite police guard

The Italian Corps of Cuirassiers are a part military, part specialist police unit who have an incredibly long record of looking after, originally, Italian nobility and latterly, the Italian president and other dignitaries.

Shortly after the end of WWII in 1946, they chose to move on from horses and use a fleet of motorcycles. This fleet was, somewhat unsurprisingly, made by Moto Guzzi. 76 years later and the relationship between the two is still going strong.

Now to celebrate this lasting partnership, Moto Guzzi has released a very limited number of special V85 bikes; the Moto Guzzi V85 TT Guardia d’Onore.

The V85 is a touring bike powered by a 850cc v-twin with 82Nm of torque and 75bhp of power. While we first saw this special edition of the V85 at last year’s EICMA show in Milan, it will only now be exclusively available from Megabikes here in Dublin in the next few weeks.

It’s a very special beast. While the Cuirassiers have most recently been using the California 1400 touring machine, last year saw them supplement their fleet with the latest V85. Now the bike is available in the same livery as the state bikes with its white detail on a black base paint scheme.

Additional features over the standard machine include an extra set of LED lights on the front as well as the larger touring windscreen. There is also a set of engine guards fitted along with a centre stand. Moto Guzzi pannierscan bee added as an option.

The new bike is being produced in tiny numbers. To celebrate the year that the Cuirassiers and Moto Guzzi began their relationship, as well as when the Italian Republic was formed, there will only be 1,946 of these machines made for the entire world market. The exclusive number of each bike will be engraved on the bar mounts on each machine.

Buyers will receive a special case within which you’ll find a booklet detailing the history of the bikes used by the corps. There’s also a postmarked stamp in its own collectors folder that was issued to celebrate the centenary of the Moto Guzzi brand.

The Cuirassiers special adds to a fleet of V85 machines which include the V85 TT, the TT Centenario, the V85 TT Evocative and the V85 TT Travel Edition. They start at €13,595 and this limited edition special will run you €15,995. Call Megabikes on 01-4784200 for more details.