2023 Moto Guzzi V100 Mandello S Assessment | Motorbike Check

Moto Guzzi V100 Mandello S Assessment

By Rennie Scaysbrook

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There are occasions once I’m very glad I like bikes, as a result of they take me to locations I may solely dream of.

Mandello Del Lario, located about an hour and half north of Milan and on the identical physique of water because the famed Lake Como, is a type of impossibly stunning locations you examine solely in journey magazines.

Quintessentially Italian, the day drifts by beneath the wheels of the brand new Moto Guzzi V100 Mandello S. It will appear completely impolite to be piloting something aside from a Moto Guzzi, the marque that has made extra of an financial contribution to the world than practically every other firm.

The inexperienced and silver Mandello S is critical for 3 causes. The primary is it celebrates 100 years of the Moto Guzzi motorbike firm. A century of gorgeous if quirky bikes, from the enduring 1955 500 cc V8 grand prix racer to the ugly as sin 1974 Moto Guzzi Eldorado Police, the Le Mans and the bike I’d kill for, the MGS-01.

The second important cause is the Mandello S is the primary Moto Guzzi – yep, the very first – to be fitted with a water-cooled engine. Dubbed the “shortblock” with its cylinder heads rotated 90° so now the consumption manifold sits within the heart of the V quite than close to the rider’s knees, the brand new engine is 103 mm shorter entrance to again than in previous air-cooled type.

And the third important cause for the 2023 Moto Guzzi V100 Mandello S is the introduction of the corporate’s first adaptive aero, with flaps sitting beneath the handlebar that open and shut relying in your pace and the using mode you’re in.

Moto Guzzi make fairly the music and dance about that final level however the flaps/winglets, no matter you wish to name them, claiming over 200 hours of wind tunnel use was spent on their improvement. Nevertheless, I really feel they don’t make that a lot of a distinction at pace.

The flaps solely open in Tour mode at 70 km/h and at all times stay open once you experience in Rain mode. In Road and Sport mode, they continue to be closed in customary type though you may go into the modes individually and permit them to open at a predetermined pace.

The adaptive aero flaps are claimed to cut back air strain on the rider by as much as 22 p.c and work together with the electronically adjustable windscreen.

I need to admit, nevertheless, that our take a look at route in Northern Italy wasn’t precisely like pinning the throttle on the Hume Freeway – so constant excessive pace using – and thus the flaps relative efficiency wasn’t that simple to discern. An extended take a look at experience than what our two hour lake jaunt permitted can be required sooner or later.

Nevertheless, we bought loads of expertise on that fancy water-cooled motor and the all-new chassis, and the experience on this respect is sort of in contrast to any Guzzi I’ve ridden earlier than.

The brand new transverse V-twin motor produces a claimed 115 hp at 8700 rpm and 77 lb-ft of torque at 6750 rpm, so the V100 Mandello isn’t going to tug any arms out of sockets from sheer acceleration, however you get 82 p.c of that 105 Nm of torque from a lowly 3500 rpm.

This quantity alone provides you a little bit of a touch as to the Mandello S’s M.O. That is completely not Moto Guzzi’s reply to a BMW S 1000 XR. A sport-touring machine it might be, however the Guzzi’s leanings are way more on the touring aspect of the equation. Preserve the motor in its completely satisfied spot between 3-5000 rpm and also you’ll have a pleasant time on the Mandello.

The S model – one among three within the Mandello line-up – will get a quick-shifter but it surely’s not the smoothest on the market. The motor and gearbox could also be all new but it surely nonetheless retains that ‘Guzzi-ness’ the place in the event you rev it out within the decrease gears and seize a cog, you’ll be met with an honest thump because the gearbox protests your petulant levering of its shifter. Decelerate, be extra deliberate together with your gear-shifts and issues will clean out properly.

Moto Guzzi has taken some classes from its sister firm Aprilia’s MotoGP program and fitted a counter-rotating crankshaft (though the Mandello S gained’t precisely have the identical concern with wheelies as Aleix’s RS-GP), and there’s nowhere close to the identical side-to-side rock you get within the chassis once you blip the throttle—a Moto Guzzi transverse V-twin trademark if ever there was one.

