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V85TT & Breva 750 European Tour / Moto Guzzi Open House 2019.

Chris Jessop

Chris Jessop

Cruisin' Guzzisti
GT Contributor
Joined
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Messages
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Location
Yorkshire, England.
September 2019.​
Tuesday night 3rd: Hull, England to Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Wednesday 4th: Halsenbach, Germany. (Via Teo Lamers in Nijmegen)
Thursday 5th: Hochdorf, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
Friday 6th: Mandello del Lario, Italy.
Saturday 7th: Mandello del Lario, Italy.
Sunday 8th: Mandello del Lario, Italy.
Monday 9th: Bologna, Italy.
Tuesday 10th: Bologna, Italy. (Visits to Ducati and Lamborghini)
Wednesday 11th: Bologna, Italy. (Visits to Ferrari in Modena and Marranello)
Thursday 12th: Ponte nellʼAlpi, Italy.
Friday 13th: Ponte nellʼAlpi, Italy.
Saturday 14th: Ponte nellʼAlpi, Italy.
Sunday 15th: Mittersill, Austria.
Monday 16th: Mittersill, Austria.
Tuesday 17th: Moosbach, Germany.
Wednesday 18th: Blankenburg, Harz, Germany.
Thursday 19th: Bad Holzhausen, Germany. (Via Stein-Dinse in Schwülper)
Friday 20th: Afferden, Netherlands.
Saturday 21st: Afferden, Netherlands.
Sunday night 22nd: Rotterdam, Netherlands to Hull, England.

2019 European Tour Map A.webp 2019 European Tour Map B.webp IMG_1337.webp

My wife, Jane and I expect to cover approx. 2500 miles. We'll post pictures and written updates as the tour unfolds. Jane's 2006 Breva 750 has covered 123,583 miles to date.
 
That sounds like a fabulous trip. It's nice that you are spending a few days enjoying some of the stops instead of travelling every day.
 
We started planning this tour last November and we were determined to make it as chilled-out and relaxed as possible. Previous tours in Europe have been subject to time constraints, but not this year. Our highest mileage in one day will be around 240.
 
Addition to the itinerary on Saturday 7th September. An early start sees us riding down from Mandello to Milan to meet up with fellow Guzzi enthusiasts for the official "Road to Mandello" ride-in.

Taken from the Moto Guzzi website:
Meet at Stadio Breda, Milano, at 9am, to then head up to Mandello del Lario. Only Moto Guzzi bikes allowed!

Address: Stadio Breda, Via XX Settembre, 162, 20099 Sesto San Giovanni MI. Distance from Mandello approx. 40 miles.

2019 European Tour Map C.webp
 
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Tuesday 3rd September = 180 miles.
We only live 65 miles away from Hull (where we caught the overnight ferry to Rotterdam) but it was such a lovely day we decided to set off early and visit the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre (LAHC) in East Kirkby. This meant an additional 115 miles to the ferry but as the sun was shining, what the heck, we might as well start the Road Trip in style riding through the beautiful English countryside.

LAHC have a fully working Avro Lancaster bomber which is undergoing a return to flight restoration programme. When we arrived it was just about to start a taxi-run display. There's nothing quite like four Rolls Royce Merlin engines running at full chat, the sound was absolutely glorious. After it had finished its display I asked if we could wheel our Guzzis into the Centre for some photos with the Lancaster. The results you can see below.

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We've had a few 'connectivity' problems over the past couple of days.....

We made it to Mandello around 7.00pm yesterday, 966 miles after leaving home. I'll produce a proper write up when time allows. In the meantime, here's a few memorable pictures.

Jane's 2006 Breva 750 reached 125,000 miles as we rode through Austria and Switzerland into Italy. The V85TT has proved to be a superb touring mount and has now reached 2,400 miles. I love it!

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We attended the Open House event at the Moto Guzzi factory yesterday. The weather was glorious and Mandello was full of Guzzi riders and enthusiasts. As you would have expected, the production line was kitted out for manufacturing V85TT's. We were told that over 4,100 had been made to date.

