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V7 III - Has arrived

Saw these two gems last Friday at my local MG dealer, OC Motorcycle in Costa Mesa, CA. The blue one is beautiful. The 50 year model is nice looking as well. His and hers bikes? Too bad my wife does not ride. I also had the opportunity to test ride the Stelvio demo they have and will post that review on the Stelvio site.
Scott
 
I'm torn between getting a sweet deal on a 2016 V7ii Special or waiting for the V7iii. I prefer the look of the 2016 with orange stripes. Make my mind up for me:)

edit: Manners! My first post and I forgot to say hi from down under.
 
I found myself driving past the Guzzi dealer in Sheffield yesterday, so stopped for a look at the llls. The blue, which I'd loved in the photos, was not as attractive as my blue ll. But the Anniversario was stunning.
If you can get a good price, go for the ll.
 
Done deal. $11990 Aus ride away. I got the black with orange stripes. They have 4 of the same in stock including the demo. For some reason all but one had no strap on the saddle. Different year or factory run perhaps?

Any suggestions on after market pipes? The Mistral sounds pretty good from what I've seen on Youtube. i used to have a Morini 500 sport with straight through Conti replicas and although loud it was beautiful loud.
 
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MotoBug said:
Done deal. $11990 Aus ride away. I got the black with orange stripes. They have 4 of the same in stock including the demo. For some reason all but one had no strap on the saddle. Different year or factory run perhaps?

Any suggestions on after market pipes? The Mistral sounds pretty good from what I've seen on Youtube. i used to have a Morini 500 sport with straight through Conti replicas and although loud it was beautiful loud.
Click to expand...

Nice one mate. Where abouts in Aus are you?

I've got Mistrals on my 13 Special at the moment and they are nice. They're not as nice sounding as the Lafranconi Competitzione mufflers that I had on last year but the Mistrals look better/more classic and are still amazing with the baffles removed...

Spent a weekend testing another one of Toddy's fuel maps for my bike. If you want to really get the most out of a muffler change I'd definitely hit him for an ECU reflash tool =)
 
MotoBug said:
Done deal. $11990 Aus ride away. I got the black with orange stripes. They have 4 of the same in stock including the demo. For some reason all but one had no strap on the saddle. Different year or factory run perhaps?

Any suggestions on after market pipes? The Mistral sounds pretty good from what I've seen on Youtube. i used to have a Morini 500 sport with straight through Conti replicas and although loud it was beautiful loud.
Click to expand...
Nice one mate! I got my pipes from Pipemaster in Brisbane. I had them custom made they didn't want to make them as shot as I wanted But they sound great not cheap.
 
BenRCMC said:
Nice one mate. Where abouts in Aus are you?

I've got Mistrals on my 13 Special at the moment and they are nice. They're not as nice sounding as the Lafranconi Competitzione mufflers that I had on last year but the Mistrals look better/more classic and are still amazing with the baffles removed...

Spent a weekend testing another one of Toddy's fuel maps for my bike. If you want to really get the most out of a muffler change I'd definitely hit him for an ECU reflash tool =)
Click to expand...
I'm in Gippsland Victoria. Had an awesome ride home via Noojee and Fumina. Thanks for the tip on the Lafranconis. I'll check them out. The morini had Lafranconis which were rusting inside. I was living in Perth at the time so got a local exhaust maker somewhere southeast of Perth to make me copies of the Conti's. Beautiful workmanship and the sound was magic. Dirt cheap too I recall. Perhaps he's still making them.

I'll also look into the fuel mapping but I don't want to void my warranty.
 
MotoBug posted about voiding the warranty if the fuel mapping was altered. IMHO warranty is a subjective issue and I would say talk with your dealer, as even replacing the mufflers or fitting anything other than OEM parts could void the warranty. (See my Cali 1400 post). Personally speaking fitting Todd's revised fuel map was so far the best expenditure I have made on my bike and support is only an email away.
 
All,
So Moto Guzzi Americas brought their truck and bikes to Houston Superbikes here in town this weekend.
I rode my 2012 V7R in this morning, signed the releases, was professionally greeted and told I could ride any bike, but in groups. So, I took a blue V7 III Stone following a couple Aprillias, a V9 and another Stone.
We had a fairly variable freeway frontage, and high speed freeway ride, about ten miles, in packed traffic. The direct before/after comparison to my older small block was interesting. A real plus: this bike was well broken in, not tight, and the bike performed to full potential.

Here are my thoughts about the new V7 III:

--typical superb finish, fit and detail, although I hated the single clock, excellent mirrors
--neutral was a bit dodgy, and the more forward and larger pegs compared to my V7R gave me issues to start, but I fairly quickly adjusted--more upright geometry immediately nice, and broad cushy, and low seat nice--always felt pegs were just in my way though compared to small jewels on my V7R
--liked the broad bars, the bike seemed fairly flickable--great handling as I crossed a raised median on the frontage road where normally there are vertical pylons, did this by mistake, and the bike took it in stride, it helped I did not panic (rare that I get surprised, as I know this road--welcome to Houston crap roads)
--the engine is SUPERB--smooth, broad torque, pulled hard, and the 6-speed was nice, I pushed it to blinking red warning SHIFT several times and a top speed of over 90 mph--VERY nice fueling, good sounds
--brakes typical Guzzi, ok, nothing to write home about, clutch also typical and smooth, but ABS available although I did not try any emergency braking given traffic conditions and not my bike
--front shocks a bit soft, rear shocks a bit mushy compared to both my bikes...so-so and upgrades could help the bike given the excellent lump pulling the bike
--guy on V9 had a hard time keeping up with me, could be his style though--

Great dealer too, met manager and co-owner: just knowledgable and professional people. No big sales push, and they vetted me carefully and told me: come back anytime, test any bike, and said: uh we have a V7R III racer on the floor, and yes I checked it out. Beautiful.

