MOTO GUZZI V9 ROAMER & BOBBER
FIRST RIDE
P90
traditional Italian tire supplier
Pirelli decline to produce such
a bun-sized front cover? We'll
never know.
T H E F U N PA R T
A 75-mile ride around to the op-
posite side of Lake Como from
Guzzi's Mandello del Lario fac-
tory took us over the challenging
and evocative public roads Cir-
cuito del Lario road race course,
which, from 1921 onwards
hosted the Italian equivalent
of the Isle of Man TT in which
Moto Guzzi first made its mark
in competition terms by winning
five of the 15 such events ever
run, including the final one on
the eve of war in 1939. Here, in
climbing 1600 feet above Lake
Como, the V9 Roamer proved
to live up to its name, with its
pulled-back handlebar and low
footrests mounted only slightly
forwards delivering a comfort-
able stance that makes mile-eat-
ing a pleasure, especially allied
with the torque and willing nature
of the new V9 engine. While
devoid of undue vibration thanks
to the perfect primary balance
delivered by the 90° cylinder
format—there are no balance
shafts—this is also extremely
quiet in operation, so much so
that for the first time on a Moto
Guzzi you can actually hear the
shaft final drive's rear bevel and
pinion turning—it's not so much
a whine, more the mechani-
cal sound of gears engaging.
Before, there were too many
rattles and mechanical noise
from the pushrod motor for you
Both bikes are
forgiving and fun
to ride for both
the entry level and
experienced rider.
