New bike day....not the obvious choice.
Discussion
After four years scooting around on my lovely Street Twin, I decided it was time for a change, not least for the fact, the Triumph was starting to feel a little cramped. My knees and hips were starting to ache a bit after any extended ride.
To be fair, being similar in stature to a shaved Wookie who likes pasta probably didn't help. The Street Twin isn't the largest of motorcycles.
For this reason, I decided to go back to an adventure style bike, thinking the more upright, roomier riding position might be better. After owning a couple of V twin Transalps, a Tiger "girlie" and an ill fated encounter with an Aprilia Caponord, I had an inkling of the sort of thing I was after: Mid sized engine, heated grips, the ability to fit luggage. Some off road ability would be nice to have but not essential.
After test riding a Triumph Tiger Sport, A Versys 650, a new Transalp and a bunch of other similar bikes, one particular machine I test rode surprised the heck out of me. It was the most comfortable by a country mile. The engine had bags of character and charm. It sounded great. It came with cruise control as standard. The lazy, torque rich character of the engine also suited my style of riding to a tee. I fitted on it with ease and did I mention it was supremely comfortable?
It was also the first time I have ever owned a motorcycle from this brand.
So here it is, my new to me Moto Guzzi V85TT. It's brilliant.
To be fair, being similar in stature to a shaved Wookie who likes pasta probably didn't help. The Street Twin isn't the largest of motorcycles.
For this reason, I decided to go back to an adventure style bike, thinking the more upright, roomier riding position might be better. After owning a couple of V twin Transalps, a Tiger "girlie" and an ill fated encounter with an Aprilia Caponord, I had an inkling of the sort of thing I was after: Mid sized engine, heated grips, the ability to fit luggage. Some off road ability would be nice to have but not essential.
After test riding a Triumph Tiger Sport, A Versys 650, a new Transalp and a bunch of other similar bikes, one particular machine I test rode surprised the heck out of me. It was the most comfortable by a country mile. The engine had bags of character and charm. It sounded great. It came with cruise control as standard. The lazy, torque rich character of the engine also suited my style of riding to a tee. I fitted on it with ease and did I mention it was supremely comfortable?
It was also the first time I have ever owned a motorcycle from this brand.
So here it is, my new to me Moto Guzzi V85TT. It's brilliant.
After taking it out for it's first proper ride, I can confirm several things that have convinced me I have made the correct choice:
I decided to just nip out for a quick evening ride, just to familiarise myself with bike......I covered 132 miles!
This is the first bike I have ever owned where the limit to a ride was my own tiredness, rather than the seat becoming uncomfortable.
It somehow averaged 69mpg, despite some very spirited riding. Something to bear in mind, always remember to clear the maximum speed achieved section on the trip data..ahem.
The cruise control is a bit fiddly but it does make a differnce on motorway rides.
It really is plenty quick enough, especially when flipped into sport mode.
It handles considerably better than some would think. Swinging it around some North Derbyshire back roads was immensely satisfying.
Edited to add, even on the mostly road biased tyres, a bit of gravel tracking was an absolute doddle, even for an off road amateur like me.
As long as it proves reliable, this bike will be sticking around for a while...at least until I can afford a new Stelvio, at least.....
I decided to just nip out for a quick evening ride, just to familiarise myself with bike......I covered 132 miles!
This is the first bike I have ever owned where the limit to a ride was my own tiredness, rather than the seat becoming uncomfortable.
It somehow averaged 69mpg, despite some very spirited riding. Something to bear in mind, always remember to clear the maximum speed achieved section on the trip data..ahem.
The cruise control is a bit fiddly but it does make a differnce on motorway rides.
It really is plenty quick enough, especially when flipped into sport mode.
It handles considerably better than some would think. Swinging it around some North Derbyshire back roads was immensely satisfying.
Edited to add, even on the mostly road biased tyres, a bit of gravel tracking was an absolute doddle, even for an off road amateur like me.
As long as it proves reliable, this bike will be sticking around for a while...at least until I can afford a new Stelvio, at least.....
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