Evening all,
anyone taken the V85TT off road at all? Recently did a Tenere off road day and I reckon that the V85TT would easily have tackled what we did.
The day was mostly fire roads and a bit of trails through the forestry.
Other than engine bars is there anything else needed to protect the bike? As I will 100% drop it if I go off the beaten track and not on a fire road.
check out buckymoto on youtube who has taken his across bogs in donegal, he found the side stand safety switch is easily broken in a drop and had to bypass it.
I’ve had 2 drops off road myself and 2 on road. one drop on ice i discovered the engine bars work great, but the rear brake pedal got bent. i was lucky I didn’t bend or snap clutch or front brake lever because I had caponord handguards fitted at the time which are not solid enough.
I would recommend barkbusters and you may also want bar risers to make standing up riding more comfortable, but this depends on your height/arm length.
of course you also need proper off road tyres, the standard ones are no good in any kind of mud, even a little bit and they slip.
thought i better add, i got the guzzi grippy brake pedal add on, which might stick out a bit further than the normal peg, might be why it bent.
however it’s definitely worth having as i found without it my foot was slipping off the peg when braking with wet boots… off road you need rear brake a lot and commonlyhave wet or muddy boots.
I’m still using the bent brake lever, I’ve got used to turning my foot in slightly now so it all feels normal
I tried mine off road and it just felt incredibly heavy and unresponsive. Having said that, I usually ride off road on a 12kg mountain bike so my technique is probably all wrong.
You can take the rubbers off the footpegs and they’re serrated metal underneath for better grip
there’s a japanese youtuber who off roads with his v85tt with wife on the back, and he’s doing hardcore in and out of rivers with mud and rocks everywhere. the most amazing thing about the videos is when they inevitably fall over, she just laughs and they pick the bike up and she gets on again and they keep going 
I hope you don’t mind me joining this thread as I’ve just bought a V7, my first Guzzi and first bike in 13 years.
I live on a boat and to get to my mooring I have to tackle about half a mile of off road rough farm track including a short steep descent. Going up the slope is no problem but I have to admit going down scares me. Originally my plan was to go down in first without using any breaks and just let the engine braking slow me down, but that doesn’t work because at idling speed I’d be going much too fast so I have to apply the brakes. I then find that I end up having to feather the clutch because if I don’t the engine and brakes will fight each other and it gets very jerky. This is my first bike with a dry clutch and feathering isn’t as easy as a wet clutch. There’s less feathering range and a shorter biting point. Trying to control all of this while negotiating potholes and loose stones is tricky and I haven’t even tried it in the wet yet.
Perhaps I’m doing it all wrong, so as a Guzzi novice any advice would be appreciated.
Edit: It’s a 2023 V7 Stone with basic OFF-1-2 traction control settings.
you’ll get used to the clutch, I feather mine often in traffic when filtering. I’m guessing my v85 clutch is similar to the v7 in feel.
off road I used rear brake only and abs off on rear, on road commuting in icy conditions on a long and steep downhill, I left abs on rain/3 and first gear, rear brake as little as possible (no front brake and no clutch), which keeps speed down to 15-20, 2nd gear keeps it to 30ish which i use in dry conditions. this winter i am avoiding that downhill route as I’m not feeling brave enough
I’ve swapped to road tyres a while ago and cast wheels so don’t go off road anymore except the odd green lane very occasionally, 1st or 2nd gear and feathering the clutch is still my method then, the low rpm torque is great for that.
is ABS off on rear an option on the v7?
Thanks, I’m not sure if I can switch ABS off, I don’t think so? I think it’s just traction control which can be switched off.
It would be really worth doing a day or two off-road course - even if on a BMW or Triumph
The Yamaha off road day is really good. You don’t have to take any kit, it’s all provided in with the cost.
Did the Tenere experience a few weeks back. It was hammering down with rain, but was well worth it.
I’ve done plenty of off road riding in different parts of the world, but it’s an entirely different prospect doing it on a heavy, dry clutch, shaft drive road bike.
I have a Honda 250L for the local Cotswold green lanes which is at 140kg is heavy for a trail bike, it feels very light compared to my V85TT. I did try one of the easiest local lanes on the Guzzi when it was really dry weather, it wasn’t good for slow speed as the gearing is far too high and being shaft drive there’s no way to modify the gear ratios. I’ll stick to the Honda for the lanes and the Guzzi for tarmac, horses for courses.