Conclusions: yes, quite interested in a new V7 III. I like the style, light weight and the extra engine power is very noticeable compared to my 2012 2TB, heron head. Likely I will go back and test a V9 to be sure I don't want one. Torn between a blue V7 Special (if they can get one) and the III Racer, although one of my goals is upright geometry as my back does not like my current Racer much. Love the new Racer brushed metal tank, flat red frame, and upgraded shocks...gorgeous in person.

I also plan to test the Triumph liquid cooled Bonneville T 100 and T 120 before pulling any triggers. Both these bikes attract me although I remain a huge fan of Guzzi style, simple engine, shaft drift and overall quality. And I just like to support the brand and our new Houston dealer. It may take me a few more weeks to make a decision given my slow pace making these evaluations and travel to AK and CO soon.

On a ten point scale I give the new V7 III Stone a solid 8. By comparison my existing V7R perhaps a 6.5 to 7. Guzzi made a real mistake not putting twin dials on the Stone, I hated not having the tach.

Overall, I think Guzzi has made some big strides in small blocks between 2012 and 2017.
 
Yesterday I test rode the V7 III Stone, a yellow version with 250km on the clock. Driving daily for the past 2 years my Yamaha MT-07 and occasionally my Breva 750 ie my impressions are:
- The new semi-hemispherical combustion chamber with angled valves really changed the small block engine, power and vibrations are way better. The engine has more power than the Heron head small-block of my Breva and produces significantly less vibrations. You can only notice them when you are standing still and the mirrors are vibrating.
- The clutch is smooth and having a 6th speed will be useful, although finding Neutral was a bit difficult. I guess with more kilometres on the clock this will get better and as time passes you will adjust to the bike..
- The fit/finish are stunning, great job Guzzi. My MT-07 looked a bit toy-ish after having them side by side. Can't blame it though, it costs 2.5K less..
- I didn't like not having a tachometer, getting a Stone version is a deal-breaker for me. The red RPM led comes up telling you that you need to change speed but I don't like that. Special is the way to go.
- Very relax and upward position, my knees were relaxed, as my hands were. I am 1.86cm with long arms and this bike fits me perfectly.
- It certainly needs Zard/Arrow/Lafranconi/Agostini exhausts to get that V2 sounding as it should and not muffled by Euro4 specs..
- Suspension is good, far better than the Breva and almost equal to the MT (it's suspension is the weak link of that bike), perhaps even better on bumps. I guess with the OEM accessory Ohlins shocks and a set of springs on the front you can have some fun on twisty roads.

Overall, I want a nero/verde Special one, I loved the bike. :)
Waiting for dealer to get me a quote on the MT-07 to see if I can get one.
 
Good to see opinions and impressions of the new model coming in. Very helpful to those in the market.
 
Kev,

Glad you like my report. Please do not cross-post on WG.
Yes, I am seriously looking at trading up, the V7 III is that good.
 
BabisStinson said:
Yesterday I test rode the V7 III Stone......

.......It certainly needs Zard/Arrow/Lafranconi/Agostini exhausts to get that V2 sounding as it should and not muffled by Euro4 specs..
Click to expand...
Does the Euro 4 compliance affect performance? I'd already made my mind up on the Vii but the dealer told me the extra power of the Viii will be lost due to meeting Euro 4 standards. Of course could be the smell of the sale talking.
 
MotoBug said:
Does the Euro 4 compliance affect performance? I'd already made my mind up on the Vii but the dealer told me the extra power of the Viii will be lost due to meeting Euro 4 standards. Of course could be the smell of the sale talking.
Click to expand...

I haven't ridden the V7 II, but I guess it is the same motor as the Breva 750. The new engine of V7 III is noticeably more powerful. And I am sure that if you change the exhausts and re-flash the ECU it the difference will be even better.
 
I had a quick test ride on the new V7 III Special on Saturday and concur with the points above; a number of improvements over my 2013 Stone. I'd already ridden the V7 II in Mandello, so was familiar with those changes (6 speed box/ ergonomics), so was mainly interested in the engine and suspension changes. As I'd hoped, the engine was smoother, freer revving and the extra power could be felt. Suspension also was plusher, the clutch was lighter. All good. However, here in the UK, the price has jumped quite a bit since last year and that can only be partly due the weak pound/ strong euro. The Classic is now £8699 here. There are a lot of good bikes around for less than that money.
 
Seasider said:
I had a quick test ride on the new V7 III Special on Saturday and concur with the points above; a number of improvements over my 2013 Stone. I'd already ridden the V7 II in Mandello, so was familiar with those changes (6 speed box/ ergonomics), so was mainly interested in the engine and suspension changes. As I'd hoped, the engine was smoother, freer revving and the extra power could be felt. Suspension also was plusher, the clutch was lighter. All good. However, here in the UK, the price has jumped quite a bit since last year and that can only be partly due the weak pound/ strong euro. The Classic is now £8699 here. There are a lot of good bikes around for less than that money.
Click to expand...
Interesting. In the US, the price actually decreased by a significant amount. The MSRP for the V7II Stone was/is $8990 whereas that of the V7III is $7990. I think that the weak pound/strong euro effect must account for most of what you see.
 
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