Stelvio NTX

[Biking Sailor]

Blakebird, those picture are making me jealous so you need to cut it out...

Uh, on second thought nevermind and keep them coming! 

Sweet bike and looks like you are really enjoying it.  Congrats!

[crispiegee1]

Congrats Blakebird! It looks like a heck of a fun bike. (I wish someone near Buffalo would get one!)

How's the sound with the stock pipe? As much as I hate loud, non-factory pipes on most bikes, some Guzzis have too much putt-putt and not enough thump-thump. Do you have a list of farkles you'll be doing?

[ToadRide]

Blackbird, those picture are making me jealous so you need to cut it out...

Uh, on second thought nevermind and keep them coming!  

Sweet bike and looks like you are really enjoying it.  Congrats!

 

For those of us who haven't even seen one yet, I found this on Guzzi Tech
http://forum.guzzitech.com/forum/190/8853.html

[blakebird]

Congrats Blakebird! It looks like a heck of a fun bike. (I wish someone near Buffalo would get one!)

How's the sound with the stock pipe? As much as I hate loud, non-factory pipes on most bikes, some Guzzis have too much putt-putt and not enough thump-thump. Do you have a list of farkles you'll be doing?

I waited a while to put a pipe on my 1200 Sport, the stock pipe made quite a nice rumble and was fairly satisfying. I'm not big on loud pipes these days, preferring Akrapovic and Leo Vince with db killers on my sportbikes, and Mistral on the last couple of Guzzis.

I ended up putting a Mistral on the 1200 Sport too, and was very happy with the mellow sound... without the db killer. With the db killer it was as quiet or quieter than the stock exhaust!
I wanted to hear what the stock pipe was like on the NTX, and it's maybe a tetch quieter than I would have liked....so I ordered a Mistral for it.
It should be here in a couple of days. That motor is just one you want to hear more of, within reason.

The bike comes with a couple of 12vdc outlets (cig lighter style) - one on the dash, one under the pillion seat. I'll add a couple of powerlets and that will be about it for a while. I picked up a Givi B33 topbox so the wife would have a bit of a backrest, but if she's not back there I'll leave it off. Not a huge fan of them.
I will look for a stem mount for my 60CSx cradle, and if the aftermarket comes out with a selection of screens I might change windscreens. The stocker isn't bad, but Cee Bailey can probably improve on it.

[ToadRide]

It's obvious by my number of posts that I've got the bug, big time. But, until the 19th, all I can do is wait and watch. So, Blake. How do the Heidies feel? I guess I am going to cheap out and burn thru the stock tires before making a switch but I am a big fan of Heidies, being on my second pair. With this bike I won't hit anything worse than a main logging road so they are perfect for me. And the life of these tires is phenomenal.
I too will prolly want to hear this beauty's rumble a little more than a lot. The GT-RX pipe on the Guzzi Tech site's store is an absolute work of art at a reasonable price but looking at the photo showing its slimness I do have concerns that it may be just too loud for me. Once bought a Two Bros for my 1200 Bandit and altho another beauty, I eventually put the stock back on because it was rattling my brain. May check out the mistral.

[blakebird]

So, Blake. How do the Heidies feel?

Like any knobbie-ish tire, they wander a bit on grooved concrete, and they don't like tar snakes much at all  
We did a pretty good route with plenty of curves and tight switchbacks on Saturday - so the tires being new and untried....I eased into pushing them very much.

They're very good I'm happy to say. A few turns into the climb up Berthoud Pass I felt comfortable enough with them (and the bike overall) to get a good lean going.

[ToadRide]

I'm likin that Carbon Conical. Which Mistral did u order?

[WitchCityBallabio]

I waited a while to put a pipe on my 1200 Sport, the stock pipe made quite a nice rumble and was fairly satisfying. I'm not big on loud pipes these days, preferring Akrapovic and Leo Vince with db killers on my sportbikes, and Mistral on the last couple of Guzzis.

I ended up putting a Mistral on the 1200 Sport too, and was very happy with the mellow sound... without the db killer. With the db killer it was as quiet or quieter than the stock exhaust!
I wanted to hear what the stock pipe was like on the NTX, and it's maybe a tetch quieter than I would have liked....so I ordered a Mistral for it.
It should be here in a couple of days. That motor is just one you want to hear more of, within reason.

The bike comes with a couple of 12vdc outlets (cig lighter style) - one on the dash, one under the pillion seat. I'll add a couple of powerlets and that will be about it for a while. I picked up a Givi B33 topbox so the wife would have a bit of a backrest, but if she's not back there I'll leave it off. Not a huge fan of them.
I will look for a stem mount for my 60CSx cradle, and if the aftermarket comes out with a selection of screens I might change windscreens. The stocker isn't bad, but Cee Bailey can probably improve on it.

I have the Mistral on mine too. You'll love it. Plus, it drops almost 15-20 pounds off the bike as a little side bonus.

Check out RocketMoto for your cradle. He has pretty much everything it seems.

[blakebird]

I'm likin that Carbon Conical. Which Mistral did u order?

On the Rosso Mandello - CF cans x2.
On the 1200 Sport - stainless

I like CF as much as the next guy....but on a twin putting out some heat I think it ages quickly.

I went with the alloy canister and CF tip

[sagerat]

Sweet looking ride.  

I loved the sound of my Breva 1100 and its stock exhaust: sounded like a small block V-8 with Glas Paks, purposeful but not annoying.

