Hi. Traded in my 2015 Bonneville recently for a 2021 V7 850 Special. So I’ve gone from a smooth magic carpet ride to being hit over the head with a bag of spanners.
But I’m loving it.
I’m not getting any younger and the Bonnie was beginning to be hard to get onto its centre stand. I’ve always fancied a Guzzi but never got around to buying one. However a fellow VMCC member (I also have 2 classic Triumphs) has a V50 and she gave me a nudge. I didn’t want another classic and A&D in Denbigh had the V7 for sale so went to see it. They asked me what I was looking for: a retro look with modern attributes. Although the seat height and weight of the 2 bikes are similar the Guzzi feels much lighter and is easy to put on the centre stand. I’d decided to buy even before they fired it up.
It’s so different to the Bonnie, particularly in ride. In truth I’d like a less harsh ride but the Guzzi has character in spades to offset the ride.
Only yesterday a chap of a similar age came up to me as I was getting back on the bike after shopping , telling me what a good looking bike it was, and he wasn’t even a biker, although his dad had been. The Guzzi just looks and sounds like a motorcycle should IMHO.
So, looking forward to further exploration of the South Cheshire and North Shropshire lanes when the roads are nice and dry.