A couple of months back I had the tyres replaced on the Stelvio. I specifically took the bike to Haywards because there is a known issue with the front left fork and heavy handed mechanics. What happens is that the front wheel gets removed for said tyre change. The mechanic then puts everything back together, tightens up the two pinch bolts on the fork, generally beyond the prescribed 10nm torque and hey presto the fork clamp snaps thus requiring a new lower suspension unit. Haywards are well versed with this issue and carefully tightened the bolts up but within a month or so the fork had snapped. There were no issues though because it was swapped out within days of the problem reported. Who says Guzzi parts are hard to get hold of?

The 2nd issue ive got is that the digital fuel gauge does not register a full tank. This is a common issue but Haywards have diagnosed a faulty fuel sender unit and have one ready to go for when I next go in there with the bike.

Over the past month or two ive also decided to part company with the panniers. They make the bike too wide when parking it in my garage so they have gone to a new home up north and ive purchased a new Trax 38 litre top box as reviewed in a separate article on my site. Again, Haywards supplied the parts at a good price… Theres a trend here isnt there… Luckily for me my dealer always comes up trumps and has everything in stock thats needed… The other benifit of going to a top box is that my son can relax on the back of the bike against the top box. He never felt concerned but does prefer the security of a box to lean against. There are no problems with weight loads and so on because the box, its mount and the Stelvio’s rack are well built and more than up to the task…

Back in May I did a 400 mile weekend jaunt on the bike. I had it well loaded up with gear including a 12 pack of beer tucked away inside one of the panniers. I have to say that it rode perfectly and didn’t complain once about the weight even though there was a fat biker sitting on top of it too. The engine including the power delivery was just perfect for a long run. It was docile when needed and had a huge reserve of power for the occasional over take when needed.

So, apoligies again for the lack of updates… I have been too busy playing bikes…

Ride safe.

I have my Son on the back and we’re out for a good old cruise around the lanes. After all, its an adventure tourer. The power of said beast is great. You can hoon along the lanes and a good rate of knots, slow down and take a corner at a pretty good pace and then relax for a nice slow ride through the villages… Then I take a left and at the end of the road is a Ford that needs traversing… No problems I say after all, we’re on a bike that can do anything…. Well as it happens, the bike was fine. The ford was deeper than expected and flowing pretty fast be we thought bugger it.. Off we went, I was standing up and in 1st gear. The Guzzi just cruised through it creating a nice bow wave from the front wheel just tall enough to cover my boots and trousers.

Up the road we hit a load of horse crap. Not a problem… The bike just cruises on leaving a nice streak of arse grass for me to clean off over the weekend…. Respect Moto Guzzi! Respect…

Well impressed…

Sorry its not exactly a tour but its a start… Hoping to tour later this year…

Having ridden it like its meant to be ridden I now know that it’ll do approx 44mpg which is pretty tidy for a big bike. I was not driving carefully or stupidly fast, instead I was just doing what needed to be done to get me there and back…

Tomorrow Haywards are fitting my panniers for me and are going to adjust the headlights a smidge… All in all, im really pleased with the latest purchase…

Ive been thinking about a Triumph Street Triple but having sat on one with my son as pillion I reckon its going to be a bit tight for a day trip. I also have concerns about the amount of rear wheel spray when the weathers bad. My old City X had spray issues and it was a total pain for me. Sooo, today I went down to see the chaps at Haywards of Cambridge. They are my local Guzzi garage where I purchased a 2007 1200 Sport from a while ago. I know them well and trust their spannering. They have a couple of Stelvio’s going at the moment. The one of interest to me is an x press bike. Its got a couple of marks on it but it seems to ride OK.

Son and I took a 20 mile or so ride out on it this morning. The space the Stelvio offers over the Buell is lovely. It allowed my Son to sit back a bit and relax whilst we hammered around the local country lanes. The sound track the exhaust offered was pretty fruity and very different from the Buell and my old 1200 Sport. The step in performance around the 5000rpm mark was pretty addictive. It allows you to potter around at low revs without the bike running away from you and then when required it’ll hitch up its skirt and take off. Motorway cruising was good although I needed to lower the screen right down to its lowest setting to stop the wind buffeting my helmet around. The weather was crappy but we managed to cruise at 70 and still chat to each other through our bluetooth helmets.

Getting back on to the Buell felt very strange. The engine obviously has a lot more grunt low down but comfort does not come close to the Stelvio… I know they are completely different bikes and one would expect an adventure tourer to be relaxing to ride.

The bike on offer comes with panniers. Its a 2008 bike so is one year older than the Buell but its only done 3000 miles and will have a full service before delivery to me….

We’ll have to see what the coming days brings… No decisions made just yet.