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V85 TT Info

I had a longish test ride on a yellow and white V85 last Saturday,and was very impressed.However,I am not sure 80hp is quite enough for me,the throttle was against the stop on a few occasions.What is the tuning potential for this motor? Is it possible Guzzi may bring out a larger engined version in the near future? In every other respect the bike was superb,an 1100cc version would be my next bike for sure.
 
I had a longish test ride on a yellow and white V85 last Saturday,and was very impressed.However,I am not sure 80hp is quite enough for me,the throttle was against the stop on a few occasions.What is the tuning potential for this motor? Is it possible Guzzi may bring out a larger engined version in the near future? In every other respect the bike was superb,an 1100cc version would be my next bike for sure.

My two concerns have been will 80hp feel like "enough" or will it feel much like the v7 where it's always just lacking that one last bump to get you there. My second concern is off-road ability which sounds like it's not going to do well there either since most every review has not been giving much of an opportunity to ride it.

Tuning potential from what I've gathered on here is basically zilch. It sounds like they pushed the v9 engine to it's end and so aftermarket won't have many options to get us there either.

The reviews have been really positive with this bike which is good to hear. Even Revzilla's review which had a bit of negative in it talked about how much they loved it. I'm sure GTMotocycles will have a lot of great options to make my second issue more of a moot point. I'd love to get this bike into a 50/50 on road off road machine. I'd like to be able to travel 200+ miles to a dirt road and then romp it in the desert or where ever, even possibly camp. But that HP number at the weight with the lower end torque is a little concerning.
 
Here is my V85TT playlist with all relevant videos and reviews (Italian, German, English, French, Dutch, etc.) so far.

 
My two concerns have been will 80hp feel like "enough" or will it feel much like the v7 where it's always just lacking that one last bump to get you there. My second concern is off-road ability which sounds like it's not going to do well there either since most every review has not been giving much of an opportunity to ride it.

Tuning potential from what I've gathered on here is basically zilch. It sounds like they pushed the v9 engine to it's end and so aftermarket won't have many options to get us there either.

The reviews have been really positive with this bike which is good to hear. Even Revzilla's review which had a bit of negative in it talked about how much they loved it. I'm sure GTMotocycles will have a lot of great options to make my second issue more of a moot point. I'd love to get this bike into a 50/50 on road off road machine. I'd like to be able to travel 200+ miles to a dirt road and then romp it in the desert or where ever, even possibly camp. But that HP number at the weight with the lower end torque is a little concerning.

So how much is "enough"?
I know some folks, certainty not Guzzi riders, who thing you can never have enough.

My V7 Special has "enough" to make me smile, and that's what matters most to me.

Paul
 
So how much is "enough"?
I know some folks, certainty not Guzzi riders, who thing you can never have enough.

My V7 Special has "enough" to make me smile, and that's what matters most to me.

Paul

That I don't know, it'll really depend on the test ride. I'm now racer, I barely push my v7 on canyon roads and am no where close to a skilled rider, so I'm not looking for something insane. I rode a BMW GS850 2019 and it felt like "enough." I'm not one of those people that needs it to be 0-60 in 1.1 second or top speed of 2000 mph or anything ridiculous. With my v7 I definitely find it lacking many times though especially when it comes to long travel around Southern California where most people on highways are going 75-80mph. Supposedly the v7-3's 6th gear and slight power bump fix this sort of. Around town I love it though I wish it had just a smidge more for romping around for the fun of it, but I can live with that.

What I don't want is to get the v85tt and then constantly feel like traveling is a chore because I'm pushing it to it's edge to just keep up at real world highway speeds when the bike is loaded, and I don't want to get to a dirt road or around town and have the bike feel sedated either. The BMW is only 10hp+ and 10 ft-lb+ difference of the V85tt at a 509 claimed weight. V85tt weight is 504ish? So that sounds like this bike could just be "enough" while getting an amazing character bike. Maybe I miss understand the midweight ADV market but ideally I'm hoping for this bike to get us somewhere where traveling is great (sure a 1200cc engine might be better) while staying light and nimble for urban and back country camping. Ideally, I think with a suspension upgrade and making the bike lighter through exhaust swaps and what not, you can get a real doozy of a bike with this one, at least I hope.

