V11 Sport vs Norge 1200

[Steve G.]

I recently had an opportunity to ride the 1200 Norge for a weekend, with trade off's back and forth on my old V11. Here are my observations.

Clearly these are different bikes from different times. That they came from the same factory, I can't compute in my head. There are some things I genuinely like about the Norge compared to my V11, these I can put to the fact that these are bikes filling different roles in the motorcycle landscape. Some though are genuinely put down to better engineering. For examples, I give you the gearbox, which is clearly better on the new bikes, just as my term on the 1200S. No question, it's a better box. Another, the vibration is definitely under control on the new machines, while still there, I call it more of a power pulse, as it disappears as you let the throttle off. The brakes are extremely good as usual these days with Guzzi, Brembo knows it's stuff. The fit/finish is a very evident upgrade over the spine frames. The sitting position is better than the V11 and the 1200S for comfort, but this is because it's is made as a tourer, so not a negative thing on the V11, different classification of bike.

On the negative side, I have nothing good to say about the guage package. The overlapping square information LED window not only looks stupid and out of place, it looks cheap plasticy, and is unreadable when wearing polarised sun glasses. The handlebar switches work fine. Another, the suspension on this model does not lend itself to aggressive back road twisties. In fact, it ground the center stand on many occasions, no matter what we did. The panniers I put in the same catagory as the ones found on the new Triumph Sprint, in other words, entry level quality. Performance wise, I'm sure the extra weight has alot to do with it, but the seat of the pants differences are very clear, this bike is MUCH lazier than my bone stock V11. Overtaking must be done with alot of concentration, as there's not alot of power on hand, and it must be found at the top of the rev range.

I'm not going to talk about visual differences or preferences, as one mans views are different on many things. It is handsome, but not a ground breaker. The Norge is a sport tourer, with much stronger emphasis on tour. It will not be able to keep up to the competition, the closest being the R1200RT Beemer. It will get spanked in every catagory that is tested. Character is the one thing it still has, although it has been severely emasculated from models of previous years. The Vtwin charm is still there, but just barely. The bike was very nice along long gracefull sweapers, but when the roads were tight, I wished I was on the V11.

Steve