Bassa Profundo
Bassa Profundo
SPECIAL CRUISER SECTION
All hail Il Guzzi! A cruiser that runs on time
SAY HELLO TO THE MOTO GUZZI V11 Bassa, a big-bore cruiser done The Italian Way: high style, with purpose.
Those unfamiliar with the Cruzzi Guzzi should know we like this bike. In fact, it was so impressive in its former incarnation, the V11 EV, that it topped our “Lucky 13” Mega-Cruiser Shootout (CW, March, 1998). While the EV continues in a more touring-oriented form called the Grand Tourismo (a windscreen and hard bags were added), the Bassa was introduced as the 78-year-old company’s main boulevard cruiser for 1999.
The changes are principally cosmetic, although minor ergonomic alterations have resulted in a motorcycle that is more user-friendly.
All the things that made the EV so entertaining remain. The torquey and smooth-running, 1064cc, fuel-injected VTwin is unchanged, save for a new Weber-Marelli engine-management computer. The smaller module reportedly has no effect on performance but, says Moto Guzzi, allows the use of a lower seat. Our tape measure begs to differ, however, as the 30.5-inch height of the Bassa’s better-looking butt-pad matches that of the old model. No matter, it’s plenty low-and comfortable, too.
A welcome change is the switch from floorboards to footpegs, which did away with the odd rear-brake-pedal setup of last year’s EV, thus regularizing the rider’s relationship with the foot controls.
Aesthetic alterations have resulted in a less gaudy, more tasteful rendition of an Italo-American cruiser. Gone, thankfully, is the overdone chrome, which previously covered the engine guards and bizzaro twin-taillight. About the only piece of chrome we wish they’d kept was the sidestand-pivot cover. Its removal has unearthed a contraption that looks like little Vincenzo’s sixthgrade metal-shop debut.
Fewer chrome pieces and no centerstand translate into an 8-pound weight loss on our tester, which tipped the scales at 559 pounds with no gas. The price has also dropped $400 to $11,290.
While we certainly agree a cruiser’s appearance is paramount, we also think
it’s important not to forget that, as a motorcycle, it’s still got two wheels. In short, the Guzzi’s backroad prowess (this is cruiser lean angle!) allows it to flat smoke any of the usual rolling ego-display devices you’ll find at the local biker hangout, all the while busting enough street-cred for any crowd.
The dynamic capability comes from what is essentially the Le Mans IV frame lurking beneath the boulevard bodywork. A 45mm adjustable Marzocchi fork and competent, rebound-adjustable shocks don’t hurt either.
About the linked brakes: In practice, the system works fairly well. But it’s hard to get accustomed to the fact that the sportbike-grade Gold Series Brembos actually stop the bike better with just the foot pedal than with just the front lever, which actuates only one of the two front discs.
Our Guzzi rep told us to “rev the piss out of it.” So rev we did. With the peak of 62.8 horsepower coming at 6500 rpm, goosing the Bassa yields impressive scoot, all the while making pleasant noises, smoothly. And how cool is being able to actually see the V-Twin thumping away while you’re riding?!
Although the tach is ticked for an 8000-rpm redline, the rev-limiter on our Guzzi expressed itself as early as 500 rpm below that mark. No matter, the hiccup-free bottom-end power is solid and soothing (more than 50 foot-pounds torquing at just 2000 rpm) with a surge at five grand that seems almost furious.
Shifting the five-speed box is mostly effortless, but so is finding false neutrals if you’re anything less than deliberate with the long-throw heel/toe lever. Best to be definitive in your request.
In the end, the Bassa is pleasing form with impeccable function, combining ease, grace, passion and style with impressive-even rousing-performance. Call it a cruiser that doesn’t forget it’s a motorcycle. And call it one of the best cruisers you can get anywhere. Mark Hoyer
CRUISE NEWS:
• Can a cruiser be too retro? If the initial slow sales of the Indian-styled Kawasaki Drifter are any indication, the answer is a qualified maybe. According to Kawasaki’s John Hoover, however, the solution is simply getting people to ride before they decide. “At the Americade Rally, everyone who rode the Drifter liked it,” Hoover says. “I think that our new line of Drifter touring accessories will help, too. It’s definitely a cross-country bike.” While Hoover is understandably tight-lipped about year-2000 models, he does allow that Kawasaki will have three new cruisers and one touring cruiser for next year, all V-Twins in the 800-1500cc range.
• One company that has had reasonable success with retro-styled cruisers is Triumph. While the chopperesque Adventurer has been a sales flop, the classically styled hunderbird has proven to be a perennial best-seller. Having replaced the T-Bird with the Thunderbird Sport and Legend TT for 1999, Triumph realized the errors of its ways and brought back the T-Bird (right) with a lower seat and a sixspeed gearbox, priced at an affordable $9395. The British firm is also well along on a Bonneville Twin that is remarkably faithful to the 1960s original.
