Everybody loves the sight of twins and Moto Guzzi seem to know, having added a new pair to the family with the V9 Roamer and Bobber.
The two new bikes are more like fraternal twins rather than identical — while sharing many features, they have their own style.
The Bobber’s personality is distinctly urban cool, with its meaty front tyre and modern custom look. The Roamer is the more traditional twin with a big front wheel and skinnier tyres than its sibling, and I like that.
There isn’t a heck of a lot of plastic in use, with both mud-guards being steel. That’s a plus as plastic guards wouldn’t seem right, and using steel adds to the overall sense of quality of the bike.
Although both bikes share the same steel tube frame and 850cc transverse V-Twin, it’s the little touches that set the engines apart, the Bobber scoring a blacked-out exhaust as is the fashion of custom machines these days, while the Roamer continues with its classic cool theme and has a liberal coating of chrome on the exhaust and handlebar.
The engine is a new unit out of the Guzzi factory on Lake Como. And boy, is it a gem, with plenty of air- and oil-cooled character, while also pumping out enough grunt to keep you more than happy on the open road.
Being a transverse engine, it does have a bit of that rock to the right when you give it a hearty rev in neutral, though it’s not as pronounced as I was expecting.
Peak power is a claimed 41kW (55hp) and backed by 62Nm of torque. That’s 5kW more than the V7, though don’t go thinking that the V9 twins will be replacing the V7 line up anytime soon, as at the New Zealand launch last year it was made clear that the V7s aren’t going anywhere.
Photo / Paul Lance, BRM.co.nz
The announcement of the V7 III at EICMA rammed this home.
With an 850cc capacity, I thought the 90-degree V-Twin would physically hang out the sides more, as the big 1400 unit on the California bikes does, but it is compact.
Keeping the revs in the mid-range will see it push you back in the seat with the throttle wide open, while it acts like a pussycat when you want it to.
Power is, as always, transferred to the ground via a shaft drive, with a six-speed gearbox doing the business of changing the drive ratio.
Sixth is the touring gear and the bike feels in a happier place, sitting in 5th on our 100km/h speed limit. (the Italians can head up to 130 on their highways.)
The decent feeling of “get up and go” you get from what is essentially a relaxed engine, is partly thanks to a low kerb weight — both V9s sit at a claimed 199kg without fuel.
With a full tank of 15 litres (assuming the average that petrol weighs 75 per cent that of water), that would put the weight at about 210kg all up.
That’s light for what boils down to a roadster-come-cruiser, and helps make up for the power deficit from the oil- and air-cooled 850 compared to the now predominantly water-cooled competition.
Photo / Paul Lance, BRM.co.nz
Helping you keep an eye on how fast you’re going is the offset clock, featuring a big analogue speedo, which along with the usual idiot gauges, gives a digital readout offering a host of information including fuel economy, clock, trip meters.
There’s plenty of info to cycle through, but, curiously, a tacho’ (rev counter) isn’t one.
At first I thought the lack of tacho’ was an oversight. But not long after I swung a leg over the Roamer and set off, I found out the reason for the omission. Accelerating away from an intersection, I got a fright when a little red warning triangle lit up.
I thought had managed to break the bike in the first kilometre of riding, though milliseconds later the digital display lit up with a notification that it was time to change gears (and not to head to the nearest bike shop with wallet in hand).
The V9 is targeted at a different kind of rider than the V7, which is designed more to be ridden harder with its classic European ergonomics than the upright and proper V9 Roamer.
The pegs, for instance, sit more outboard. This means you’re limited in your ability to clasp onto the tank with your thighs.
It’s comfortable cruising about around town — but on the open road those comfy ergonomics start to be tiring.
Photo / Paul Lance, BRM.co.nz
Due to your feet being set slightly forward of centre, and with no rearward support coming from the flat (but very cool) seat, I was holding on to the bars tighter than I would normally at 100km/h.
Getting off at the end of longer rides, I’d feel that strain in my arm muscles and shoulders.
Everywhere it ended up, from outside the office to the gas station, the V9 gained a friendly following. It never ceases to amaze how European bikes seem to make fans out of the general public (yet the bikes that motorcyclists drool over fly under their radar).
With a price starting at $16,990, it’s wonderful Italian style that won’t break the bank. The same can be said for the Bobber, so you should have a bit left over to give it a touch of your own style, too.
V9 ROAMER
PRICE: $16,990
ENGINE: 850cc transverse V-Twin
PRO: Great style, low price for an Italian, easy going ride
CON: Switches are a bit funky looking