There was just about every motorcycle that Guzzi ever made at the event; and some that I didn't know they made! Plenty of V85TT's there of course but most were standard save for touring screens and luggage equipment.

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Chris Jessop said:
We attended the Open House event at the Moto Guzzi factory yesterday. The weather was glorious and Mandello was full of Guzzi riders and enthusiasts.
Click to expand...
Awesome, thanks for posting. It is an amazing scene for sure!
Any hints to another model using the V85 engine?
 
Todd, there was no official news about a new machine using the V85 engine but there are rumours that something may be announced at the EICMA Milan show later this year.

A few more pictures from Saturday.

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First of two days not riding our motorcycles. We visited Ducati and Lamborghini today and tomorrow we visit both Ferrari museums. We used local public transport to get into and around Bologna. It's a no-brainer being so cheap and stress free, especially when you watch how the Italian's drive and ride in big cities.

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Another glorious day in this part of Italy. The last of our two 'petrol-head' days, this time devoted to Ferrari.

Tomorrow we're back on our Guzzis heading north for 3 nights in the Dolomites, Italian Alps.

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An easy going 156 miles today using a cross-country route north between Bologna and where we're staying 3 nights, in the mountains near Ponte del Alpi. We've avoided main highways wherever possible. It isn't the quickest route of course but you get to see the real Italy.

The Alps look even more impressive when you ride towards them across a flat plain, rearing up in the distance. The air is fresher here although still clear and quite warm at 22 C.

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Today's day trip of 126 miles took us into the Dolomites, an area we'd never visited before. What a stunning place! Make no wonder it's so popular with motorcyclists. Most of the riders were on BMW GS's. You can't move for them in the Alps so it was nice to be riding something different and flying the Guzzi flag.

Pictures taken on the Passo Fedaia and Passo Marmolada.

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Another day trip into the Dolomites today. We covered 109 miles using a different route to Passo Fedaia for a lunch stop. The good weather continues and looks set fair for the rest of our tour. We've certainly been very lucky to have so many continuous dry days.

The V85TT reached 3,000 miles today and is starting to feel loosened up. Our other Guzzis have needed 20,000 to 30,000 miles before they have felt truly run-in but the V85TT may only need 10,000 miles. Riding Alpine passes have shown how well balanced this machine is. A bit more bottom end torque* wouldn't go amiss but once the motor's spinning the mid-range torque is spot on. The brakes are brilliant. Combined with ABS, they give you complete confidence. Average fuel consumption has ranged from 58 to 65 mpg.

* The bike is still standard.

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Today's 137 mile ride up from Italy into Austria was sublime. The weather, scenery and road conditions all combined to make it one of the most memorable rides so far on this tour.

We used the SS51 from Belluno to Cortina and Toblach, then the SS49 to the Austrian border where it becomes route 100 to Lienz. From there we headed north on route 108 to Mittersill via the 5 mile long Felbert Tunnel. Route 108 is a stunning road, highly recommended.

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Yesterday's day trip of 120 miles took us on to the Gross Glockner Alpenstrasse, in Austria. This must be one of the best Alpine roads in the whole of Europe, with an almost perfect road surface that's well maintained with good radius corners. Because it's now out of season the road was pretty quiet although there were still quite a few motorcyclists enjoying the perfect weather conditions. Most were riding BMW's. We've not seen another V85TT since leaving Mandello. Ours creates quite a bit of interest when we park up.

The Gross Glockner Alpenstrasse is a toll road, it cost us 53 Euro for two motorcycles. There's plenty of stopping places and several cafés etc. spread along the route.

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The past two days have seen us riding 443 miles up from Austria through Germany to where we're staying tonight, near Blankenburg in the Harz region. The temperatures have taken a real dip, it feels more like Autumn now with 7 C this morning and 14 C this afternoon. We were spoilt in Italy with a regular 26/28 C.

Thanks to Garmin our route today and yesterday has been mostly through the picturesque German countryside. Get off the well beaten track and its amazing what you see and who you meet.

The V85TT has now reached 3,685 miles. Nothing has come loose and its running as sweet as ever. Jane's Breva 750 has now reached 126,400 miles.

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