p6x Posted September 17, 2023 Author Posted September 17, 2023 18 hours ago, Scud said: The big GS is a remarkable motorcycle. I've ridden a few and I do like them, but not as much as my 2017 Stelvio NTX. I routinely go grocery shopping with the Stelvio... which means 40 minutes of twisty roads to the orchards in Pauma Valley. And return with a 25 pound bag of oranges (love my fresh-squeezed OJ) and whatever else is in season. I suspect this new Stelvio is the base model, and that there will some variants, such as another NTX with more aggressive tires, skid plate (look at that vulnerable exhaust) and all the crash bars. A big ADV bike is nice for dirt roads that you'd rather not ride a sport bike on - where there is a bit more risk of losing traction and kissing the ground. They are great for exploring past the "pavement ends" signs, but not great for technical terrain. Personally, the GS never did it for me. I remember when it first came out and it did not inspire me in any way. The Yamaha 500 XT however..... I guess I was in the wrong, because the GS has turned into a religion. Ditto the Gold Wing. Anyway, these "Trail bikes" as we call them on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, are a bit like utilitarian cars that had an extended back, giving bigger families a chance to fit all their luggage when making their vacation run. They bore the moniker "break", what you would call "wagon" in English. I have no idea who came with the idea of naming the longer version of a car "break"; maybe referred to as a "break" from standard? a break had a lifting fifth door to access the trunk. Here's an example with one of the most ugly French car you could think about: the Citroën Ami 8 To me, today's "Adventure or Trail" bikes are comparable; some people purchased those four wheeled "Break/Wagon" just for the extra cargo space. Also, those had often a larger gas tank for an increased autonomy. In my situation, that's what I am looking for. That and the ability to carry more photographic equipment with me when I visit Texas. As far as going on trails with them, I would rather walk with a back pack.
Scud Posted September 17, 2023 Posted September 17, 2023 Dual-Sport and Adventure bikes are not in the same class. The old XT, along with similar vintage bikes from other manufacturers at the time, was really just a big dirt bike with a license plate that lets dirt-oriented riders ride into town for gas and lunch, or ride on the road to connect sections of trail, or avoid truck/trailer and just ride out from home. But Adventure bikes, like the new Stelvio, give you the capacity, like the family SUV, to take another person and a lot of stuff. Having both a big dual-sport and an ADV bike, they clearly serve different purposes. IMO, this is proper use of an Adventure Bike (my Stelvio NTX): Load with camping gear and stuff for work in another city. Take a few dirt roads on the way to distant points. And here's how I view the proper use of a Dual Sport (my Husqvarna 701 Enduro): ride the street to the trail, then find out where this creek goes. The 701 would have been torture on the above long-haul trip, and I would have torched the tires. The Stelvio will never see anything like that snow-covered creek bed, at least not with me riding it. I'm glad Moto Guzzi brought the Stelvio name back. Now that they did, every motorcycle reviewer will have to form an opinion about how it compares to the like of various displacement GS models, Africa Twin, Desert X, or Norden. Form what I can see so far, it seems closest to the Africa Twin. And I hope Moto Guzzi sell enough of them that they can afford to make a new LeMans based on the V100 platform. 4
audiomick Posted September 17, 2023 Posted September 17, 2023 1 hour ago, p6x said: ... I have no idea who came with the idea of naming the longer version of a car "break";... The name has been around for a while... Quote Its historic origin in the 1890s was as a horse-drawn wagon used to transport shooting parties with their equipment and game. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_brake 1 1
p6x Posted September 17, 2023 Author Posted September 17, 2023 @audiomick You should try to make next year's edition of the Alpes Aventure Moto Festival in Barcelonnette France. I saw a Moto Guzzi stand in the background in the video below at some point. They have all kind of workshops, based on your ride. 1
GuzziMoto Posted September 18, 2023 Posted September 18, 2023 On 9/15/2023 at 12:28 PM, docc said: Pray tell, what does "need" have to do with it? It comes down to garage space and time available to actually ride it. We have more bikes right now then we have time for. Sad, but true. I can't justify buying another bike without getting rid of one or two to make room for it, both space wise and time wise. @ScudOur two Huskies are bikes, 401's. One is a 401 cafe bike and the other is a 401 in some sort of Mad Max style with street knobbies and dirtbike handle bars. I get that some people like SUV motorcycles. It just isn't my thing. An actual Dual Sport bike, I could and have done that. But I don't need or want a motorcycle SUV. If someone else does? Fine. No problem. I just don't need something that tall and heavy. I prefer smaller, lighter, better handling, motorcycles. @p6xThe Ducati Monster is the odd bike out but it is the wife's bike. It leaves when she says so. I have a long history of Love/Hate with Ducati's, and if it were up to me we would not have one. But the wife likes the Monster. Always did. 2