The engine is remarkably clean for probably the most half and it’s mated to a brand new six-axis Marelli 11MP IMU, with 4 modes of Turismo (Tour), Pioggia (Rain), Strada (Road), and Sport, traction and engine maps dialed to swimsuit every mode from the manufacturing unit—however you may go into the modes and fiddle with the assorted parameters in the event you like.

Ergonomically, the Mandello S is miles other than something Moto Guzzi has created earlier than. The motor has been tilted 5° ahead within the chassis, placing extra weight over the front-end and the actual fact the consumption now sits in the course of the engine’s V means the rider has been given the sort of leg room BMW flat-twin riders have loved for ages.

The seat peak at customary is 812 mm, however my private oversize chassis most well-liked the 20 mm taller accent seat which alleviated among the cramp in my knees over an hour’s experience. Consolation has been enhanced by the electronically-adjustable display and a close to good handlebar place for lengthy days within the saddle. As soon as you determine which seat peak you need, the Guzzi is supremely cozy, which makes you marvel how so many corporations on this house could make a motorbike like this however screw up the ergonomics so dangerous.

The Mandello S is graced with Ohlins Good EC 2.0 suspension, a system we’ve seen many occasions on a numerous totally different machines, not simply from Aprilia/Moto Guzzi/Piaggio. Working 43 mm gold-legged forks and shock, the system permits for absolutely automated damping entrance and rear or you will get in there, change it to handbook, and alter the digital “clickers” your self—there’s additionally an helpful pre-load knob on the left aspect in case you may have a passenger and or baggage.

Contained in the suspension’s ECU sits two auto modes – Dynamic and Consolation – then there’s two handbook modes of Handbook 1 and Handbook 2.

I’ll be trustworthy and admit to not messing with the handbook modes as Dynamic auto mode was greater than high quality for me (I additionally left it within the Strada ECU mode after about half an hour on board, which had a a lot nicer throttle response than the Sport mode).

Apparently and fortunately, Moto Guzzi hasn’t gone comfortable on the brakes and fitted Brembo M4.32 radial four-piston calipers, which isn’t a large deal as many different bikes have them, however Moto Guzzi has fitted a Brembo radial 18 mm master-cylinder on which to modulate the ability. The result’s a stunning, clean feeling on the lever, even when the ABS kicks in a little bit sooner than I’d have preferred.

The mix of the roomy chassis, these gold Ohlins and the superb braking bundle and the all-new short-block moto, made for an actual shock experience. The Mandello S encourages you to experience at a spirited tempo, however not such as you’re going to interrupt your native lap report. There’s simply one thing a few Guzzi that does issues to a rider virtually no different marque can.

The oddness of the transverse V-twin is a sensation it’s good to expertise, though I’d encourage getting on an older, air-cooled Guzzi after which hopping on the Mandello S to see simply how far they’ve come. Moto Guzzi and the transverse V-twin go collectively like Harley-Davidson and push-rods, if every other firm purchased out this fashion of engine, they’d be merely copying.

The Mandello S is the third within the Mandello line-up. The bottom mannequin runs 41 mm Kayaba forks and shock, and the paint is a quite fetching semi-gloss white or deep pink. The whole lot else is identical, from the adjustable display and aero to the IMU, traction and engine brake management, cruise management, cornering ABS, and so on.

The second mannequin is the V100 Aviazione Navale, which commemorates Moto Guzzi’s hyperlink with the Italian navy. It runs a stunning flat gray paint in the identical fashion because the navy’s F35B fighter jet – and is my choose of the three colours.

There’ll be 1913 examples of the Aviazione Navale created, with every unit quantity stamped onto the handlebar clamp. You’ll additionally get heated hand grips, tyre strain monitoring, a motorbike cowl and a devoted aluminium plaque.

I’ve solely ridden the Mandello S so can’t touch upon the efficiency of the 41 mm forks on the bottom and Aviazione Navale fashions. Nevertheless, the Mandello S is a completely pleasant machine and one that’s lengthy overdue (i.e water-cooling) for Moto Guzzi.

Charmingly, these bikes are nonetheless created within the authentic Moto Guzzi manufacturing unit a block from the Mandello del Lario water’s edge, the identical place that’s churned out 100 years of the flying eagle bikes.

Right here’s to a different 100 years.

2023 Moto Guzzi V100 Mandello S Specs

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