Greetings from Finland. Spring is here again after long winter, and the riding season has somewhat begun.
I've had a Suzuki GSX1400, MY2005 since 2012, which I love to bits. I remember when I first saw that bike... it just pulled me into it. It's a really nice allrounder: city, touring, track, does it all. It has some performance upgrades, cams, full SS exhaust system, dynoed, progressive Wilbers springs at the front etc. Being an old air/oil cooled engine it's quite nice, makes 134hp and 136Nm at the rear wheel. For me, she's a keeper... pic below.
Now, few weeks back I stumbled across on a video in YT, titled "My Moto Guzzi V7 opened my eyes to a new way of riding". That video hit me somehow. Not so much the Guzzi at the time, but the message the video had. Few days went by and I wanted to know more about the V7. After seeing the V7 850 e5 special, I was sold. No other bike than V7 and the GSX1400 have had the same feeling of instantly wanting one. Of course then I heard the V7 with the GTM 2-2 full system... The sound of that V2 engine + exhaust system is absolutely amazing sounding. Somehow reminds me of a V8 engine, if that makes sense.
On a paper the Guzzi seems to tick all the boxes that the Suzy is not able to, it has the character, is (probably) not too powerful, the engine construction, shaft drive... and in my imagination I'm a totally different driver with Guzzi. I can see myself in a Shoei EX Zero type of a helmet, wornout leather jacket and jeans, along with a nice pair of boots. Something I could pull off also with Suzuki, but with Guzzi I would feel much more confident in someway. Strange.
The issue at the moment is that V7's seem to be a rare breed here in Finland. There's only two Specials available, both "new" being MY23 and located some 7-8 hours travel away. I would like to at least take the V7 for a test drive before buying it, but then again I did not take Suzy either for a test drive. I'm also unable to decide whether I should wait for the new 2025 models with upgraded bits, probably costing way more than the 2023 Specials which both come at around 12-13k€. I'm also not sure if GTM will release fuel map for the new 2025 V7. The sound of that system is something this bike needs, IMO.
So, there you go. I'm one step closer to have another retro looking bike in my garage, and would not have thought it would be an Italian. Now it seems that is exactly what I have been missing out.
I've had a Suzuki GSX1400, MY2005 since 2012, which I love to bits. I remember when I first saw that bike... it just pulled me into it. It's a really nice allrounder: city, touring, track, does it all. It has some performance upgrades, cams, full SS exhaust system, dynoed, progressive Wilbers springs at the front etc. Being an old air/oil cooled engine it's quite nice, makes 134hp and 136Nm at the rear wheel. For me, she's a keeper... pic below.
Now, few weeks back I stumbled across on a video in YT, titled "My Moto Guzzi V7 opened my eyes to a new way of riding". That video hit me somehow. Not so much the Guzzi at the time, but the message the video had. Few days went by and I wanted to know more about the V7. After seeing the V7 850 e5 special, I was sold. No other bike than V7 and the GSX1400 have had the same feeling of instantly wanting one. Of course then I heard the V7 with the GTM 2-2 full system... The sound of that V2 engine + exhaust system is absolutely amazing sounding. Somehow reminds me of a V8 engine, if that makes sense.
On a paper the Guzzi seems to tick all the boxes that the Suzy is not able to, it has the character, is (probably) not too powerful, the engine construction, shaft drive... and in my imagination I'm a totally different driver with Guzzi. I can see myself in a Shoei EX Zero type of a helmet, wornout leather jacket and jeans, along with a nice pair of boots. Something I could pull off also with Suzuki, but with Guzzi I would feel much more confident in someway. Strange.
The issue at the moment is that V7's seem to be a rare breed here in Finland. There's only two Specials available, both "new" being MY23 and located some 7-8 hours travel away. I would like to at least take the V7 for a test drive before buying it, but then again I did not take Suzy either for a test drive. I'm also unable to decide whether I should wait for the new 2025 models with upgraded bits, probably costing way more than the 2023 Specials which both come at around 12-13k€. I'm also not sure if GTM will release fuel map for the new 2025 V7. The sound of that system is something this bike needs, IMO.
So, there you go. I'm one step closer to have another retro looking bike in my garage, and would not have thought it would be an Italian. Now it seems that is exactly what I have been missing out.
