Character

[rboe]

Regarding the V7. The old original V7 was a big block motor. The current V7 is a small block motor. Two very different beasts.

[ohiorider_imp]

Regarding the V7. The old original V7 was a big block motor. The current V7 is a small block motor. Two very different beasts.

Thanks for that, Rboe! Guzzi keeps trying to pass off the new V7 as the descendent of the original. It isn't. As you said, the new V7 (and V9) are descendants of the small block Guzzi engine. Nothing wrong with that, aside from the fact that the bikes aren't related to the big block engines. However, they're all built in the same factory located in Mandello del Lario, Italy. I've ridden my 'big block' 1200 Sport for nearly 64000 miles since 2010, and she's a truly nice big block Guzzi. And even with stock exhaust, this bike sounds like a big block Chevy. Not all that loud .... just a nice sound and vibes. This bike has 'character,' in my opinion.

Having said that ..... so does my new-to-me CB1100!

Bob

[the Ferret]

what is the difference between big block and small block from a practical perspective?

[DaSwami_imp]

what is the difference between big block and small block from a practical perspective?

The words "big" and "small"....

[Nemo_imp]

As of very recently I drive a silver Honda Ridgeline. Before, for 15 years, it was a silver Acura MDX, and ride a black CB1100. Very characterless machines, according to many. Maybe I'm a bland, characterless type of individual...

But (in my best Jules Winnfield voice) that's not the truth. The truth is that together with what I do to them to make them mine, I am the character those machines have. And blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness. For he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children.



IMNSHO, Retsel's got it...

I don't know. But to me any character in a motorcycle is given by the people that ride them. A motorcycle, to me, has no character when it comes off the factory floor. It is the owner of the inanimate object, be it motorcycle, auto, aircraft, boat or whatever that gives it character. With the single exception of Christine. That was one mean Plymouth Fury with attitude and loads of "character"! So, to me an old bike with lots of miles and multiple owners, each making their own modifications and adding to the character, has much more " character" than any new one off the assembly line.

This is my favorite definition of "character".


The aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing.

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[rboe]

what is the difference between big block and small block from a practical perspective?

DaSwami probably nailed it. I've only owned big block motors. But I "think" the small blocks rev higher. I've only ridden a couple and they were 750's and acted like "small" motors.

There is a Guzzi crowd out there that loves the small block (I'm not a member). I suspect small blocks are also in smaller frames, in general smaller bikes than the big blocks and that fact alone will cloud your judgement a bit.

Maybe if you thought of them as small V4 Chevy engines vs V8 big block motors; even if historically the horse power numbers are similar they will have a different feel to them.

[curlyjoe]

There a lot of great comments in this thread about whether a bike/brand has character or not. I guess I prefer personality rather than character although they are sometimes interchangeable. I think only the owner should decide whether their bike has certain personality traits that are desirable or not. My two hondas have distinct personality traits and also some common ones two.

common: reliable and steady under all sorts of challenges on the road.
distinct: the ST exhibits a bit more of a beastly personality like a grizzly whereas the CB is more like mountain lion (more quick and agile but some punch as well).

People who make generalized comments that all Honda motorcycles have no character or personality are simply wrong.

It's all in the eyes of the owner, after all.

[pekingduck]

I like to think of character as just "endearing qualities". Our CB1100s have plenty of them, from the way the key slides in smoothly and clicks and the dials do their opening dance, and on and on.

I liked the big Guzzis. I have had several Guzzis from 2001 - 2007, and they were fast and surprisingly powerful.
Here are a couple differences between big block and small block Guzzis. Big blocks go back to the late '60s and originated as a workhorse touring machine. Later big blocks evolved into more sporting machines but still having lots of torque. But they were always heavy and the weight was up relatively high. They worked best at higher speeds, longer distances, long sweepers rather than tight turns.

The small blocks started in the late '70s as 350s and 500s for the commuter market. They were a good 150 pounds lighter (sub 400 pounds) and a lot smaller. Their head and piston design limited performance (heron head design). I had a 500 and it was slower than a Honda CB350. The new models are loosely based on these, although head configuration has been updated to acceptable modern performance. I rode a 2012 V7 Sport, and it was very light but cramped, and a Honda CBR500R twin would eat one up. For smaller riders, it would be fine, but my 6'2" 250# body just crushes it.