GuzziMoto Posted September 18, 2023 Posted September 18, 2023 On 9/17/2023 at 11:23 AM, Scud said: Dual-Sport and Adventure bikes are not in the same class. The old XT, along with similar vintage bikes from other manufacturers at the time, was really just a big dirt bike with a license plate that lets dirt-oriented riders ride into town for gas and lunch, or ride on the road to connect sections of trail, or avoid truck/trailer and just ride out from home. But Adventure bikes, like the new Stelvio, give you the capacity, like the family SUV, to take another person and a lot of stuff. Having both a big dual-sport and an ADV bike, they clearly serve different purposes. IMO, this is proper use of an Adventure Bike (my Stelvio NTX): Load with camping gear and stuff for work in another city. Take a few dirt roads on the way to distant points. And here's how I view the proper use of a Dual Sport (my Husqvarna 701 Enduro): ride the street to the trail, then find out where this creek goes. The 701 would have been torture on the above long-haul trip, and I would have torched the tires. The Stelvio will never see anything like that snow-covered creek bed, at least not with me riding it. I'm glad Moto Guzzi brought the Stelvio name back. Now that they did, every motorcycle reviewer will have to form an opinion about how it compares to the like of various displacement GS models, Africa Twin, Desert X, or Norden. Form what I can see so far, it seems closest to the Africa Twin. And I hope Moto Guzzi sell enough of them that they can afford to make a new LeMans based on the V100 platform. Both those look awesome. Must have been great fun. Riding in the snow can be great fun, but it can be hard. It does make it hard to judge terrain, easy to hit something that you never saw. As to the adventure bike ride, that looks like fun but I would do that same trip on a normal bike. I don't need a two wheeled SUV to do that. The wife has rode her V11 down "roads" worse then that. But that does look like fun. Most of our travels down roads like that are now in a Jeep. 4
p6x Posted September 18, 2023 Author Posted September 18, 2023 8 hours ago, GuzziMoto said: @p6xThe Ducati Monster is the odd bike out but it is the wife's bike. It leaves when she says so. I have a long history of Love/Hate with Ducati's, and if it were up to me we would not have one. But the wife likes the Monster. Always did. I can relate to that... one of my buddy had a Pantah that spent more time waiting on repairs than on the road. Ducati has come a long way since, and the Mostro was really "a coup de maitre" from Ducati when they came up with it; was it Michele Galuzzi? I can't remember off the top of my head... All the other manufacturers copied the concept. Today, Ducati are sold in Ducati Stores, no longer sharing space with the "others"...
docc Posted September 19, 2023 Posted September 19, 2023 38 minutes ago, p6x said: I can relate to that... one of my buddy had a Pantah that spent more time waiting on repairs than on the road. Ducati has come a long way since, and the Mostro was really "a coup de maitre" from Ducati when they came up with it; was it Michele Galuzzi? I can't remember off the top of my head... All the other manufacturers copied the concept. Today, Ducati are sold in Ducati Stores, no longer sharing space with the "others"... Perhaps the early (1999-2001) V11 Sport has the success of the 1993 Ducati "Mostro" to thank for some of its acceptance. Luciano Marabese certainly made no "copy" of the Monster, but the "naked bike" genre had been cast. Since the Monster, Galuzzi (an Argentinian who would spell his first name "Miguel"), became a key design influence at Piaggio. This is a decent article that mentions his Moto Guzzi influence beginning in the early to mid twenty-teens: https://www.motorcyclenews.com/advice/inspiration/weekend-reads/history-of-moto-guzzi/
activpop Posted September 19, 2023 Posted September 19, 2023 On 9/15/2023 at 4:39 PM, audiomick said: A GS is a SUV. "Sports utility vehicle", i.e. a vehicle that looks like it is good for anything, but actually is only good for the trip to the supermarket. The target customer is the same for the GS as for the 4 wheeled variety too. I.e. not me. Just got back from hiking three Utah NP's. Did a fair amount of driving and noticed all the bikes. Great cruising roads! Most of the bikes were Harleys and BMW's. Lots of of dirty GS's. Never saw a Guzzi.
p6x Posted October 26, 2023 Author Posted October 26, 2023 Seems like Moto Journal got the drop on everyone else... this is the Moto Guzzi Stelvio 2024.... 1
Speedfrog Posted October 27, 2023 Posted October 27, 2023 5 hours ago, p6x said: Seems like Moto Journal got the drop on everyone else... Not quite so... https://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle-reviews/moto-guzzi-stelvio-first-ride-review/ 1
p6x Posted October 27, 2023 Author Posted October 27, 2023 6 minutes ago, Speedfrog said: Not quite so... It seems like all the media people had access to the pre-production bikes at the same time. I prefer the written cycleword report to any of those banter videos in any case. I wonder if the V100 Stelvio will influence the pricing of the 1200 NTX... 1
docc Posted October 27, 2023 Posted October 27, 2023 Is there still any CARC Moto Guzzi being built? Any of the 1200 "BigBlock" except leftovers on showroom floors? Even the 1400: are any still being constructed?
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