anyone ridden a stelvio?

[AV8OR]

question in topic. What accessories are an option??

[Daniel Kalal]

I spent around two weeks on this one.  I think the available (a key word) options depends on where you are (where are you?).  Anyway, this Italian Stelvio has engine protection bars and hard bags (I had the rear trunk removed, as I didn't need it).  The Guzzi factory site lists what's available:

http://www.motoguzzi.it/it_IT/accessori/accessori_dettaglio.aspx?id=56

[AV8OR]

SO the question is....did you like it? Feel like a good every day rider/small off road adventurer? Im looking at a GS or 990adv and I like the looks of the stelvio. What do you think? Any more pics??


currently in mississippi, but heading to WV/MD within a year

[sagerat]

Tubed or tubeless tires?

My GS had spoked wheels, but tubeless tires.  The KLR, alas, not and flats are a royal pain.

[Daniel Kalal]

What do you think? Any more pics??

That photograph was taken during my two week ride in Switzerland.  You can see more photographs here.

Have you ridden a Guzzi?  That would make the description easier.  

It's the strongest Guzzi I've ridden--at least over the whole band of RPMs.  My Daytona hits harder, but then that bike has the feel of an untamed animal.  The Stelvio pulls strong from down low, and never gives up, all the way to red line.  It really likes to live in the higher RPMs.  The engine is smooth, and the mirrors are clear at all times.  In that sense, it may not feel quite as interesting as previous Guzzis.  No matter.  It's fairly comfortable--reminding me of my KTM Adventure with the exception that the Adventure may be the tallest motorcycle ever made.  The Stelvio isn't all that tall, and I had the seat adjusted to the maximum height (I'm 6' 4", for reference).  Actually, the whole riding position is ideal for the sorts of roads I was on in Switzerland.  Would I take it off road?  Easily, on dirt and gravel.  Single track?  You could, but it would not be my choice.  It's a big bike--and that's also what I'd say about the BMW GS. The bags worked fine although they latch needs better adjustment (they'll leak otherwise).  I think the tank needs to be bigger.  To me, the front end looks awful, but that's not really the point.  The headlights are terrific.

Tubed or tubeless tires?

Tubeless.

[AV8OR]

unfortunatley I have not ridden a guzzi.  I appreciate the review. I definatley need to test ride one. But dealers with demos are not an everyday find.

[sagerat]

unfortunatley I have not ridden a guzzi.  I appreciate the review. I definatley need to test ride one. But dealers with demos are not an everyday find.

When you score a test ride, be prepared for more torque than you ever knew existed.  Also the motor is much different in the 5-7K range; some call it magical.

They are a rider's ride.  

[Orson]

unfortunatley I have not ridden a guzzi.  I appreciate the review. I definatley need to test ride one. But dealers with demos are not an everyday find.

a 30 minute test ride is not enough to appreciate the engine's more subtle qualities.

a few hours are needed, at least.

[atadaskew]

a 30 minute test ride is not enough to appreciate the engine's more subtle qualities.

a few hours are needed, at least.

I'm not kidding but the same can be said for Harleys...

[sagerat]

a 30 minute test ride is not enough to appreciate the engine's more subtle qualities.

a few hours are needed, at least.

Hah, for me it took about 20 minutes aboard a Guzzi.

[Busy Little Whiner]

No I haven't ridden a Stelvio but according to Orson I have come this close to the Guzzi experience...



 

[Orson]

OK...I've had a several day ride on a Stelvio. Here are my impressions.

First off, I agree with Daniel on the power of the engine. It pulls like a freight train, yet feels liquidy smooth. It has a smoother exhaust note compared to the jackhammer staccatto of my V11. Freeways are handled with aplomb, passing almost everything in sight. Handling on the tight twisties seemed ok, but the Pirelli Scorpios seemed to lack wet weather grip.

