Moto Guzzi has applied for new trademark rights to the Stornello name in the US after its previous trademark expired last year, hinting that the company has plans to resurrect the title on a new model in the not too distant future.
Although many companies keep the rights to long-expired model names in case they feel the need to reclaim them, the United States Patent and Trademark Office has stricter “use it or lose it” requirements than many other countries, which makes the new application a stronger indication that the title will reappear on a production bike soon. The last set of US trademark rights that Moto Guzzi’s parent company, Piaggio, held over the Stornello name was applied for in November 2015 – around the same time as the launch of the limited edition 2016 Moto Guzzi V7 Stornello model – and expired in November 2023.
The last Stornello model based on the V7 was a tribute to the 1965-68 Guzzi Stornello 125 Scrambler America, which inspired its red and white paintwork and high-end exhaust system, but the Stornello name goes back further than that, dating back to the early 1960s, when it was introduced on a road-oriented 125cc single. Today, Guzzi has several options when it comes to revitalizing the name.
One possibility is that the next Stornello will follow the example of the last one. The V7 is still in the Moto Guzzi range, although it has been much improved over the last decade, so a new Stornello scrambler based on the V7 would be relatively easy to conceive. Alternatively, the V85 TT – which wasn’t part of the Guzzi range in 2015, when the last Stornello was launched – already has some off-road capability and could easily be transformed into a more retro-style machine, with the aim of competing with Triumph’s Scrambler 900.
Another possibility is that Moto Guzzi won’t take inspiration from the Stornello Scrambler of the 1960s, but rather from an older, street-oriented machine. Earlier this year, Piaggio test riders were spotted on a small twin-cylinder engine prototype of the Aprilia RS 457, but it was wrapped in a frame and styling that looked like part of the Moto Guzzi range. A small entry-level Moto Guzzi was precisely what the original Stornello was, so if Guzzi goes ahead with a new 450, it could be a fitting title for such a model.