Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128335
- ~~IiiiiIIiii' ~~ I employ on its bikes, remember, 18 years ago - so ahead of Ducati) means that Guzzi's entire model range is now fitted with fuel injection. The Marelli EFI has been slightly remapped compared to the Breva, in order to deliver a greater feeling of torque. It features a pair of 36mm throttle bodies nestling in an airbox positioned beneath the Nevada 's 14-liter (3.65-gallon) fuel tank. This is fed by the pair of big stylized chrome air intakes on either side of the duplex steel frame's single front downtube, with a single injector per two-valve cylinder mounted close to the cylinder head and pointing directly at the inlet valve, delivering a clean, smooth pickup at all revs, as well as even better fuel economy from the 744cc pushrod motor. However, while the new Nevada is closely based on the Breva's mechanical package, it has quite different dynamics, targeting the same crowded model sector correctly identified by Sailor Sam as including the Yamaha XVS650 Drag Star and Honda's 7S0 Shadow, but also not forgetting the Harley 883 Sportster, Kawasaki VN800 and SuzukiVL8oo, allof which the Guzzi undercuts pricewise while offeringthe added benefit of fuel injection, which none of the others feature . Plus, the Italian bike is alone in offering shaft drive, disc brakes front and rear, and a Euro 2-friendly three-way catalyst in each exhaust silencer, plus a lambda sensor to optimize fuelling. In addition, at I 84kg (404 lbs.) dry, it's by some way the lightest of these models - even with all that chrome - and with a user-friendlydeliveryof 48 bhp at 6800 rpm matched to 54.7 NM (40.3 ft.-lbs.) of torque at just 3600 rpm, it also has the best power-to-weight ratio, making it perhaps rather surprisingly the most zestful and performing model in this chilled-out midi-cruiser market sector. Riding the Nevada for a day through the hills and lakes of Moto Guzzi's back yard in the foothills of the ItalianAlps revealed the extent of the transformation Aprilia's ownership has wrought on Guzzi's products, which now appear to be manufactured up to their parent's standards. Build quality appears pretty high, especiallyfor such a keenly priced model , even if the nicely designed stepped seat proved to be rather hard - a fact that, combined with the reduced 100mm travel of the stimy-sprung twin Paioli rear shocks (which don't deliver as much progressiveness in the suspension as you might expect from their laydown angle) makes the Nevada a bike that a taller rider won't want to cover too much distance on without stopping to stretch the legs and give his (her?) backside a good rub. That's because the footrests are farther back than on the old carbie Nevada, which is: a) good because it means that your shins don't become such intimate friends with those hot air-cooled Moto Guzzi Nevada Classic 750ie ..:...-.:......~--=.....:..cylinders anymore, but b) bad because it means your knees are tightly bent and get rather cramped because of the ultralow 760mm seat height - 30mm lower than the Breva's. It's too bad Guzzi doesn't offer an optional higher seat for the Nevada, but as it is, combined with the bike's light weight, the low seat height makes this an ideal bike for female riders, who'll find it easy to put their feet down at traffic lights. Plus the fact that it's evidently built to a new standard for a Mandello-made motorcycle will make it worthy of serious consideration by those stepping up from a scooter or buying a "proper" bike for the first time, after passing their test. The Nevada's low center of gravity makes the bike quite stable over bumps taken at speed leaned over, even with the reduced suspension travel at the rear, which will make riding the Nevada for any great distance over a typical Americantype concrete freeway with raised sealing joints a trial of patience . By contrast, the nonadjustable 40mm Marzocchi forks are slightly softer sprung than on the Breva they're shared with, offering 8mm (.3 of an inch) more wheel travel, at 138mm (S.5 inches). More to the point, they 're raked a little more steeply than on the old Nevada, set at 28 degrees with I09mm of trail, which helps make the handling sharper while still delivering easy steering via the not overly high-set but well pulled-back handlebars, which at least deliver a comfortable upper-body posture. Pity about your knees if you're much over 5'9", though ... There's a well-designed and readable classic-style dashboard, which besides an analog speedo and revcounter, includes not only an array of warning lights bright enough to be visible in sunlight, but also a digital readout on the speedo, which can be scrolled through via the bar on the dash to show mileage and trip plus time and ambient temperature, with a red warning light that comes on to warn of possible ice on the road . The Nevada's conventional Brembo brake package is the same as the Breva's so, no sign of Guzzi's idiosyncratic linked system - with a single 320mm front disc gripped by a four-pot caliper matched to a 260mm rear. Together, these deliver quite sufficient stopping power for a bike of this performance, though you'd have to make extra allowances when riding with a passenger, where the twin Paioli shocks' sole adjustment for spring preload will help compensate for two-up riding. The new Nevada's 80 x 74mm 744cc engine is essentially identical to the Breva's, though completely revamped compared to its oldtimer carbie ancestor, so that although its 48 bhp output is only a little more potent than before, the way it delivers this performance is significantly more 56 AUGUST 4,2004 • CYCI.E NEWS _ (Top) The Nevada's 744cc engine is virtually identical to that of the Breva and a marked improvement over the carbureted version of previous Nevada models. Claimed output is 48 horsepower. (Above) The Nevada's cockpit layout is roomy enough. Instrumentation is minimal. refined. The air/oil-cooled engine, featuring a new camshaft design and graphite-coated pistons delivering 9.6: I compression and sliding in Gilnisil chrome bores, feels silent and seemingly well-made , as well as tight and responsive , with none of the rattles and whirrs and other mechanical noise of preBreva pushrod Guzzis. It's been comprehensively re-engineered by Brovazzo's boys - Guzzi's intake of new technical staff among the 260-strong Mandello workforce now comprises a much younger generation of development engineers than ever before - which helps make the new model seem a lot more bike for the money than its seemingly cruder, more old-fashioned carbie predecessor, even at around a I S percent steeper sticker price in Italy- though it's the first time the Nevada will ever have been 40th Anniversary sold in the USA, on a S l-state basis. The Nevada 7S0ie is extremely forgiving and easy to ride, a factor that will endear it especially to beginner riders, for whom it represents a user-friendly, unthreatening introduction to the pleasures of motorcycling - as opposed to scootering, or anything on four wheels. The forgiving motor accelerates wide open from just 2000 rpm without any transmission snatch, with an extra dose of eagerness from 4000 rpm upward on a bike that may have a cruiser's architecture - sort-of - but is improbably more sporty than anything else in the model sector, short of the H-D 883. The good grip from the Metzeler rubber - a 100/90-18 front, which provides light but lazy steering, plus a chunkier I 30/90-15 rear - is quite enough