Moto Guzzi V11 Sport

Moto Guzzi V11 Sport

CW RIDING IMPRESSION

Return of the Gentleman's Express

MATTHEW MILES

MOTO GUZZI IS NO LONGER Moto Guzzi. The legendary Italian bike-maker is now Moto Guzzi Corp., a publicly held and traded company headquartered in New York City—far from the famous (and still functioning) factory in Mandello del Lario. “Moto Guzzi is a company we consider to be quite new,” says Managing Director Mario Scandellari. “We want to produce motorcycles that can be identified with our name and tradition.”

Scandellari knows a thing or two about comebacks. Past jobs include a five-year stint at Ducati, where he helped engineer the Bologna-based manufacturer’s return to prominence. Guzzi may prove more difficult, though. Until the recent injection of funds, the 80-year-old company was slowly dying. “For 20 years, there has been no investment,” adds Product Manager Marco Sarcoli. “There are areas in the factory that can’t be used-where the rain comes in. You cannot just forget 20 years.”

Leaky roof notwithstanding, Guzzi is producing its finest products ever. The EV11 Bassa is one of the top cruisers going, and at $7995, the plain-Jane Jackal is a genuine big-bike bargain. Still to come is the revised Quota dual-purpose model, likely a decent all-arounder. Despite the accolades, though, none of those machines are flagship material. That title falls to the new V11 Sport.

Billed as a modem cafe-racer, the Sport mixes Guzzi’s storied past with contemporary styling and state-of-the-art components. It’s powered by a hotted-up version of the company’s venerable, air-cooled, 1064cc, pushrod VTwin, updated even further with an all-new six-speed transmission and a twin-dry-disc, hydraulically actuated clutch. Chassis-wise, there’s an inverted Marzocchi fork, a fully adjustable WP shock, superbike-spec Brembo brakes and wide, 17-inch wheels wearing gummy Pirelli radiais. Mods also have been made to the Centauro-based, boxsection steel frame and to the Dr. John Wittner-designed parallelogram rear suspension. The former sharpens steering, while the latter exorcises any shaft-drive-induced chassis jacking that hadn’t already been eliminated.

Styling, from the raised clip-on handlebars and traditional gas tank cut-outs to the metallic-green/red paint combo (black/red and silver/red are also offered), is a throwback to the early 1970s V750 Sport. A real backroad burner in its day, the V7 began life as an afterhours project bom out of resentment for Guzzi’s then-conservative image. (How many copbikes can you sell before people-enthusiasts, even-forget about 14 world championships?) In his book, The Motorcycle World, former Cycle magazine editor Phil Schilling said the Sport “was bred for fast continental riding, which included bursts up the autostrada and charges down narrow roads which snaked over and around mountain ranges. These conditions demanded more than straight power. They required superior handling and first-class braking.”

Now, nearly three decades later, the VI1 follows the same guiding principles. With new intake porting, reshaped combustion chambers and pistons, a hotter camshaft, lighter flywheel magneto, revised exhaust geometry, and updated fuel-injection mapping and ignition timing, the VI l’s booming V-Twin

produces a claimed 90 crankshaft horsepower and 69 foot-pounds of torque. Furthermore, the 465-pound Sport is alleged to reach a top speed of 137 mph, identical to that of the slightly smaller-engined, eight-valve Centauro.

Helping to transfer that performance to the 170mm-wide rear tire is the new gearbox, a complex fourshaft unit. Designed to shift more positively and quietly than its fivespeed predecessor (it does!), it also is very compact. This allows for a longer driveshaft and accompanying reaction rod than on the old Sport 1100, thereby reducing the working angle of the universal joints by 2 degrees and thus lengthening their lifespan. The downside, of course, is cost. Guzzi is currently building the tranny in-house at significant expense, but hopes to farm it out to a specialist such as Getrag or ZF.

Guzzi

V11 Sport

For the bike’s introduction in Italy, Guzzi laid out a short, 60mile route (after a 12-hour airline flight!) that bordered neighboring Lake Como. Unfortunately, the ride took place on a Saturday, which meant the narrow, twisting roads rimming the shoreline were crammed with sightseeing cars, scooters and tour buses. As such, conclusive impressions of the bike’s handling and performance limits will have to wait until we get more saddle time in a more familiar environment.

One characteristic, however, was evident right from the getgo: At certain rpm, this thing vibrates like nobody’s business. Despite the 90-degree V-Twin’s perfect primary balance, there’s considerable secondary shaking smack in the midrange. This is felt mostly through the solidmounted handlebars, and to a lesser degree though the gas tank, seat and footpegs. The engine smoothes out nicely above 5000 rpm, but in top gear that’s nearly 100 mph-go-to-jail speed in the U.S. M-G says that stop-gap rubber-mounted bars are in the works, as is a streetfighter-style tubular-handlebar setup.

Get past the vibration, though, and this is Moto Guzzi’s finest hour. With the bike’s revised geometry and slightly shorter wheelbase, steering is laserquick, almost unexpectedly so. Older Guzzis were lauded for their unshakable stability, but the V11, with its no-effort turn-in, is more reminiscent of a late-model Japanese sportbike. And it doesn’t end there: The four-piston front Brembos offer outstanding stopping power and feel, hauling the Sport down from any speed without drama.

The fork is a tad soft, diving a bit much under braking, but bump absorption is good. Damping adjusters are separated; one leg controls compression, the other rebound. The cantilevered rear shock is equally impressive over a variety of surfaces, although accessing the threaded spring-preload collar requires gas-tank removal.

Guzzi is particularly proud of the Sport’s ergonomics. As well it should be. The handlebars are adjustable for width and height, but the standard settings were nearly perfect for testers of varying sizes and riding styles. Ditto the wide, slightly dished seat and folding footpegs. In other words, the Sport is no short-hop Sundaymorning special. The clutch is light, the engine revs quickly and shifts are nearly effortless. Any low-speed clumsiness previously associated with the marque is gone, and at full, 8000-rpm song, the oval LaFranconi mufflers emit a wonderful, emotion-filled sound.

Pricing will certainly play a role in the Sport’s success. Staying with the current trend to price its products more affordably, Guzzi will offer the VI1 in any of the three color schemes for $11,500. That’s nearly $1500 less than the now-discontinued Centauro cost two years ago! Moreover, it’s in the same ballpark as the Buell X-l Lightning, Ducati M900 Monster and Triumph Speed Triple-bikes that Guzzi considers the Sport’s leading competition. Improving availability, Guzzi is shooting for unified North American specifications. “By September, we should have nothing but 50-state models,” says U.S. product planner John Porter. “Next year, we will also homologate for Canada, with bilingual owner’s manuals, both miles and kilometers on the speedometers, and DOT and Canadian certifications.”

So in many respects, Scandellari and company have eclipsed their goals. The VI1 Sport may not rival Japanese Open-class sportbikes in terms of outright acceleration or technological innovation, but when it comes to character and tradition, the big, lusty Italian VTwin has all the bases covered. Viva Italia!