I’ve wanted a Guzzi for over a decade. I loved the look of the transverse twin motor, I like the idea of shaft drive (as I am terrible at keeping up with chain maintenance…), they were on par with Triumph for pricing (when Triumphs were on the cheap side; now they’re usually cheaper) and there just weren’t a lot of them around. That’s partly because their dealer network is kind of sparse in the United States, so getting warranty work is tough, and because the support for the dealer by Piaggio Group is — unimpressive. So, I wanted one, but didn’t want the hassle of trying to find someone to work on them.
This changed a few months ago when out excellent local Triumph/Royal Enfield dealer here in Albuquerque — Motopia New Mexico — picked up Aprilia and Moto Guzzi. Already a few people I know have picked up the V85TTs and V1000 Mandellos, but for me, the V7 is Moto Guzzi. I got a chance to take one out this morning and it’s time for a first impression review. I’m going to compare the V7 to the bikes that are it’s competition — the Royal Enfield 650 Interceptor (and more specifically my hopped up 650) and the new Bonneville 900cc (and my old 2010 Thruxton).
LOOKS AND BUILD QUALITY
Just look at it — it’s gorgeous. The chrome and paint quality are top-notch, it’s got the dual clocks for the speedo and tach. The build quality of the welds, the frame coating, everything — it’s on par with anyone else out there now, and the paint quality is probably better than most. The spoked wheels and chrome exhaust set this off beautifully, but for the more modern-oriented rides, the matte black V7 Stone has mag wheels and everything is blacked out with LED lights all around. (For some reason, Guzzi kept a traditional bulb in the headlamp for the Speciale.) The saddle has a nice stitched Moto Guzzi on the back. The twin heads of the motor sticking out the sides is way cool.
Compared to the new Bonnevilles, it’s comparable (although I think cooler looking), and compared to the Interceptor, it’s a definite step above. The Enfields are well made, but the 650’s still look a bit old-school beside the V7 (or even the new 350s Enfield is turning out.)
It also sounds good with the stock pipes. It purrs and at higher rpm growls, but it’s never loud or obnoxious.
RIDE QUALITY
The suspension on the Guzzi is plush. During my ride, I did twelve miles on a pretty crappy, grooved concrete, section of I-40 that makes most bikes I’ve ridden jump around and get a bit niggly on the front end. The Enfield on the same section, ridden right after the Guzzi, was feeling every bump, nook, rut, and was letting me know. The Guzzi glided over it. It’s better than the Triumph — new, and definitely my old Thruxton (which I’ve done all day rides on), and much better than the Enfield.
The saddle is wonderful. It does demand you improve your posture, you heathen; slumping was gettign me right in the tail bone, but when I sat up, it became an all-day saddle. The bend in my knees (I’m 5’8″ish) was perfect, feet on the pegs at the arch, just a little bent forward to reach bars, with my arms relaxed. I could easily see touring about on the V7. In comparison, the T100 Bonneville is comfortable in just about any position — I think with the Bonnies, the seat’s a tie. Even with the touring saddle, it’s loads better than the Enfield. Compared to Thruxton’s bench-like seat, or the MK Design brat saddle I have so I can have a matching chrome seat cowl..? It’s luxurious.
The V7 also sits a bit lower than the Bonneville and is a good inch shorter than the Interceptor. Coming to a stop in town, you can plant your foot without issue. For the shorter rider, this would be a welcome thing.
POWER DELIVERY
If you’re a sportbike guy/gal, the numbers on this thing aren’t going to impress: 65hp near the redline and 53 ft/lbs of torque around 5k on the tachometer. That’s a bit less than the 900cc water-cooled Bonnevilles and about on par with my older Thruxton. Compared to a stock Interceptor, it’s a rocket — the Enfield normally turns out 48hp and 30ish ft/lbs of torque near the top end, but the gearing on the Indian-made bikes is fantastic, so these things scoot much faster off the line than your would expect and most can hit about 115mph under perfect conditions. My Interceptor has had a high-performance cam and domed high-compression pistons fitted and the tune has pulled her up to a sea level performance of about 62hp and 44 ft/lbs of torque, and it comes on hard about 3000 rpm.
