The production version of Moto Guzzi’s V85 TT adventure bike is at Intermot, which means we’ve got more details on the throwback machine.
To go with those vintage dune-blasting aesthetics, the V85 TT has a 21-litre fuel tank, TFT dash, ABS, traction control. ABS and traction control both have Road, Off-Road and Rain modes. There’s a 19-inch wheel up front and a 17-inch wheel in back, with spoked rims, natch. That’s good for bumpy roads, but not great for really hardcore smashing around off-piste.
The 850 cc engine itself is similar to the V9, but with titanium intake valves and hot cam, new 52 mm throttle body, and a scavenging oil pump that supposedly keeps temperatures so low that this engine doesn’t even need an oil cooler. In an age where the big adventure bikes are all liquid-cooled and even retro-styled Scramblers feature big oil coolers hanging off the engine at the very least, the idea of a completely air-cooled big V-twin is so old-school, it’s novel.
The engine is expected to make about 78 hp, thanks to the changes from the V9 design. Moto Guzzi reckons they can get it through Euro5 testing. It’s a stressed member of the frame as well. The rest of the frame is steel tubing, and the swingarm is aluminum.
Of course, the bike has shaft drive. The bike has a TFT dash and adjustable windscreen. Aluminum luggage will be available as add-on accessories.
One important number we don’t have is a weight, but given the bike’s imposing bulk and its wheel selection, it’s not going to be a lightweight single-tracker.
hmmm I love my Guzzi Breva for touring. Guzzi is apparently italian for “Reliable. Simple. Bulletproof and Fun”. But Breva, fun as she is in twisty as[phalt, is a bit awful on a gravel road, and I would never think of taking her to Ushuaia. Meanwhile my Triumph Tiger is way better on asphalt or gravel than than those silly overpriced, overblown beemers – but arguably not as great in dirt as a KTM but on the other hand WAAAAAY more reliable (I miss y old KTM 640 Adv but I don’t miss working on it 24/7).
So a reliable simple guzzi ADV? interesting!