Interesting perspective on the Stelvio

General Discussion Which motorcycle should I get?
1

I came across a very interesting post on the ADV Rider website form a chap known as Hoak over the pond in Minnesota. I thought it made the best and most compelling reason that you may choose a Stelvio over the other ‘Adventure monsters’ out there, so unashamedly pasting the contents here…;

"I agree Lee, came to the same conclusions as you and ended up owning both a 2016 Stelvio and a 2014 Super Ténéré. I like both bikes a lot, but if I could only have one – it would be this funky Italian bike that was passed over by the press, and abandoned by its maker.

The Stelvio is not only a lot more practical and user friendly in terms of DIY and servicing the bike yourself – it’s very practical and in many ways better every day ride if an ADV bike is what you’re looking for…

With more fuel capacity and effective fuel telemetry you can hyper-mile a Stelvio impressive distances without refueling, at fantastic speeds in incredible comfort…

The transmission is one of the smoothest in big bore ADV, and the ergonomics of the bike while different are well thought out and quite brilliant.

The brakes are excellent both on and off-road with ABS and TCT that are less intrusive and can be completely disabled – and there’s zero worry from a cross-over brake line which is an egregious and dangerous design no-no on virtually all other ADV bikes.

Similarly with none of the drive-by-wire crap and simple passive air/oil cooling the sources of a multitude of failures are completely eliminated and all the worry and maintenance that comes with them.

The Stelvio also rolls out of the crate with suspension that while it can be improved isn’t a disappointment, offers useful range of adjustment, and imho couples the best behaved shaft final drive on an ADV motorcycle.

The Moto Guzzi Stelvio is also a lot of fun to ride; it offers plenty of torque and power, and a brilliant balance of geometry that is incredibly agile, but also offers generously forgiving dynamic stability and feedback that an ADV bike needs for rough and loose surfaces – and can be a real life saver for the tired distance rider.

Considering MCN’s highly favorable review, the way the rest of the press and review media went with the Stelvio was probably down to money and native advertising – MG just doesn’t have the money to buy good reviews.

I think what happens to those souls that venture forward and give the Stelvio a try is a strong sense of cognitive dissonance they can’t quickly reconcile favorably; the bike shakes like a monster on idle, it looks weird, and it just feels different – because it is different and solves a lot of very old design problems with a different approach…

When all this is weighed with the shitty attention the press and review media have given the bike, peer pressure and mass media attention to better known and more easily understood brands – the Stelvio is easily ignored. Which is too bad, but as we know there’s a rewarding pleasant surprise for those that are more objectively curious.

While I’m open to the idea of a V7 ADV machine; adding proper accouterments for capable ADV riding like: a larger beefier frame (for riders taller then 3 feet) and sub-frame, stronger and stiffer long travel suspension components, ADV ‘furniture’, and a respectable fuel payload – I’d bet a V7 powered ADV bike will weigh in well over your target of 450 lbs., be very anemic in terms of torque and power to weight, and no where near as robust as the Stelvio.

Of course I could be wrong, and would absolutely love it if I was! Moto Guzzi has already very pleasantly surprised me with the Stelvio so it’s not in any way out of the realm of possibility…"

Thread can be accessed here http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/moto-guzzi-stelvio-ntx-2017-beyond.1171755/page-14

Jon

2

I’d pretty much agree with all of that, a well worded description.
I loved my Stelvio, but sadly it was just lacking around 20-30 horses to suit my needs.

Missed it a lot when I swapped it for the Explorer, so I purchased a 2V 1200 sport to get my Guzzi fix.

3

What a corking write up.
Not too dissimilar to the GS obsessed views in Europe :astonished:
Have fun
Steve

4

Back in 2011 I met up with a guy called Gianni Reinaudo at the Milan show who rode a Stelvio two up the full length of North & South America and then from Turin to Ulan Bator in Mongolia.

We exchanged e-mails and I managed to get him to write an article for Gambalunga. To show that the Stelvio was equal to a GS. I asked him if he had any engine problems with the bike “Niente” was his answer.

There are some videos on you tube http://viyoutube.com/channel/UC4MrjF4iHfcs5gZx9m65WBA/gianni%20reinaudo

5

Remember reading that in Gambo.
Nice one.
It’s pity I cannot normally access U Tube.
Though I could with Duffo’s post.

6

Duddo? :confused:

7

It’s something we are keeping quiet about.

8

Well the 1200 sport I purchased to give me my Guzzi fix, after swapping the 2014 Stelvio for a 2015 Explorer, came and went. The proceeds from the sale of the sport went toward a new Generation2 Triumph Explorer. Cracking Bike.

But the pull of the Stelvio was still there, and in July last year I purchased a bit of a project 2009 Stelvio. They really are a delight to work on, not the easiest but as with the 1200 sport it’s been a pleasure to bring it back to being a lovely bike.

In the meantime I had the opportunity to purchase an unregistered Stelvio still in the crate, but I dillied and dallied and missed it. But as the saying goes, As one door closes etc.Then another last of the line black framed Stelvio came up for sale with only 3k mls on the clock.

Needless to say it now resides in my garage and I’m once again a happy chap. I’ve still got and will be keeping the Gen2 Explorer and I’m sure many will think, why two adventure bikes ?

You could argue that the Explorer is the better bike but the Stelvio puts the bigger smile on my face, so maybe that alone makes it the better bike.

They’re very different bikes but I’ve got a use for both of them so that makes me happy. The Stelvio really is a fine motorcycle. Maybe it’s not the best of any adventure bike in any area, but it sure has a way of making the journey the best.