My Moto Guzzi V7. Does it smell like pizza or is it just me?

[totalmotorcycle]

This old Nevada just turned 40,000 km:

How is he enjoying it? If he put all those 40k on, I can guess the answer to that.

Mike

[BobK]

I put about 24,000 of those kms on it before he bought it, and he's put the balance on it in the past year. He says he's satisfied with it. His previous bike was a 750 Virago, which he rode across the U.S. but had to leave behind when he came back to Slovenia. Shipping it to Europe was going to cost more than he paid for the bike, so he sold the Yamaha and bought my old Guzzi, and I bought a new Harley.

For anyone who hasn't tried a Moto Guzzi, they are very similar to a Harley. I've test-ridden a Moto Guzzi 1200 Breva and a Griso, and they're very close in sound, feel, and performance to the XR1200. When an old friend of mine from Canada visited us, we rented a Sportster 883 and went riding for a couple of days. Bill, Simon and I all compared the 883, the Nevada, and the XR1200. There's very little difference between an 883 Sportster and a 750 Guzzi. The Sportster weighs slightly more and has slightly more horsepower, so they accelerate about the same, have about the same top speed, and have a similar v-twin vibe.

[sapaul]

Importers warehouse, I am thpeciual, so they let me drool over the new stuff.

[totalmotorcycle]

I put about 24,000 of those kms on it before he bought it, and he's put the balance on it in the past year. He says he's satisfied with it. His previous bike was a 750 Virago, which he rode across the U.S. but had to leave behind when he came back to Slovenia. Shipping it to Europe was going to cost more than he paid for the bike, so he sold the Yamaha and bought my old Guzzi, and I bought a new Harley.

For anyone who hasn't tried a Moto Guzzi, they are very similar to a Harley. I've test-ridden a Moto Guzzi 1200 Breva and a Griso, and they're very close in sound, feel, and performance to the XR1200. When an old friend of mine from Canada visited us, we rented a Sportster 883 and went riding for a couple of days. Bill, Simon and I all compared the 883, the Nevada, and the XR1200. There's very little difference between an 883 Sportster and a 750 Guzzi. The Sportster weighs slightly more and has slightly more horsepower, so they accelerate about the same, have about the same top speed, and have a similar v-twin vibe.

[/img]

Sounds like the Guzzi is a well loved bike then for you both! Great photo BTW, is that an early pic when you had the Nevada?

Very interesting comparo test there with the XR1200 being similar to the Guzzi 1200 Breva and Griso. As well as the Spotster 883, Nevada 750 and XR1200. thanks for posting that! I haven't rode a sportster before (my wife rode the XR1200X) nor a Griso 1200 or the old V7 engine. My wife loves the XR1200 and I do have a video of it in action (here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMQpzxzB ... 34EA8CAC37 ) .

Furtunately I have rode several big engined Harley-Davidsons (96, 103 and 110 cu in) and my feeling is the new V7 engine feels more in performance to the new 103 Harley-Davidson in acceleration (not top speed), most likely due to the almost x2 weight of the big H-D's vs the V7. I rode a ZRX1200R and V7 back-to-back and both accelerate (up to legal limits, seat of the pants) roughly the same as well even though the ZRX1200R is a much quicker bike in the 1/4 mile and in terms of horsepower. But then again, I ride the V7 like a sportbike so I'm accelerating into the 7000+rpm range with it.

Mike

[BobK]

Both those pics were taken this summer.

There is a comparison test between the Griso and the XR1200 by Motorcycle USA here: http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/8/3154/Mo ... so-8v.aspx. They found the XR1200 had more low-end torque while the Griso had more high end horsepower. I didn't ride the two bikes back to back, but that seems right to me. It also describes what we found with the 883 Sportster and the Nevada. The Moto Guzzi engines like to rev more than the Harleys. The Nevada pulls very strongly above 4000 r.p.m.

When I sold the Nevada to Simon I was going to buy a bigger Guzzi, but a friend suggested I try the XR. I'd never thought about a Harley, so was curious to test ride it, and found I liked it. The little Guzzis seem to be made for people with slightly shorter legs than mine, but I found the seating position on the XR was just right for me. I still haven't tried a bike with forward pegs and can't imagine it could be comfortable. Maybe for very tall people.

