Focus on the entry-level Guzzi: A preview of Piaggio’s EICMA new releases

Anyone who visited the Piaggio stand at last year’s EICMA is unlikely to have seen much of interest. Apart from the Aprilia SR GT400 maxi-scooter and a few special-edition scooter models, customers looking at road-going models across all brands were mainly presented with new colour options.

Whilst the Italians will once again be showcasing numerous special editions of their best-selling models – the Vespa, Beverly and others – at Milan’s leading trade fair in 2026, the focus of Piaggio’s presentation this year is on full-size motorbikes, and in particular the group’s subsidiary from Mandello del Lario: Moto Guzzi is set to unveil the world premiere of an entry-level model that breaks with the brand’s traditions.

Officially, the brand from Lake Como has not yet made any announcements about the upcoming naked bike, so the main clues are still spy shots of prototypes currently undergoing final tuning in northern Italy. Even the model name is still the subject of speculation: the heritage brand is said to have secured the names ‘Il Viaggio 500’ and ‘The Trip 500’, a reference to the engine capacity category.

Instead of the brand’s signature longitudinally mounted V2 engine, it will be fitted with its own version of the parallel-twin engine used by sister brand Aprilia in the Tuono 457. The Tuono’s aluminium chassis will be replaced by a steel tube frame designed specifically for the Guzzi. At Aprilia itself, the focus at EICMA is likely to be on new variants of the flagship RSV4 and the best-selling RS660, whilst the standard versions are also set to receive some fine-tuning. The entry-level sports bike RS125 and the naked version, the Tuono 125, are also due for an update.