I originally ordered the base model in white , but the dealer got a Navale in before the base models came in so I went with that , I have to say I love the looks the colour and the street presence this bike has , I picked mine up at 4.30 on Friday afternoon , the dealer is a 118 mile one way trip for me so it took about 2 hrs and 20 mins to get there , lucky enough the same day the bike was ready we were booked to see a show that evening , the show was only a half hour drive (in the direction of home ) from the dealership , and I have a Mercedes Sprinter van so the bike was loaded into that , and stayed in it until midday yesterday ( I had to borrow a mates motorcycle ramp ) .
First impressions riding it I found it a bit hard on my derriere to be honest , I didn’t find it comfortable at all , however the first ride was only a short one , later on yesterday I took it for a longer ride and I started to get used to it , my last few previous bikes all had large wide seats , like my M1800R intruder and a Harley Davidson Ultra Ltd , obviously the Guzzi is a sports tourer that I am not used to yet . Like everyone is reporting its very clunky through the first and second gears , and a bit stiff trying to get it into neutral , but I did feel it was getting better through the day , apart from that it went well and has that lovely v - twin grunt to it , I didn’t find the vibration bad at all but its definitely there as you would expect (this is my first Guzzi , so I can’t compare it to others ).
So my ride out yesterday took me along the beautiful West Wales coastline from Haverfordwest to St Davids , I stopped in Newgale for a photo opportunity as you do , I then rode down past the campsite to the pub hoping to find other bikers , but unfortunately none were there , so I used the pub carpark to turn around and this young guy came running up to me , he was all excited about seeing the Mandello in the flesh , and told me he had been waiting to see one , we had a little conversation about it before I departed to go back home and pick my daughter up for her obligatory ride on the back , I took her around Europe on the HD Ultra Ltd in 2019 , and she and my boy have had love for motorcycles since they were both little . My son has a Yamaha MT10 and his girlfriend has the MT07 , and my wife used to go all over Europe with me when we were younger , even on a hard tail Harley chop , unfortunately she has MS now , and can no longer even stand up never mind get on a bike .
I am looking forward to the first service , so I can open it up past the 4500 maximum rev limit , in 6th gear it will happily reach 70mph , but it definitely wants to go with all the torque it has . I have a few things on order for it like the panniers , engine guard , radiator grill , frame bungs etc , etc , which I hope will be here in the next few weeks , but until then , I will be out about on a daily basis if things permit , apparently this is the first Navale sold in South Wales , so I am chuffed about that , but the dealer has another one for sale if anyone is interested. (Thunder Rd , Cwmbran , speak to Ian )
the gearbox was tight on my v85tt when new and took a few thousand miles to loosen up. after about 9k it seemed about right. if i keep the rpms in the right range now it’s very smooth.
Its definitely getting better the more I ride it , I am sure it will bed in nicely as time goes on .
Any more updates on the bike ? I had a deposit in one but didn’t like the gearbox / clutch on a test ride, was told later the clutch was out of adjustment ? Wasn’t convinced, how’s the bike now ? Regards Rog Ratt
I have nearly 3k on my White one and the gearbox is still clunky in first although no issues with neutral and smooth but positive in the rest of the gears. good choice the grey is very smart.
I have 1000 miles on mine, and apart from the usual Guzzi clunk into first, the gearbox is extremely slick. Nice clutch feel too.