[totalmotorcycle]

They found the XR1200 had more low-end torque while the Griso had more high end horsepower. I didn't ride the two bikes back to back, but that seems right to me. It also describes what we found with the 883 Sportster and the Nevada. The Moto Guzzi engines like to rev more than the Harleys. The Nevada pulls very strongly above 4000 r.p.m.

When I sold the Nevada to Simon I was going to buy a bigger Guzzi, but a friend suggested I try the XR. I'd never thought about a Harley, so was curious to test ride it, and found I liked it. The little Guzzis seem to be made for people with slightly shorter legs than mine, but I found the seating position on the XR was just right for me. I still haven't tried a bike with forward pegs and can't imagine it could be comfortable. Maybe for very tall people.

I'm not a big fan of Motorcycle USA reviews myself (I find them light on opinion and biased) but this one they didn't do a bad job with. I'm a little surprised they think they are close though as I definately wouldn't put them in the same field. Both are great bikes in their own right, just too different to compare, like a Honda VTR and a V-Strom 1000. The only think the same is they are a "V-Twin".

Andrea and I really liked the XR1200X, but the deal killer was the plastic tank and the ethanol fuel here in the USA, the XR1200 tank expands and cracks the plastic bits around it. Horrible idea mixing the two. And unfortunately you cannot buy ethanol free gas anywhere in the Houston area ( http://pure-gas.org/extensions/map.html ). The other issue was the small tank size, which H-D should have used something close to the 22l or 5.5gal, the V7 does.

Sadly, the XR1200 was too small of a bike for me to ride (I am 6'4" tall, 34" inseam), but the V7 Stone fits me better, in fact, I couldn't even fit on the XR1200 at all! The forward pegs do help a lot for taller people, it's one of the reasons I like the Harley-Davidson Fat Bob so much myself.

Mike

[BobK]

I don't think we have ethanol in the gas here. I haven't noticed any swelling of my gas tank in the past year.

My XR1200 will do about 210-220 kilometers (130-135 miles) before the low fuel light comes on, and another 50 before it runs out of gas. It's about the same range as the Nevada. That range is not a problem here, since there are gas stations everywhere. I can see it might cause difficulties out west. That's why they put hard seats on these bikes, so you're not tempted to ride long enough to run out of gas.

Moto Guzzi must have changed ergonomics from the Nevada to the V7. I have a lot more room on the XR than I did on the Nevada.

[totalmotorcycle]

I don't think we have ethanol in the gas here. I haven't noticed any swelling of my gas tank in the past year.

My XR1200 will do about 210-220 kilometers (130-135 miles) before the low fuel light comes on, and another 50 before it runs out of gas. It's about the same range as the Nevada. That range is not a problem here, since there are gas stations everywhere. I can see it might cause difficulties out west. That's why they put hard seats on these bikes, so you're not tempted to ride long enough to run out of gas.

Moto Guzzi must have changed ergonomics from the Nevada to the V7. I have a lot more room on the XR than I did on the Nevada.

I do not remember ethanol in the petrol in the UK either, might be just a North American thing (maybe someone here from another country could chime in as well). But it is a big problem here with the tanks and not just on the Harley-Davidsons, but also on the Ducati's and the few years Moto Guzzi made the plastic tanks as well.

260-270km it really good! There are definately more gas station and riding distances are shorter where you are vs the wide open expanses here... which are really wide open vs the UK. I felt like after 1 hour of riding in the UK you really got somewhere, here, not so far. haha.

Mike

[totalmotorcycle]

I think, wow, I can't believe I'm still riding a motorcycle and it's the middle of November!

Well, I went out to a local bike night last night and it took me a little over an hour of riding to get there (it should have been 20 mins, but I got lost and headed out of Houston rather than into Houston....DOH!). But what a cool ride and a fun experience.

The only issue I have is with Houston, who for whatever reason, names an East/West highway as a North/South one. 50/50 odds.

Mike

[totalmotorcycle]

30oC today and Christmas music on the radio? You gotta be kidding! It's the 21st of November! This place is nutz!

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" really? Do these Houstonians (?) even know what a snowman looks like?! How am I supposed to get "in the Christmas spirit" when everyone is walking around in shorts and T-shirts? LOL.



Well, at least we went for a quick ride tonight to a bike meet that didn't really happen except for a few bikes (might be because Thanksgiving is tomorrow?).

Overall, a very nice night ride though.

Mike