I went over to Corsa Italia in Hersham and took these two out for quick back-to-back test rides today.
This is more of a first impressions than anything else as the rides were quite short and sweet.
I tried the Moto Guzzi Griso 1200 8v first.
I’m used to an upright riding position so for me it was a bit of a stretch to the bars but for a sports bike rider this would no doubt feel natural. Setting off in the dusk up a long straight rain sodden road the bike felt a bit like it was being powered by one of those hoovers that blow instead of suck. Reserves of torque from tickover just waft you serenely along until you decide to give it some and then as you get into the meaty part of the rev range the hovercraft skirts are raised and it hurtles forward like a herd of galloping wildebeast escaping from a hungry cheetah.
I don’t know why but the sensation reminded me of a car I once owned, a Rover P5 V8. A big venerable engine which was smooth and powerful. It would rumble about and every so often you’d feel the need to hammer it…and blimey did it go. Plush, comfortable and properly fast at the same time.
It’s not a big bike to look at but once you get it under way on the road you are aware of this great rumbling ball of energy in front of you that is the Guzzi twin. I like the design of this bike and the quality of the components is palpable when you ride it. The clocks are simple but clear and have a sense of occasion about them…well the whole bike does in fact. Yes it certainly has presence and the sound of the thing only goes to amplify that in the minds of passers by. It would be worth getting for pose value alone.
…back to the ride. Now I think I have a better understanding of the duality of this bike. It is half sporty naked and half cultured cruiser. It cruises round the bends but turns in nicely and predictably. It steers and to some extent brakes like a lighter bike but it sometimes needs some tightening of the reins to keep it all together…there is quite a lot of weight involved and combined with the slight sensation of leaning to the right you get with the transmission you would have to ‘learn’ this bike to get the most out of it. Having said that it wasn’t an overly difficult bike to ride, just different in the way that the best bikes always are.
For me though the bike would be ideal for a cruiser-curious who doesn’t want to go the whole Hog. I’d imagine the Diavel doesn’t feel that different to ride but this looks like a bargain next to it.
So, on to the Moto Guzzi V7.
I tried the ‘Stone’ version which is apparently the entry level machine. A good looking machine and a different ball game to the Griso.
For a start the foot-pegs are all wrong. It actually felt like I was on a fairground ride, with thighs horizontal and feet flat down on the pegs. Then I realised it is supposed to feel like that…the cruiser thing again.
So trying to ignore the resultant sensation that I was squatting on the bog I set off up the same dark drizzly straight road I’d just annihilated on the Griso. The V7 was very much like the younger sibling. Like a smaller, lighter version of the Griso. Slower of course but still it does have a reasonable turn of pace for a 50hp engine and the 90 degree V-twin has oodles more character than a standard IL4. Again it also has that lovely growly exhaust note. For commuting and around town it would be fine…it’s very ‘Bonnie-like’.
Having finished the tests and handed back the keys I realised I wouldn’t be part-exchanging my own MT-03 for either bike.
For what I need a bike for…mainly commuting with occasional weekend ride outs…I am better off with the light weight and manoeuvre-bility of a Single…or maybe a (Street) Triple 
