Austin I have a question.

Mikey

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I was in the local MandP's and they had a V85 Guzzi which I must admit I was quite taken by.

How did you find it for two up touring? Enough power, room etc.
 

austin

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We got back from a short visit to Brittany on Monday. Did about 1500 miles although about half was just trolling up the M6/5 to from Plymouth. Not camping so lightly loaded using the MG panniers and top box which aren’t big. It’s an amazingly high payload - something 228 kg so is a real load lugger.

The seat is plenty roomy for two although I upgraded to the “high comfort seat”. Adds 2cm to seat height but not that much to comfort. Legs are probably bent just a degree or two too much so a bit more weight on the arse than my gsa, and after an hour or two I do want to stretch my legs. The seat and tank are narrow so no splayed our legs unless you want to. I think that makes for more wriggle room. Anne never complained or wriggled about once over discomfort on pillion. The handlebars are very wide - something like 38” I read somewhere. The screen/bars:mirrors do make for quite a noisy ride in my experience. The higher seat seat reduces the noise quite a lot as does adjusting the screen to furthest (steepest) position.

Motorway cruise was fine, I ran with the cruise control set at 90mph for a while just to see how it went. Fine is the answer but fuel going quite quickly. Happier at 75ish though with fuel averaging mid 50s mpg and revs just nicely on peak torque for reasonably quick acceleration into gaps.

And that is where it is a bit weak 2-up to be honest. Instant overtakes aren’t really on. You definitely need to plan a quick ride a bit more and keep it revving at around 4,500 to 5,000+ for quick bursts of acceleration. It’s redlined at 7,000 so not a lot of headroom but you do get nice flashing lights to remind you to change up For pootling round lanes or a steady cruise in 6th gear down a B road or small A road it’s great, but then 3rd or 4th needed to zap past them pesky caravans that blight our good roads.

Otherwise it’s a torquey engine at very low revs - it does that thing where you can close the throttle in 1st/2nd and just about in 3rd gear and it just chuffs along at tickover, or you can pull away with no hint of a stall on just the merest whiff of throttle. Only diesel cars ever seem to do that.

Best thing is get a test ride. I had one for an afternoon and did over 100miles. I am glad I bought it. I didn’t want a fast bike as I was tending to ride a bit too fast everywhere and wanted something to slow me down a bit and yet still be fun to ride.
 

Mikey

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Thanks. It's something I'll keep in mind in a couple of months when the time comes. It looks like it's a lot lighter then the GSA.
I like the red and white colour scheme as well. Road test it is.
 

austin

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Yes, lightness is one of its biggest virtues. Mines red and white. Best by far.

This is the bike the Africa Twin should have turned into.
 

Mikey

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I love the red and white. Did all the showroom things , sitting on it etc. seemed to fit ok.
 

austin

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Standard Seat and High Seat.

In France, sleepy village where we stayed for a week. It was a bit dead really.
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austin

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Another thought. If bikes like a Vstrom, a GS800, or a Tiger 800 wouldn’t make your shortlist because of size or power then a Guzzi V85 isn’t for you (and the three examples are all more powerful than the Guzzi) Unless you simply want one, as I did, and will be be forgiving of any shortcomings.
 
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