Test ride Moto Guzzi V7-3 Stone

[the Ferret]

So my nephew Mike, who has the 790 Duke has been jonesing for a V7 Guzzi since he worked at the local Guzzi shop last summer.

He found a good deal on one and picked it up and brought it to the house to show me yesterday. It's a Guzzi V7-3 Stone.

This is the 3 series which uses the 900 motor sleeved down, rather than the old Breva 750 motor. Much bigger cylinder heads. I had test ridden the Breva and was not impressed, and was curious to see if the V7 3 was an improvement (many of you have commented favorably on them). This one was set up with aftermarket Agostini pipes, Ohlins rear shocks, the Moto Guzzi flyscreen,and Renthal bars

First off yes, the V7-3 is a much better bike than the 750 Breva I had ridden previously. Better power, more torque, and the front brakes were strong (weak rear though) . My original complaints about the Breva. It didn't take a lot of rpms to ride around and it could be ridden around in 4th and 5th no matter the speed. Had the torque to pull the bike cleanly. Ergo's were comfortable. Clutch action was light, but there is no slipper so when you you let the clutch out when downshifting you get the full torque of the engine, which is like a mini brake lol. Switches were pretty good..not Honda good, but certainly acceptable.

The side to side rocking was present of course, as it is in all Guzzis, which I consider the character of the bike and find no fault with that, but the vibrations were annoying to me. The thing vibrates all the time which ruins the ride experience for me. Bike don't have to vibrate any more. They figured that out in the mid 80's. There is no tach. There was a digital gear indicator but the Guzzi doesn't recognize what gear it's in until you let out the clutch. Otherwise all you get is a - in that location. Weird.

The Agostini pipes sounded with authority. The Ohlins were not set up for my weight and the suspension was stiff. It handled well as long as you didn't let off the gas entering a turn. If you do you get a wiggle from the shaft I think, or maybe the engine compression It was weird. Keep the gas on and it's on rails. Let off the gas and get back on and it wiggles.

Another weird thing, the brake pedal looks exactly like the shift pedal. When Ifirst got on and looked down, it was weird.

The mini screen worked well and provided air relief to the chest but my head was in clear air.

I consider the CB a 10 when it comes to function. I'd give the V7 just what it's name implies, a 7.

My nephew said the Guzzi is difficult to ride fast compared to his Duke, but that's what he likes about it. He says his Duke is too easy to ride, very lightweight, and the turns are instinctual. You think about turning and it turns. The Guzzi on the other hand, takes involvement. He's not sure which one he's going to keep yet (he only wants one). The Guzzi fits his body better but he wants rear sets for it. The Duke is tall for him. It's funny because he once told me the 790 Duke was the "perfect" street bike. I have not ridden his Duke because it is way too tall for me. I don't feel comfortable even sitting on it. I should give it a test before he gets rid of it.

For me, every time I ride something else, I'm glad I have my CB 1100.

 

[LongRanger_imp]

Correction on the engine: the III-series uses the “old” 750 engine but no longer has Heron heads like the earlier V7 models, plus now it’s mounted a few mm lower and further forward to improve handling and provide a bit more knee room. I’ve not ridden this generation V7 but I understand it’s a bit lustier than earlier generations, but not enough to justify changing bikes. Your comments about the Ohlins are interesting, since the stock V7 shocks are generally regarded to be substandard. Glad you had an opportunity to ride the bike.

 

[the Ferret]

Interesting LR. That's what he told me. Heck he even worked in a Guzzi shop.Said he could drop in a 900 kit for it? Anyhow I know the cyl heads are much larger than the ones on the Breva I rode which were tiny.

This is the 4th Moto Guzzi I have ridden. 82 Eldorado, the Breva, a Griso and now this V7. I know I'm not a Guzzitista lol and will probably never own one even though I like the looks of them. Too quirky for me.

I also like the looks of BMW's and have ridden maybe 5 of them (R60/2, R90/6, R90S, R1150R Rockster, R1200R, oh and a F 800 GT parallel twins and doubt I will ever own a BMW either.

 

[bioman_imp]

Correction on the engine: the III-series uses the “old” 750 engine but no longer has Heron heads like the earlier V7 models, plus now it’s mounted a few mm lower and further forward to improve handling and provide a bit more knee room. I’ve not ridden this generation V7 but I understand it’s a bit lustier than earlier generations, but not enough to justify changing bikes. Your comments about the Ohlins are interesting, since the stock V7 shocks are generally regarded to be substandard. Glad you had an opportunity to ride the bike.

+1. That's correct.


I never rode a V7 but happen to own a MG Griso, and yes, a Moto Guzzi is not a Honda. In good and bad ways.
The CB1100 is smooth, pleasant, easy, nice. The Griso is rough, difficult, exhilarating. The typical MG vibration is there but is not unpleasant and in fact adds to the feeling that you are riding an (almost) living thing.
Unlike what most people say, I feel that build quality is similar in my opinion.


The KTM 790 and the MG V7 are VERY different bikes in almost all aspects. They both ride like they look.

 

[rboe]

I've owned a couple Guzzi's (Quota, Griso), they have their good points. If you get on with one they can be very easy to live with.

