RIDE REVIEW I 2024 MOTO GUZZI STELVIO
P142
The initial throttle response is
metered by five riding modes—
Tour, Rain, Road, Sport and
Off-Road—although each riding
mode retains the 115 maximum
horsepower figure. All modes
are changed via the five-inch
TFT display, and you get the
same switch gear as you do
on bikes like the Aprilia RS660
and Tuareg, so they feel a little
plasticky compared to some of
the competition.
Each mode has a reassuringly
smooth feel at the twist grip
from closed, and there's still that
trademark Guzzi side-to-side
rock when you pull the clutch
in and give it a rev. However,
there's nowhere near as much
driveshaft lash that even Guzzis
of recent years imparted to their
owners—the Stelvio gets the go
to the rear tire very nearly fuss-
and maintenance-free.
Drive is via a six-speed gear
-
box that houses a redesigned
shift mechanism over
the V100
for smoother gear changes and
a new anti-hopping (not slip
-
per) clutch, and you can get an
accessory
quickshifter when
you delve into the Moto Guzzi
goodies catalog.
The quickshifter is one of
the weak points in the engine/
driveline equation for me—a
number of times I would take
off and (silly me) use the clutch
to go from first to second gear.
The system (at least on my
test bike) really didn't like this
and would leave the gearbox
in neutral. Not only that, but it
also wouldn't shift up to second
until I'd backshifted to first, then
sped through into second gear
without chopping the throttle
and using the quickshifter. This
happened far more times than
I'd have liked, but I suspect it
was an issue with my particular
test bike, as no one else seemed
to have that issue on the launch.
These roads are
Stelvio country—
lots of medium
speed twisties
and no particular
place to go.