I still have a weakness for those Eye-talian steeds.  

[blakebird]

Took it down to New Mexico this weekend, it sits at ~1500 miles now and has had it's first service.

Sorry for the lack of action photos.... I just rode, it was too beautiful a day to stop much.
One pic of the High Road to Taos





I put the Mistral on before I took off late Friday afternoon, and based on my experience with the mellow Mistral on the 1200 Sport, I left the db killer out.
It was a bit louder than I like from the rider's point of view. My buddy took it for a spin and it was mellow sounding to me as I stood and watched.... but I didn't care for the bark and installed the db killer when I got back Sunday afternoon.



The db killer is a stainless perforated tube that is almost too effective. After installing it and hearing how well it muffled the sound....I enlarged the 1/4" dia holes slightly, giving it a bit more oomph to the sound.
Still very quiet, but lets the v-twin sound come out.

This is the db killer from the 1200 Sport's Mistral, virtually identical to the one in the NTX pipe.

[sagerat]

Most recent edition of MCN had a glowing review of the Stelvio.  Only complaint was a lot of heat from left side cylinder, which they said sits closer to rider's knee.  Did you notice anything like that?

Again, beautiful bike.

[blakebird]

Most recent edition of MCN had a glowing review of the Stelvio.  Only complaint was a lot of heat from left side cylinder, which they said sits closer to rider's knee.  Did you notice anything like that?

We've been having record breaking high temps along the front range... so yes, at lower speeds you can feel some warmth. I've been wearing my Alpinestars leather lowers though, so I would have been hot on anything   I have a 34" inseam, so my legs are closer than some might be.
I wouldn't say it's anything to complain about though, my K100RS used to bake me, my ST1300 was obnoxiously hot - those two bikes were way worse, yet still fun to ride.

If you live in a hot and humid place, it might be worse....we're pretty low humidity here and 100F days are pretty rare in Denver. I probably wouldn't own this bike if I still lived in Vegas, but that's more about it being air/oil cooled and a hot running engine to begin with. I cooked my FXR-S there in the early 90's... that bike ran really hot in 114F temps.

[chomy]

 On a side note there was a new NTX on the floor at Pacific here in Vancouver, and they claim more coming shortly. They also have a 2011 Stelvio for 12 and change, this ones been on the floor since last year but with the new NTX's showing up they finally dropped the price. I was in the shop today getting parts for my Beemer, hard to resist.

[Croak]

That's a nice price drop, when I was in there a couple weeks ago to ride the Explorer they still had it priced at $17k.

[ToadRide]

Welp. Sat on mine today. Still have to wait till Saturday for the financing. And they still would not let me try it out. But I did run it. Not a valve tap noise to be heard anywhere. Muffler is very quiet. Much more so than my stock F800. And ugly. I mean Butt ugly! The muffler. Definitely going for a mistral right away. It vibrates more than my F8 but that's to be expected. The seat height has me up on my toes a bit with my 30" inseam but as it is brand new and unloaded, I know it's going to go down a bit. Checked for shift clunk into first and it is smooth as silk.
Checked the sliding windshield and if you adjust it right up, it will definitely rub into the paintwork. They said they are aware of it and a fix is on the way. The signal mirrors are not as big as I thought they would be but I am still replacing the mirrors. And, there's a question: Best solvent to remove the paint from the body signal lenses. Alcohol? The tires are Scorpion Trails and I really wouldn't want to hit too many dirt roads with then but they will do for now.
More to come.

[blakebird]

Record breaking temps on the front range...not much relief at elevation.
Canadian Rockies are looking pretty good right now, should be lots cooler.

[ToadRide]

The Rockies? Slow down and wait for the flooding to pass. (Few more days)

[ToadRide]

Well, like one person said, "If you test ride a Guzzi for a half hour, you probably won't like it but if you have it longer than a week, you'll be smitten." Pretty well sums it up for me. My only real dislike was, because of my 30" inseam the bike was still tall. And HEAVY! I realize the totally new suspension is stiff and in time will come down a bit and along with luggage and camping gear and shock/fork adjustment it may bring it down a bit more but I opted to "renew" my boots one more time in the spirit of Elton John ala Disco.

 But the seat, after the F800's?  Heaven. It may be a bit big and clunky but I can ride around all day with nary a dagger in my ass. And the ride itself? Where it really shines right now is on the highway as a fast cruiser. After 5 grand and 130 kph, it just wants to go. (Prolly should stop calling it 'it' and start saying she or her as those headlights want to make me cry "Mamma Mia!!") And now I've thrown on a little beauty Mistral can and am just loving that sound.

 It's hard for me to think there has ever been a sound produced that matches a Duc but this has got to be it. So, ya, I am enamored.  
I do have an issue with the low end jerky throttle and surging up to 4 grand that is probably now worse with the Mistral addition but the service manager says at first service he may be able to tweak that a bit. We'll see. If not, there's the $500 module flash out of California. But for now, lovin it. Err..her.
Now if it would just stop raining!

[Pete Roper]

Low end jerkiness on a very light throttle and/or during transition from trailing to ope  can often be addressed by simply adjusting the throttle cables for minimum free play. Also throttle body balance and the correct set up of the air bleeds, (Only ONE air bleed should ever be open.) can have a dramatic effect on low speed throttle operation. All the 8V's are VERY sensitive to TB balance, so much so that I bought a new and very expensive but absurdly accurate balance tool to set 'em up and ig makes a world of difference.

Pete