I found the CB to be easier to live with - which says more about my "needs" than the bike.

The Current V7 is a different engine. A fellow in California developed a big bore kit for it, but I want to say the factory did something too (don't quote me on that - I don't follow them that closely). With the V85TT out I would not be too surprised if MG came out with a V85.

 

[VLJ_imp]

Your nephew towers over the KTM. He looks like a giant. Having ridden a V7 Stone, I found it to be very small. I sat on the stepped portion of the seat, so I can only imagine how he must look on the thing.

 

[Guth_imp]

Correction on the engine: the III-series uses the “old” 750 engine but no longer has Heron heads like the earlier V7 models, plus now it’s mounted a few mm lower and further forward to improve handling and provide a bit more knee room. I’ve not ridden this generation V7 but I understand it’s a bit lustier than earlier generations, but not enough to justify changing bikes. Your comments about the Ohlins are interesting, since the stock V7 shocks are generally regarded to be substandard. Glad you had an opportunity to ride the bike.

+1. That's correct.


I never rode a V7 but happen to own a MG Griso, and yes, a Moto Guzzi is not a Honda. In good and bad ways.
The CB1100 is smooth, pleasant, easy, nice. The Griso is rough, difficult, exhilarating. The typical MG vibration is there but is not unpleasant and in fact adds to the feeling that you are riding an (almost) living thing.
Unlike what most people say, I feel that build quality is similar in my opinion.


The KTM 790 and the MG V7 are VERY different bikes in almost all aspects. They both ride like they look.

This gets to the heart of the matter very succinctly, lol.

 

[the Ferret]

Your nephew towers over the KTM. He looks like a giant. Having ridden a V7 Stone, I found it to be very small. I sat on the stepped portion of the seat, so I can only imagine how he must look on the thing.

He's a big boy, but short legs (like everyone in this family lol)

 

[Guth_imp]

By the way, I have seen a number of V7's around town here in Portland over the years. I personally find the exhaust note coming out of these bikes with the standard exhaust to be amongst the best sounding of any new(ish) bike that I've been exposed to over the past decade or so.

 

[VLJ_imp]

Yep, I like how they sound. Unlike mickey, I also like how they feel. I enjoyed my time on the little Guzzi. Man, was it skinny between the knees. It felt like a very throbby bicycle.

I think I ended up buying a Street Triple R, or maybe that was the XSR time period, I'm not sure.

My main takeaway from it was simply that if they ever made a V7 with a bit more of everything (motor, tires, seat length, instrumentation, overall finish quality), yep, I would definitely be a player for one. I've never owned an Italian bike, and I have an inexplicable affinity for Guzzis, so I decided that rather than a Ducati or even an Aprilia Tuono, I'd like my first Tricolore ride to be from Mandello del Lario.

Sucks that I never did scratch that itch. My list remains incomplete.

 

[Guth_imp]

Speaking of Italian motorcycles, when I bought my Hawk GT back in 2007, the seller informed me that he was contemplating buying an Aprilia Shiver. I don't think that the Shiver had even hit the market yet at that time. A few years later I went to go look at one of those motorcycles for myself. To be honest, I loved the look of the bike overall (the shape of the headlight was the only real turnoff for me personally). It was a bit on the tall side for me and it weighed more than I imagined it would, but the quality of the materials used in the motorcycle's construction appeared to be top notch.

I still love the look of the Shiver. Now they are 900cc bikes instead of 750cc. I believe that the early bikes had some issues that caused their owners grief, but I can't recall what those issues were or if they might have been weeded out by now. At that point in time the smallest Monster was a better fit for me, but if it hadn't of been for the seat height, I much preferred the ergonomics of the Shiver. All that said, the biggest turnoff for me was the ride-by-wire feature.

Drive-by-wire, ride-by-wire, it doesn't matter to me, I've always tried to avoid such systems if at all possible. While many people enjoy having different driving/riding modes, I personally don't fully trust the technology. More than likely I won't adapt to it unless I am forced to. In my case that's going to be a while.

 

[LongRanger_imp]

I can do without the ride modes too, but having electronic cruise control is fabulous.

 

[the Ferret]

VLJ too bad you didnt try the Griso rather than the V7.

 

[Stichill]

My impression of Moto Guzzi:
[li]Great engines[/li] [li]Bad suspension[/li] [li]Wooden brakes[/li] [li]Decent styling
[/li]

 

[VLJ_imp]

mickey, the Griso's seating position required too much of a forward lean for my reconstructed neck. I lost out on a lot of great bikes because of my stupid neck.

 

[rboe]

My impression of Moto Guzzi:
[li]Great engines[/li] [li]Bad suspension[/li] [li]Wooden brakes[/li] [li]Decent styling
[/li]

Griso;
Ufdah, what an engine! But needed some mapping corrections.
Fully adjustable suspension and worked great - once tuned for you.
Brakes. Best brakes - until I got the CB.
Styling - I liked it.

 

[zirconxi_imp]

There's a Moto Guzzi Rider around my area, and that bike sound like an V8 car. But not sure if its a Guzzi V7, the 2 piston are Y shape like the V7.. Anyway, the rider told me the difficulties of getting parts for that bike and that had make him ride that bike less. He rode his HD more.