The Stelvio NTX

[Lorien]

OK failing a renewal of the Honda NT anytime too soon:

http://www.motoguzzi-us.com/en_US/prodotti/touring/stelvio/stelvio_1200_ntx/immagini.aspx

8 gallon tank! at around 600 lbs., 6 speeds and shaft drive and no lower fairing so we are used to that.

 

[Rocky]

That is very cool!

 

[charlie b]

If you want to ask people about the Stelvio you can go here:

http://wildguzzi.com/forum/

Of course, if you want a bike more similar to the NT look at the Norge. The new ones have the same engine as the Stelvio and an upgraded suspension.

 

[RedBird]

The 32" seat height would be a problem for me though...

 

[Mellow]

While I was waiting for the Super Ten to show up... I considered a Triumph 800XC, there's a dealer near by and he's also a MG dealer. He had a used Stelvio NTX there but it was the older version. I sat on it and it felt like sitting on a cruiser.. pretty darn comfortable and the seat height seemed very low after sitting on the 800XC. At the time, the newer version wasn't released yet. The large tank is a definite positive. Never owned a MG but many love them.

 

[charlie b]

Compared to other adv bikes the Stelvio is quite comfortable. And not really much has been done to the Stelvio in the newest incarnation except fix a few bugs. The larger gas tank was the biggest one. If I were to buy an adv bike it would be difficult for me to pass up the Stelvio. But, being an average Guzzi guy (we are known for being cheap), I'd look for a used one

MG ownership is an emotional thing. Has to be given the lack of dealers. Nice thing is they are dead simple to work on.

 

[elizilla]

I have sat on the Norge and the Stelvio at the shows, in past years when they used to display there. My knees always hit the cylinder heads where they stick out. Like the ST1100 and ST1300, the transverse V engine configuration reduces knee room.

 

[tawilke46]

We have had three different dealers here in Baton Rouge attempt to sell and maintain Moto Guzzi motorcycles. They have all failed.
There just seems to be no market for them here. There have also been attempts at Aprilla and Ducati. They also failed.
I really love the sound of a Guzzi. Sounds v-twin Italian!
Can't very well buy Italian bikes if there is no dealership structure in your state.
I would say most bikes sold here are Harleys. We have a huge HD dealership in Baton Rouge and the owner has another one in Hammond just east of here. Harleys are everywhere in Louisiana.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Katherine, knee room isn't an issue for some of us. And I've just learned there's an MG dealer in Fort Collins. I'd probably opt for the Norge over the Stelvio. I really like Moto Guzzis (Moto Geese?), but dont know that I'd ever buy one.

 

[loonytuna]

I've always like the Moto Guzzi, just the right amount of "different".

But for me, the seat height is a problem and the dealer network is terrible here.

The local dealer failed with them. maybe it was partially due to price.

I also wonder how the resale and parts availability would be.

When I clicked the link, I actually chose the wrong bike, I clicked the Stelvio 1200 4V, when I clicked the "download brochure" I got this - http://www.motoguzzi-us.com/media/2009_motoguzzirange_lowres.pdf - Model year 2009, what's up with that??

 

[RedBird]

Well, now we have several manufacturers offering shaft drive adventure touring bikes here. Triumph, Yamaha, BMW, MotoGuzzi. Wonder when/if Honda will offer their Crosstourer?

 

[Lorien]

Sometimes it takes a while to notice little things. Interesting that they would have an adventure bike with wire spokes. Hhmmmm.

As others have said dealer network can be a problem. I looked at a Norge a while back. Sure seemed to vibrate a lot but that was on the showroom. Maybe better at speed. And those seats-can you say firm?

 

[Phil Tarman]

Interesting that they would have an adventure bike with wire spokes. Hhmmmm.

Lorien, the hard-core adventure bikes typically have wire spokes. They'll take more of a beating in rocky terrain than cast wheels. Look at the GS-Adventure, for instance.

 

[Lorien]

Lorien, the hard-core adventure bikes typically have wire spokes. They'll take more of a beating in rocky terrain than cast wheels. Look at the GS-Adventure, for instance.

Now that you mention it I never noticed. Just seems vunerable. Guess I was noticing the tire pattern and something looked out of place.

 

[Mellow]

Yeah, spoked wheels are the way to go on an ADV bike.

The Honda crosstourer is here, just not in the U.S. yet...

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/News/newsresults/First-rides-tests/2012/February/feb1612-honda-crosstourer-first-ride/

 

[Rich]

I don't care for wire-spoke wheels, having had the experience of a domino-effect snapping of 16 spokes while driving down the highway. Getting it repaired was a chore-and-a-half. Keep in mind there is the concept of keeping these things "in tune". Not much of an issue for off-road, but at higher speeds on highway something that can drive you nuts if they get out of true.

 

[Phil Tarman]

I used to make my own bicycle wheels. The spoked wheel is an amazing thing ... if it's carefully trued and all the spokes have good tension. The weight of the bike (whether human powered or internal combustion) hangs from the rim, with most of the weight hanging on the 3-4 spokes at the top of the wheel. I never have messed with a motorcycle wheel, but on a rear bicycle wheel, one of the "interesting/challenging" things was to get the hub centered relative to the rim, while there was a freewheel cluster taking up room on the right side of the bicycle. (Alex could tell uis all a bunch more all this, I'm sure).

I never had a wheel I had built break a spoke. Keeping them true was usually just a matter of tweaking one or two spokes every now and then.

Motorcycle wheels would undoubtedly be harder to build and keep trued. I'm guessing that their spoke tension would be less than a bicycle wheel's, but that may be wrong.

 

[charlie b]

I've had many more miles on spoke wheels than mags. On road bikes never a problem with them. Never out of true, never needed any maintenance at all. Carry extra tubes on longer rides and all is good. Why do I like mags better? Have you ever CLEANED spoke wheels And I do like tubeless tires better, despite the issue of tire problems on the road (although many spoke rims these days are made for tubeless).

Dirt bikes another issue. They got new wheels every now and then due to bent rims. But, also had broken bars, levers, etc, etc. Part of returning from a day of riding was replacing bent and broken parts. That was a LONG time ago.

 

[Mellow]

What bends... does not break..

On a road bike, you can go either way... both wheel options have their advantages and disadvantages and for me I would prefer non-spoked for that purpose.

On a dirt bike or dual sport bike - spokes are the way to go. bend a rim a little and break a spoke or two and you're still able to get home or some place to get a repair. Do that on a cast wheel and you're calling a 4x4 tow truck you HOPE can get to you. My tenere will be ridden primarily on streets but I like to know that when I do take it off road I don't have to worry about the wheels as much w/spokes as w/non-spoked ones.

Also, the nice thing is the GS Adv, Tenere and new Crosstourer all have spoked Tubless wheels/tires so you get the advantage of tubless for repairs.

The Triumph explorer, ducati multi strada and even base GS model all have non-spoked wheels. BMW considers the spoked wheels an Adventure model upgrade.

Basically, figure out what you want or don't want from a bike and the features you place high on the priority list and go from there.

I will hand it to BMW in this category because you actually have the option of both kinds of wheels avail for your GS whereas you don't with the other adv models, at least not that I'm aware of.

 

[Phil Tarman]

I agree with Charlie that on a road bike, spoked wheels are the last thing I'd want. If I thought I could ride an adventure bike off road, I'd probably want spoked wheels, but I'd prefer the tubeless spoked rims.