A big negative for me was the snatchy fuel injection at low rpm's. I've been told that this is caused by the new Euro 3 emissions standards. I can put my V11 in first gear and idle along at a walking pace with no problem. This is beneficial when tackling busy inner city streets with lots of pedestrians. This wasn't possible on my Stelvio example. It stuttered and shuddered, demanding that I give it some throttle. Maybe this was just this unit, but considering it was Mr. Guareschi's personal bike, I'd have to assume he had it properly set up.

Another problem seemed to be that first gear wasn't tall enough to handle the tight hairpin curves often encountered in Europe, which was then compounded by the aforementioned snatchy fuel injection.

Lastly, the sit up and beg riding position just doesn't do it for me. The bars felt like they were 6 feet wide, although the seat was comfy enough. Sure, this is the prefered riding position for a dirt bike, but it just doesn't make sense for me on a street bike, unless you're aiming to mimic Ewan & Charley. Long stints on the autostrada had me arcing my back trying to get some relief. Who thought the sit up & beg position was suited for streets? That's just crazy talk.

Parked up at cafes, it was interesting to note passerby's impressions. Although it garnered some admiring glances, I would have to say that the majority seemed to be thinking "What was Guzzi thinking?". I would have to say that I would number myself among those scratching their heads regarding the styling.

While the extra horsepower of the 8 valve engine is a bonus, for me, the snatchy fuel injection cancels out those gains. I see my V11 as more user friendly in real world riding conditions.

Until they get the fuel injection sorted, it's going to have to be a "Thanks, but no thanks".

[sagerat]

Thanks for the write-up.

I like the sit up and beg riding position myself and have pondered the Stelvio for that reason.  Plus when you're aboard it, you can't see that hideous front end.  Or I could save the money and just adapt to my Breva's comparatively more cramped legroom while whispering "pretend it's an Italian Viffer, pretend it's an Italian Viffer..."  

[Daniel Kalal]

snatchy fuel injection at low rpm's.

We only have two bikes to compare, so I don't know if we can say much about the whole fleet, but my ride didn't have that problem.  However, it did suffer from two much driveline slop, which I did find irritating.  It seems there's no cush mechanism in the Stelvio, which makes it feel like the chain is sloppy.  Obviously, that's not a good thing with shaft drive.  It wasn't really horrible, but I did notice it, and I did wish it weren't there.

first gear wasn't tall enough

Here we differ.  I would have preferred it to be even lower (particularly for use on dirt), but I certainly had no problem with a crawl speed on some of the zero-radius hairpins I came across.  It seemed happy enough to run along at something under 2,000 rpms, and still power out.  A tall first gear is almost a Guzzi trademark.  My Daytona has fairly close gear ratios with first being stupid tall--when getting on it, I'm doing 60 mph before I shift into 2nd.

sit up and beg riding

I always refer to a feet-forward, arms forward as the sit-up-and-beg position.  The Stelvio bends your knees and puts your heels under your hips like a dirt bike.  I don't know that you can really complain about it since that's just the nature of this type of motorcycle.  If you want to pretend to be a Paris-Dakar racer, then you have to look the part.  There's no question, though, that this position is not the best for long range riding, but it's still vastly better than having your feet out in front of you.  I think the later Spine Frames (Lemans, Scura, etc.) have a good peg position, as does my floor board Cal2.  My Daytona, on the other hand, is crazy--I'm just about sitting on my heels.

But, all in all, that 4-valve head engine is such a good one.  I might be inclined to go with the Griso version if I had to choose, but the Stelvio is still a very nice ride.

[Orson]

We only have two bikes to compare, so I don't know if we can say much about the whole fleet, but my ride didn't have that problem.

Thanks Daniel.

I'll question Mr. Guareschi about it when I return it. As far as the first gear, I think I meant to say it was TOO tall. Hairpin turns at 10 mph and the bike seemed to be on the verge of stalling out in first gear. Maybe this problem had more to do with the ON or OFF nature of the snatchy fuel injection.

