How do people buy motorcycles? What motivates them at that moment when they, who were absolutely happy with their bike just last night, wake up in the morning and suddenly begin to scour the Internet in search of something else? I’ll share my feelings on this matter, and at the same time I’ll tell you about my new horse - the Moto Guzzi Stelvio 1200, a bike in our Palestines that is incredibly rare))) Actually, that’s how it started - before my second trip to Georgia in May of this year, my V- I was completely satisfied with the 2012 strom 650 ABS - the bike is mega-friendly, comfortable and quite versatile. Over the past year, I completely “finished” it for myself and my wishes, so I felt grace and peace in my soul before the trip. But after the trip, my head began to drift towards changing the motorcycle... There were several reasons for this: 1. Short gears and a narrow operating range of the engine - on the highway this is not particularly annoying, except during intense overtaking, but in the city you have to oil the gearbox often and a lot; 2. In a company with more powerful or less loaded motors (and I usually have +1 and three cases with trunks), the dynamics begin to be sorely lacking + the motor begins to work in a mode that is uncomfortable for the rider - it is loud and shaking; 3. Chain. That's all wrong. I know what is cheaper to repair and replace, I know what is easier, I know everything! But the desire to have a cardan, although not dominant in the choice, did indirectly influence it;
And then Hell began :)! What does the popular wisdom say? “Options are ruining us”? Wow... The choice of cardan shafts for the "overliter" tourenduro is not particularly rich: 1. Senior Goose from BMW; 2. Battle-tested Yamaha Supertenere XT1200Z; 3. Honda Crossturer 1200; 4. Triumph Tiger Explorer 1200 Big Goose (may its owners forgive me) is definitely a cool bike. But absolutely incompatible with my purely individual and not particularly artistic taste. I read everything about it, I went to the salon many times and tried it on, but I couldn’t bring myself to accept this miracle of Bavarian engineering. We cross it out. The pimp is just a very good spendthrift, but for some reason I didn’t have a spark with him - I looked, sat, went with him to Georgia (hello Leshyi!;)) but love didn’t work out... Crossturer from Honda is a super motorcycle! And there was a very tasty offer for a car (fully packaged, almost unrolled), but why did Honda make it so inexpressive?!? And also... My character is such that if everyone around me says “take it!” - I will never buy it, and this was just that case... In general, you already understood - according to all scenarios, the Tiger Explorer should have settled in my garage - a very cool bike, the only thing I didn’t like about it was the small high-frequency vibrations on the steering wheel , but in terms of the totality of qualities - excellent! Yes, a little less powerful than the Crossturer, but definitely a more expressive and charismatic moto! And I also like it not to be like everyone else :) And everything was moving towards buying a Tiger, but the inquisitive mind did not feel satisfied and the boundaries of the search were pushed... I really liked the Ducati Multistrada 1200 in the pictures and in person, but I sat and realized that everything is cool, but there is no feeling of “thing” - the buttons on the remote control are loose, the plastic has burrs and chips here and there, in general - it’s not perfetto somehow (if anything, I ride ducats and I generally consider the air Monster from Galuzzi one of the best urban bikes). But once I went to Italy, I went to Auto ru in the Moto Guzzi section, and there... And there HE was waiting for me! Stelvio 1200, 2008 (a little old, I thought), it was love at first sight... There are few of them disappearing in Russia, there are only a couple of posts on the native V-strom forum from the owner of a more recent NTX, which means we’re looking at foreign sites (British and German ) and the more I read, the more I understood “I WANT!!!”. What made me decide to buy was a message on a German forum comparing Stelvio and BMW GS, from one Hans, who switched to Guzzi after 6!!! GSov, on which he rode almost 12!!! years. Then everything is simple - I call the seller, I say “I’ll take it!”, and since he immediately had to send the money to Italy for a new money, then every day of delay (the Euro was growing at that time) is additional costs for me and him. The problem is that he’s a spendthrift in Pskov, he can’t get away from work, planes fly every other day... In general, we agree that I’ll throw money on his card, and I’ll bring fifty kopecks back alive, and in return he sends me a photo of the title where I’m listed as the new owner. The adventure is rare, but intuition predicted “Sigismund, everything will be OK,” which, in fact, was confirmed. On June 12, I boarded the AN-24 at Domodedovo and with great pleasure and comfort (people, the seats in the AN-24 are more comfortable than in any Boeing, mine is in shock) a couple of hours later I return to the ground, where Fedor meets me and we rush to the “bins”... The first thought when I first saw it in person was “Seryozha is great!!!” - the mot is beautiful even in the twilight of a white night. And when they started it!!! Guys, this is pure Horley!!! With canonical vibrations at idle, a very similar sound, but as subsequent operation showed, it can brake perfectly and handles like a bike. In the morning we go to the traffic police, we re-register everything in my name, I keep the Pskov license plates (the KK series is prettier than the Moscow VA :)), I pick up the service book and manual, say goodbye to Fedor and now we are on our way home... As for the motorcycle, I immediately fell in love with the engineering beauty, hand-made from solutions proven over the years, a sort of 1100 or 1150 GS in Italian design: transverse air V-wheel drive, dry single disc clutch, 6-mortar gearbox, cardan - all this Moto Guzzi has been producing for a shitload of years and it all works fine. Fully adjustable suspension - Marzocchi 50mm telescope front, Sachs rear, Marchesini forged spoked wheels, Brembo radial brakes.
