Overland Journal – August 01, 2019

OVERLAND JOURNAL FALL 2019

28

Thereis somethingbeautifulaboutthesoundofa V-twin

enginesparkingtolife,settlingintoa lowexhaustrumble—the

sameengineconfigurationdesignedbyGiulioCesareCarcano

nearly 60 yearsago.I findthatalmosteverythingabouta Moto

Guzzisparksemotion,whichis whyI purchaseda V7Special

yearsagoforthein-townbackandforth.

Inmid-March,I flewtoSardiniatotestthenewestGuzzi,

theirV85TT,a motorcyclethatPiaggioGrouphaspositioned

as thefirstclassicenduro.Theconcepthasmassiveappealtome

asa rider,asit notonlybringsinthenostalgicvisualsofearly

scramblersbutincludesa properdoseofsimplicityanddurabil-

ity.I findthisnewcategoryofmotorcyclestobea reminderof

whatthesemachines are supposed to be: our magic carpet rides

toadventure.

FORTHETRAVELERTravelingbymotorcycleis oneof thegreatjoys

of theoverlander—thefreedomthatcomeswitheaseof movement

andminimalistequipment.TheV85TTwasdesignedfromthe

groundup for travel with alowmaintenanceshaftdrive,anair-

cooledmotor,a wide,comfortable

seat,anda 6-gallonfueltank.The

riderpositionis veryuprightbut

alsoallowsfortransitioninginto

a moreaggressivestancefor

carvingmountainroads.The

cylinderheadsarein a perfectspot

toholdtheriderinplaceduring

heavybraking,andtheABS-

controlledbrakesareexcellent

withtwin320-millimeterdiscs

withfour-pistonBrembocalipers.

Behindtheclassicallystyledtwin

headlampswithdaytimerunninglampsis a 4.3-inch,high-

luminosityTFTdisplay.It is smallerthanothersonthemarket,

but far better protected, and clearly displays critical information

likeridingmode, air temperature, fuel level, and cruise control

operation.

ONTHETRAILDuringthistestride,thedirtsectionwasadmittedly

short,butI wasableto negotiateto thefrontof thepackandpush

thelimitsa bitonthemixed-surface course. Immediately apparent

weretheeaseofridinginthe

standingpositionandhowwell

balancedthemotorcyclefelt.It

is surprisinglystableandsure-

footed,whichspeakstothe

overallpackagedesignand

suspensiontuning.TheV85TT

usesa dualratespringandfirm

shockdamping,soit doeswork

betteronthedirtthanthe6.7

inchesof travelwouldindicate.

Theoff-roadridingmode

minimizestractioncontroland

turnsoffthewell-tunedABSon

therearbrakecompletely.AsI

bouncedoverrocksandruts

withtheMotoGuzzi,I rememberthinkinghowperfecttheidea

of a classicenduroreallyis:not a dirt bike pretender, but at home

onanyroadin theworld.

MOTOGUZZI.COM

OVERLAND NEWS SCOTT BRADY

MotoGuzzirevealstheir ultimate

adventure motorcycle with the V85 TT.

PROS

Classic,yet modernized

Shaftdrive

Effectivetractioncontrol

andABS

6-gallonfueltankanda

500-pound wet weight

CONS

Exhaustlow and unprotected

Belowaveragefuel economy

at 48 mpg

Suspensiontravelbelow

average at 6.7 inches

The Classic Enduro

Photography

by

Moto

Guzzi

Clockwisefromtop:The V85 TT is comfortableto standon, evenwith-

out bar risers,and the overallbalanceencouragesgenerousthrottle

on the dirt. Withthe tubularframe,highfender,and overallminimalist

architecture,MotoGuzzinailedthe aesthetic.A first for the brand,the

model is equipped with a bright and readable color TFT display.