This review I think captures it pretty well on what I'm hoping for, and hopefully the test rides show the same:

https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/reviews/bikes/moto-guzzi/moto-guzzi-v85tt-2019-review

Specifically:

And it’s a lovely motor to use. Many bike engines are primarily about conveyance, because it’s a numbers game and easy to define and measure on a dyno readout. And there’s nothing wrong with that, if you want to get somewhere efficiently, quickly, smoothly etc. But surprisingly few bike engines are actually nice things to use just for the sake of it, in the same way an Apple watch might have a bazillion functions, but for telling the time with style an old Omega just sits better against your skin. The V85 TT is a bit more sophisticated than a clockwork wristwatch, but it has the same organic, analogue pleasure. Vibes are throbby not tingly; 80mph sits the engine bang-on at 5000rpm, which is where peak torque lives and means there’s enough grunt left to pull a cheeky overtake or two.
But this review is questionable and maybe too generous towards the bike because it goes on to say this which I think is bonkers crazy:

It’s probably on par with a bike like Triumph’s Scrambler 1200 XC – the road-based version – or Suzuki’s V-Strom. But against the longer-legged Scrambler 1200 XC, the V85 TT might struggle. And put the TT in the same off-road group as, say, an Africa Twin, F850GS or Tiger 800 XCa, and it’ll be back of the queue. KTM’s 790 Adventure would rinse it in an enduro.
This is the video version of that same review that was in Janguzzi's compilation youtube link.

 
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In 2013 I did q Fly/ride. Purchased a beautiful Italian bike in Los Vegas, rode it to L A and spent for a few days to play in the canyons, visit the Rock Store, Newcomb's Ranch, etc... , Then to San Diego for the 1st service, up the coast to Santa Crus, to Yosemite, to Mesa AZ to visit a friend, then home to Florida. It was a great adventure, the most memorable cross country ride I've had. and I've had many. I smiled every mile while riding my Vespa 300 GTS. Yup all 22 hp was "enough". For me it's about the journey, not the tool.

Paul
 
Any thoughts on this part? Only review I’ve seen mention this:

“I was a bit concerned about the robustness of the final drive enclosure, namely the four bolts that secure the swing arm to the differential housing. The diameter of these bolts seemed inadequate in my opinion, and would therefore be vulnerable to torsional forces applied when riding aggressively off road.”
http://www.advpulse.com/adv-bikes/moto-guzzi-v85-tt-review/
 
The engine power was clocked at 69,6 CV rear wheel from a widespread national italian magazine.

Nice result, adequate for the vehicle and rpm cap. Additionally, the V85TT I've tested was a kind of pretty snappy revver, so a lot of useful power in the most used street power band.

Nice work Guzzi.
 
The engine power was clocked at 69,6 CV rear wheel from a widespread national italian magazine.

Nice result, adequate for the vehicle and rpm cap. Additionally, the V85TT I've tested was a kind of pretty snappy revver, so a lot of useful power in the most used street power band.

Nice work Guzzi.

That's awesome, really cool to hear!
 
Any thoughts on this part? Only review I’ve seen mention this:

“I was a bit concerned about the robustness of the final drive enclosure, namely the four bolts that secure the swing arm to the differential housing. The diameter of these bolts seemed inadequate in my opinion, and would therefore be vulnerable to torsional forces applied when riding aggressively off road.”
http://www.advpulse.com/adv-bikes/moto-guzzi-v85-tt-review/
Surely it's the same as all other Guzzi small blocks, and indeed the big block Tonti.
 
Any thoughts on this part? Only review I’ve seen mention this:

“I was a bit concerned about the robustness of the final drive enclosure, namely the four bolts that secure the swing arm to the differential housing. The diameter of these bolts seemed inadequate in my opinion, and would therefore be vulnerable to torsional forces applied when riding aggressively off road.”


The swinging arm isn't secured to the differential housing. Don't you mean the gearbox?​
 
The terminology might be confusing, but this is what the reviewer means:

Test-2019-Moto-Guzzi-V85-TT-1.jpg
 
Yeah, I guessed that later. How can the reviewer comment on the bolts when he never removed one for inspection?

This is why I don't read "reviewer" comments (although I respect the comments of most of those on this forum).
 
I suspect he has never seen another Guzzi and was looking for some negative comment to make.

I’ve seen quite a few reviews like that, this bike is garnering a lot of reviewers from people who have never even touched or been near the brand. Even Revzilla has a review on the bike where the reviewer loved it, but kept saying they had no knowledge of the history of Guzzi and so they had no idea how reliable they are and that would be a big sticking point since it’s just such an “unknown”
 
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