WHEN you head out on the highway, looking for adventure, you could do worse than to be doing it on the 2017 Moto Guzzi V7 II Racer. For the record, the V7 II Racer feels great on the open road, it loves being ridden faster and in tight and hard corners, it’s super responsive and easy to manoeuvre.
It’s a good looking machine, with a solid overall finish and plenty of street appeal. You might even go so far as to call it sleek. In fact the V7 II Racer package is a good one for riders of all sizes, it not only has the looks but the configuration of the seat and handlebars make it a very comfortable ride.
On board, you’ll find a chrome fuel tank, red frame, suede saddle and number panels, with other standout features including ABS, traction control, adjustable billet rear sets and a lightweight triple clamp. There is also a pair of Bitubo rear shock absorbers with adjustable spring pre-load, rebound and compression damping.
It also comes fitted with an innovative multimedia platform which is available as an accessory. The Moto Guzzi Media Platform (MG-MP) is a Bluetooth module which connects to the motorcycle to the rider’s smart phone, providing a range of functions including an instrument panel displaying additional vehicle parameters, navigation, trip information and owner’s manual.
It’s a bike with history too, having first hit the road back in 1967, marking the introduction of the first large capacity Italian motorcycle and completely changing that country’s bike culture. Fast forward to today, and the Moto Guzzi V7 II Racer is powered by a 750cc, 90-degree V-Twin motor.
There’s plenty of solid torque from the engine, with good power up high, and reasonable power across the entire rev range. As a shaft driven bike, it’s also easy to keep clean too as there’s no messy chain to deal with.
Riding on quality Pirelli rubber, it feels good everywhere, even in traffic, and the brakes stop you on a dime. On the downside though it is dull at slow speeds and it doesn’t like high revs in low gears. We caught the clutch slipping more than once.
The visibility via the rear vision mirrors is also not great, and we found the exhaust to be too restrictive, offering some minor moments of questionable performance when the throttle was opened up. If we were being really picky we’d point out the speedo numbers are hard to read but that’s a minor thing.
The other things that caught us out were the hard front suspension, which provided poor feedback and we felt was detrimental to the overall handling long term, and a vibration in the handlebars, which on long rides would guarantee to cause some pins and needles in your arms and hands.
The negatives aside, the 2017 Moto Guzzi V7 II Racer represents excellent value for money, priced at around the $17,990 price point – and that’s a ride-away price. It comes in two colour schemes; silver/black and white/black. That said, it’s a naked style bike so there’s not many places to put a lot of colour, although Moto Guzzi do a good job in this area too.
Our test bike was supplied by Moto Guzzi Australia. To find out more about the 2017 Moto Guzzi V7 II Racer, contact your local dealer.
