T
he Moto Guzzi V85TT caused quite a stir
worldwide when released last year. I know I
thoroughly enjoyed riding the V85TT at the
media launch in Phuket, Thailand. Over there the
Guzzi seemed absolutely ideal for the conditions
and was just a ridiculous amount of fun. The roads
were smooth and very curvy and not so fast…
mostly somewhere between 80-120km/h the
majority of the time. We were continually
sweeping in to lovely constant radius turns that
were immediately followed by even better ones
in the opposite direction. As you can imagine with
such great riding roads, most bikes start to feel
awesome, because you are having such a great
time. So, yes, the V85TT performing faultlessly,
but as with most things, it’s often a good idea
to wait a while before making a final assessment.
Sit back. Wait until you can ride the machine back
home away from all the hype, in local conditions
and then finally decide what you really think.
Getting the bike for a couple of weeks here
on NZ soil would give me that opportunity.
A couple of weeks later it’s fair to say my early
opinions have only been confirmed. The V85TT
is a fantastic all-purpose touring bike for NZ. It
has all the elements required to be an excellent
KIWI RIDER 39