I hit I-40 from the same on ramp with both the V7 and my Interceptor. The V7 definitely got up and going in comparable time up to about 60mph, but was much faster to 85 after that. Both bike were running 85 mph and the V7 was turning about 5000 rpm — the same as the 650 (which has a redline 1000 rpm higher than the Guzzi.) Top end on the V7, running at just shy of the 6500 rpm was 110 mph. At 7000 rpm, the Enfield was moving at 115 and was working. The V7 never feels stressed; the power just stops about 6000 rpm.
The gearbox and clutch are on par with the modern Bonnies. The clutch pull is non-existent, and slightly better than the Enfield. It’s incomparably good compared to the older Thruxton. The bike slips through the gear with a slight clunk going down the gears, but you don’t feel it going up. I suspect this is however they have to transfer power to the shaft drive. It simply falls into 1st with a light push on the pedal. The Enfield, on the other hand, wins here. The gearing on the Interceptor is butter smooth, to the point where it’s easy to get lazy shifting gears and not give it enough of a kick to change.
The engine breaking with the shaft drive is crazy good. Drop a gear and let off the throttle, and you dump speed — from 80 to 60 mph in a blink of an eye. It’s really, really good. It also makes the butt of the bike dip, the exact opposite of what you would expect from a chain driven bike. It’s better than any of the other choices in this respect.
HANDLING
I had the V7 out for a little over an hour and rode 50 miles — in town traffic, highway, and some fairly tight twisties on the Sandia Crest Road. It puttered about the city with no issues. Changing lanes was as simple as shrugging my shoulders in the right direction. On the highway, it was similarly good. Carving the canyons, however, is where I started to run into the V7’s limits. I’ve ridden this road countless times with a number of different bikes, and on the first good long hard right hand turn, I ran into a slight issue. When you hit the throttle, the transverse twin wants to lean to the right…and it did. This lead me to scrape the pegs and my toe in a place I’ve never hit before. I got similarly close in a few of the other turns, nicking the toe of my boot where normally, I’d have clearance.
Could it do the turns? Yes…but you might want to do some body lean or butt sliding to keep her from listing over to far in a turn. The clearance simply isn’t there. Also, exiting a turn and romping on the throttle will bring you up out of a left turn quickly, but make you work in a right hand turn. It’s kinda like flying a Sopwith Camel, I suppose.
MAINTENANCE AND OWNERSHIP
The V7, like most Guzzis, has an enormous fuel tank: 5.5 gallons. A friend bought the V85TT and thought the gas gauge was broken, because it wasn’t showing gas — he was basically empty and still got 100 miles out of it before stopping for gas. According to the bike’s instrumentation, it was averaging 46mpg. That means a whopping 225 miles range, if you’re being conservative.
Speaking of the instrumentation: the Stone has a simple single LED gauge. The Special has a twin clock with an LED panel in the speedo for odometer, trip mileage and gear indicator (which doesn’t show when the odometer is up, but does on all other screens.) It’s controlled with a mode button on the throttle side — a weird place to put it and it feels like an afterthought. The rest of the switch gear is nice, but the mode lever feels chintzy.
Talking to a bunch of Guzzi owners over the years, the main complaint is usually electronics. The maintenance intervals are 10,000 km (or about 6000 miles), so on par with the Enfield and older Triumph, and a bit short compared to the new Bonnevilles. According to the boys at Motopia, the valve adjustments and other maintenance are easier and less shop time intensive, but it does run a funny oil — 10w60. Otherwise, the cost of ownership should be about on par with most other bikes.
SO IS IT WORTH IT?
The MSRP for the V7 Speciale is just over $9000, and figure your dealer is going to hit you for another $1500-2000 for tax, title, license, set-up, sunspot protection, hair loss prevention, and whatever else they can, so reasonably — $11k. I think that’s about $2000 too much, but compared to the other machines in this category, it’s on the cheaper side. Here, it beats the Triumphs by a grand or more. The Interceptor, which is not as refined on looks, but is otherwise just as good a bike, comes in at $6000. If you’re on a budget, you simply can’t beat the Enfield 650s. If you’re not — I think the V7 is an excellent value, with a motor that feels more alive and active than the Bonneville, and which has a better look and ride.
