Guzzi curious...

Is mine tuned properly. Probably not but it’s pinked when it’s hot since the day I got it. I say ‘pinked’ because that is sort of what it sounds like: loud rattle mainly left side coming from the cylinder head manifold area but only when pulling away from standstill at about 2500 rpm. I did go round tightening stuff up thinking it was something loose but as it only does it at low revs in town I do think it’s pinking or related. Lots of reports of similar issues on the various V85TT Facebook groups I’m in, although the latest story there seems to be it’s not pinking but piston slap as the cylinders expand faster in heat. I call bollocks on that one. Above about 3k revs and it goes away anyway.

On the tuning front, I took it to J33 tuning for him to have a look - he’s local and does a great job on most bikes. Long story but he said it was too difficult/long winded, mainly as each change he made needed a TPS reset in order to clear the ensuing fault that the ECU detected. A tps reset took 20mins and as he had loads of changes to make (try out I think) the process would take days. Most of the time the bike runs absolutely fine so I’m not desperately bothered.

There’s also a more or less plug and play tuning solution developed by guzzitech in the US. You buy a “black box” that you plug into the diagnostic port on the bike. It downloads your bike’s software which you email off to guzzitech. They then send you an updated fuel map which you install via the “black box”. The black box also does the tps reset which it seems they recommend you do once a year anyway. It’s about £300 so I’m giving it some thought but need to read around it a bit more.
 
Really tempted to change my Yamaha S10 for a V85, I have loved Guzzis for years but never bitten the bullet.
 
For what it's worth...

I've put over 100k miles on 1150GSAs and still swear by them. (Never been interested in what followed). I then went back to an R100GS pd Classic as my go to bike. All wonderful. But they are heavy - which for me these days is becoming na issue.

The V85 is the only bike on the market I was interested in that met my specification: simple engineering, aircooled, shaft driven, spoked, tubeless wheels and so on. I'm only 1,000 miles in but very pleased with the V85. It will never be quite the long distance mile muncher the 1150 was but then my needs are different these days. Can't comment yet on pillion comfort but I suspect its fairly good.

There's no way it will still be on the road and in such good shape engineering wise as my R100 GS in 27 years time. The build quality and use of materials is just not the same - but then IMO it wasn't on the 1150 either.

To me, part of the V85 attraction is its simplicity. Out of warranty, I can't see there being too much i wont be able to do myself in terms of normal maintenance/replacement repairs. In fact, it's very like a modern version of a GS airhead, minus the 21" front wheel and the suspension travel that is. I like that. And of course, I like the fact its easy to push out of the garage park etc.

Did i mention the upper 60's per gallon you get until you really give it the beans? It's my first Guzzi. But it's a great ride. I'm looking forward to the Pyrenees on it next month.
 

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I traded an Africa Twin 1100 in on this V85 and couldn't be happier. The AT had more power and suspension travel but I find the V85 still has plenty of both for my needs. This bike has much nicer throttling and the suspension is more compliant. I also appreciate the clearly laid out display and it's SO simple to use compared to the confusingly complicated display on the AT. The ergos are about perfect for me (5'-11", 32" inner leg), the power delivery and handling are delightful, and it has wonderful brakes. For me it's one of those motorcycles that the more I ride it the more I want to ride it, which means it just doesn't have any real faults, even the stock seat isn't bad. I try not to ride much at night but the one time I was late coming back I found the lights work quite well. Three things I like having on any all purpose motorcycle are; tank capacity for 200+ miles, tubeless wheels, cruise control, and it has all three. My AT required tubes and I had the misfortune of getting a flat when roughness on the inside of the original front tyre abraded through the inner tube. The AT was difficult to work on, just accessing things were difficult and requited removing layers of plastic panels that used hidden snap tabs, push pins, and screws. The V85 seems much easier to work on.
IMO these bikes are a great value, list price on a 2022 V85TT here is $13,190 plus tax. You get metal top load bags and trunk, shaft drive, large capacity tank, LED lighting, and the already mentioned cruise and tubeless wheels. For comparison a F850GS is $14,500 and that doesn't even include luggage which'd probably add another $1,500.

A week ago I pulled over at exactly 1,000 miles and snapped this pic. It had its 1,000 mile service the following day so the break in period is finally over.

 
Borderbob, nice looking Guzzi and Gs there, is that the Aprilia front mudguard on the Guzzi? It looks brilliant, Guzzi should fit them as standard.
 


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