I did notice driveline slop.

Another thing I forgot was the transmission. Having been favorably impressed by the V7's tranny a few days previously, I have to say the Stelvio's transmission wasn't as good. First gear sometimes engaged so quietly, you weren't sure it had engaged until you let out the clutch. Other times it engaged with a loud "CLUNK".

Neutral appeared to exist in another dimension, appearing only when it was good and ready. My toe was doing a light-footed tap dance every time I sought to engage neutral. It was difficult at times.

Maybe I just sampled a Friday afternoon bike  

re: the sit up & beg riding position...under heavy acceleration, I felt as if I was just barely hanging on to the bars. I think it would have helped to have been in the V11 riding position.

[Daniel Kalal]

First gear sometimes engaged so quietly, you weren't sure it had engaged until you let out the clutch. Other times it engaged with a loud "CLUNK".

Neutral appeared to exist in another dimension, appearing only when it was good and ready.

This bit has me wondering about consistency across models.  I found I could snick it into neutral every time with never a miss; I never even thought about it.  But, I did have the same clunk into 1st gear that yours had.  I found on normal shifting that there was a definite note when I put it into each gear (either up or down) until I really started concentrating on getting it right.  It felt as if the thing had next to no flywheel weight, which made matching gear speeds tricker than it should be.

[Orson]

OK...I spoke with Mr. Guareschi about the snatchy fuel injection at low rpm.

or rather I mimed and spoke Spanish...he answered in Italian   so my translation may be lacking.

He seemed to be saying that the cause was that at the 4000 km mark, the wrench icon lit up and the bike needed to be taken to the dealer. They hadn't gotten around to doing that.

[JonS]

OK...I've had a several day ride on a Stelvio. Here are my impressions.

First off, I agree with Daniel on the power of the engine. It pulls like a freight train, yet feels liquidy smooth. It has a smoother exhaust note compared to the jackhammer staccatto of my V11. Freeways are handled with aplomb, passing almost everything in sight. Handling on the tight twisties seemed ok, but the Pirelli Scorpios seemed to lack wet weather grip.

A big negative for me was the snatchy fuel injection at low rpm's. I've been told that this is caused by the new Euro 3 emissions standards. I can put my V11 in first gear and idle along at a walking pace with no problem. This is beneficial when tackling busy inner city streets with lots of pedestrians. This wasn't possible on my Stelvio example. It stuttered and shuddered, demanding that I give it some throttle. Maybe this was just this unit, but considering it was Mr. Guareschi's personal bike, I'd have to assume he had it properly set up.

Another problem seemed to be that first gear wasn't tall enough to handle the tight hairpin curves often encountered in Europe, which was then compounded by the aforementioned snatchy fuel injection.

Lastly, the sit up and beg riding position just doesn't do it for me. The bars felt like they were 6 feet wide, although the seat was comfy enough. Sure, this is the prefered riding position for a dirt bike, but it just doesn't make sense for me on a street bike, unless you're aiming to mimic Ewan & Charley. Long stints on the autostrada had me arcing my back trying to get some relief. Who thought the sit up & beg position was suited for streets? That's just crazy talk.

Parked up at cafes, it was interesting to note passerby's impressions. Although it garnered some admiring glances, I would have to say that the majority seemed to be thinking "What was Guzzi thinking?". I would have to say that I would number myself among those scratching their heads regarding the styling.

While the extra horsepower of the 8 valve engine is a bonus, for me, the snatchy fuel injection cancels out those gains. I see my V11 as more user friendly in real world riding conditions.

Until they get the fuel injection sorted, it's going to have to be a "Thanks, but no thanks".

My MTS suffered from the same low end problems, too lean. It took a competent tech about 20 minutes to fix it, using a screwdriver and his ear. I assume Guzzi has the same, Italian FI. Adding a one tooth lower countershaft sprocket was the icing on the cake.