T
he older I get, the more I love me
a Guzzi. I never really understood
the allure of one of Italy's most
revered, and, let's face it, odd, motor-
cycle manufacturers until a few years
ago when I spent a few weeks on their
equally odd Griso roadster.
That low-slung hunk of Lake Como
metal gave me a new appreciation for
not just the brand but also the feeling of
riding a Moto Guzzi, which is unlike any
other major manufacturer.
Moto Guzzi's trademark transverse
V-twin, with the cylinders splayed out
either side of your legs, is obviously
what sets them apart. The V-twin is
heavy and doesn't produce anything like
the horsepower a BMW flat-twin would,
for example, but the feeling it gives to
the rider is unique and something to be
cherished.
I got this same feeling after a month
on the Moto Guzzi V85 TT Travel. I didn't
attend the world launch for the V85 TT
last year in Italy, so these past few Co-
vid-19 weeks served as my introduction
to the model, which in Travel form, dif-
fers slightly but is mechanically identical
to the base V85 TT and the North Ameri-
can market-only V85 TT Adventure.
VOLUME 57 ISSUE 27 JULY 7, 2020 P59
THERE ARE PLENTY OF BIG TOURING BIKES OUT
THERE, BUT FEW OFFER THE SHEER JOY OF RIDING
THAT A MOTO GUZZI V85 TT TRAVEL DOES
Independence
Is A State
Of Mind, Man.
BY RENNIE SCAYSBROOK
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT PALMER