The engine completely covers my wishes - it’s lucky from idle, it’s briskly lucky from 3000 to 6000, after six you get a juicy kick in the ass and spins with torque until the cutoff (9500). +1 does not affect the dynamics (something that was so lacking in Strem). The chassis is excellent - after adjustment according to the manual, it rides elastically, holds the arc as if glued, steers with the power of thought (at low speeds it’s easy to make snakes and turns, just don’t be lazy to wave the steering wheel). Ergonomics are a solid five - everything is in its place, the steering wheel is higher and closer to the rider than on the Triumph, sitting with a straight back, elbows high, in traffic jams at first the wide steering wheel was scary, now it’s touching me, plus due to the fact that the steering wheel is high I can only turn away from mirrors of jeeps and gazelles, cars and SUVs fly below. The seat is a bit stiff, but the shape is excellent and allows you to change the driving position, the passenger can sleep at all - there is just a sofa in the back. Brakes!!! Oh, what a blessing it is to have a front brake!!! Strom had ABS but no brakes :), here it’s the other way around))). Yes, the knees do not rest against the cylinders (height 179). It’s not cold in a traffic jam, the ride is excellent, plus the knees are covered by cylinders and arches. Cool standard silencer - when you let off the gas it starts firing, but so that only you and the car nearby can hear it, it really sticks)))
Among the disadvantages (although as the owners of the Gusli say, “if something doesn’t suit you in your Guzzi, it’s up to you” :)): - the tank is small (new ones cost 32 liters, I have 18), the range on the highway with a cruiser is 150- 170 - 250 km, specially dried). But there is a glove compartment :))); — would have killed the one who tripped in front of the gearbox lever — stick the first one in while opening the step — it’s a piece of cake; — the emergency light button on the right remote control is located a little far away, it’s not convenient to reach with your thumb while moving. Otherwise, the moto makes you happy and gives you a lot of pleasure, you get off it and sit back down with a smile, which is what I wish for you))) Ps And only Elvis Presley and I have one like this))) I’ll add a few more photos:
Guzzi Griso 8V SE AND Stel Vio 1200 NTX. Italians to Russia
Not so long ago, about fifteen years ago, one could only dream of going to a store and buying a motorcycle from some famous Italian company, for example Moto Guzzi. Today, thanks to our efforts, this is very easy to do.
Igor Vladimirov
Not so long ago, about fifteen years ago, one could only dream of coming to a store and buying a motorcycle from some famous Italian company, for example Moto Guzzi. Today, thanks to our efforts, this is very easy to do.
Motorcycle Stelvio 1200 NTX © Photo: Moto Guzzi
Two words about Moto Guzzi. The company was founded in 1921 by Giorgio Parodi, who was a military pilot during the First World War, and Carlo Guzzi, who served as a mechanic for Parodi during the war. The responsibilities of the partners were as follows: Guzzi designed the motorcycles, and Parodi provided the organization of production and financing. On March 21, 1921, the Societa Anonima Moto Guzzi company was born. However, the first motorcycles were named GP, from the first letters of the surnames Guzzi and Parodi. The first motorcycle weighed 130 kg, the engine power was 8.5 liters. s., and the maximum speed was 85 km/h.
Almost from the moment the company was founded, motorcycles developed by Carlo Guzzi successfully competed in sports competitions and quickly began to conquer the market. During the Second World War, the plant, which by that time had become quite large, was not stopped, but produced Alce army motorcycles, both regular “solo” and Trialce - with a sidecar. Moreover, the motorcycle with a sidecar also had a drive to the sidecar wheel. After the war, the plant was quickly able to adjust to the production of civilian equipment, since it was practically not damaged during the bombing.
In the mid-50s, with the appearance on the market of cars such as the Fiat 500, the demand for powerful motorcycles began to fall, but Moto Guzzi managed to survive due to the fact that many “small capacity” motorcycles appeared in the production program. But I had to refuse to participate in sports competitions.
By the end of the last century, Moto Guzzi began to lose customers, and even the newest models did not help fight the relatively cheap “Japanese” in the market. In 2000, Moto Guzzi was purchased by Aprilia, which today, by the will of fate, is itself part of the Piaggio concern.
What will we have? There is information so far only about two models - Griso 8V SE and Stelvio 1200 NTX. The manufacturer himself classifies the first model as a nike, but of a very high class. The SE package includes Alpina wheels, Pirelli Scorpion tires and much other “tasty” equipment.
Motorcycle Griso V8 SE © Photo: Moto Guzzi
The engine design, of course, is “classic” from Moto Guzzi - V-Twin with a cylinder camber of 90 degrees and a longitudinal layout. The relatively large wheelbase (1544 mm) ensures good stability of the motorcycle when driving in a straight line, but does not interfere with successful maneuvering in a modern city. The power of the 1151 cc engine is 110 hp. With. at 7500 min-1, torque - 110 Nm at 6000 min-1. A very good result for active trips.
Stelvio 1200 NTX, the dream of any traveler, this year will also have a 1151 cc engine, but with a power of 105 hp. With. at 7250 min-1 and with a torque of 113 Nm at 5800 min-1. The rear wheel is driven, of course, by a cardan, which will be appreciated by true connoisseurs of such equipment. The manufacturer classifies this motorcycle as a maxi-enduro class, which imposes its own obligations. And Moto Guzzi delivers on these commitments, as the NTX version comes equipped with excellent all-terrain wheels, large and comfortable panniers, and plenty of bells and whistles to help you on long trips. The base includes engine protection, driveshaft protection, additional headlights, etc.
For more information, contact or contact your nearest dealer.
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