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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1111003
2019 MOTO GUZZI V85TT FIRST REVIEW P94 visually or dynamically. However, while Guzzi's new 853cc engine drives very well from as low as 1500 rpm, you must have it turning at 3500 revs or higher to get the strong pickup it's capable of deliver- ing. Top gear roll-on below that mark is a little sluggish, so you're encouraged to use the very sweet-shifting gearbox (I can't remember the last time I ever used that term to describe a Moto Guzzi transmission!) to keep the revs up on the open road. If you do that you'll get excellent response from the motor from 4000 revs upwards, meaning I spent a lot of time in fourth gear. I suspect sixth gear is an overdrive for high-speed freeway cruising, and fifth gear is pretty high, as well. However, on two of the three bikes I rode there was quite a bit of vibration through the footpegs from 5000 rpm upwards, which since at that engine speed in top gear you're doing 80 mph is definitely intrusive. The engine is other- wise very smooth with just a few tingles through the seat as you near the 7800 rpm limiter, which to be quite honest you have no business ever approaching. It's not that kind of bike. Instead, you'll want to surf the V92TT's ultra-flat torque curve and hit a higher gear at around 6800 rpm, which will put you back in the fat part of the powerband each time. The V85TT is a very relaxing and enjoyable everyday ride, where the advantages of shaft final drive are here to be en- joyed, without any of the usual downsides. Despite the fairly conventional rear suspension, there was no adverse effect on the handling from the hy- poid back end, and thanks to the much-reduced crankshaft inertia owing to the lower weight of the entire assembly, I didn't encounter any negative effects of the lengthways layout that you get on some other such bikes. I could close the throttle on the V85TT midturn and open it again without affecting the way it held the line I'd chosen for it—there was no falling into the turn, no sitting up and understeering, just normal service continued as before. This is a very good new bike, and with its debut, the wings on the Moto Guzzi eagle have started to flap a lot harder. The promise of the several forthcoming new middleweight models its engine will power is very enticing. According to Moto Guzzi management, if the market responds favorably to this new family of bikes, they have a larger capacity version of the same engine already under development. Good times for Guzzisti could be just around the corner. CN ENGINE TYPE: ...... Air-cooled, transverse 90° V-twin, 2 valves per cylinder (titanium intake) DISPLACEMENT: ............................. 853cc BORE / STROKE: ....................84 x 77mm COMPRESSION RATIO: .....................10.5:1 MAX HORSEPOWER: ..... 80 hp @ 7750 rpm MAX TORQUE: ......... 80 Nm @ 5000 rpm FUELING: ......Electronic injection, 52mm single throttle body, RBW EMMISIONS: ..............Euro 4 compliance CLUTCH: ...........................Dry, single disc TRANSMISSION: ...........................6-speed FRAME: .........High strength steel tubular FRONT SUSPENSION: .....41mm hydraulic telescopic USD fork, with adjustable spring preload and hydraulic rebound REAR SUSPENSION: ........... Single shock, double-sided swingarm box-type alu- minum, with adjustable spring preload and hydraulic rebound FRONT WHEEL TRAVEL: ................... 6.7 in. REAR WHEEL TRAVEL: ..................... 6.7 in. FRONT BRAKE: ...Double 320mm stainless steel floating discs, Brembo radial- mounted calipers with 4-opposed pistons REAR BRAKE: ..... 260mm stainless steel disc, floating caliper with 2 pistons WHEELS: ........................................ Spoked FRONT WHEEL: .....................2.50 x 19 in. REAR WHEEL: ........................ 4.25 x 17 in. FRONT TIRE: ......................... 110/80—R19 REAR TIRE: ............................ 150/70—R17 RAKE / TRAIL: ....................28° / 5.03 in. WHEELBASE: ................................. 60.2 in. SEAT HEIGHT: ................................32.7 in. FUEL CAPACITY: ......................... 6.08 gal. CLAIMED WEIGHT (DRY): ............ 459 lbs. S P E C I F I C A T I O N S 2019 MOTO GUZZI V85TT ($12,800)