Thoughts on the Mandello S after 4000 miles.

I’ve returned from a 3000 mile 2 week tour down to south eastern France and living with the bike every day has left some questions answered…

I did have a concern that my preferred back roads would cause problems in the suspension dept after the long travel plushness of the GS, but the bike handled all sorts of road conditions with aplomb and comfort. The short screen worked well for me but I may look at a bolt on flip. The seat is going to be looked at by a local ‘seat improver’ as it could be improved but not as much a tool of torture that my 1200 Breva was. The panniers worked well and didn’t leak in a biblical thunderstorm ride.

I think I need to experiment with the engine modes as it displayed some hunting on almost closed throttle around town but I’m not sure if I was in the ‘higher’ modes where they may be optimised for higher revs. That and it wouldn’t start just on the button but needed a tweak of throttle to fire up may have partly down to the temps being in the high 30s/low 40s, so I’ll see what she’s like back in the cooler UK.

Ok so it’s jettisoned a couple of fasteners and there are a couple of Italian foibles in the mix, but hey it’s a Guzzi and not built by robots. But most importantly it didn’t let me down and thrummed along like a good 'un. Plus of course it’s drop dead gorgeous!

Bellissima!!

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It’s nice to read about positive experiences on longer tours. I’m glad you enjoyed your travels.

What fasteners decided to leave the chat while you were away?

No surprise, it was the exhaust heat shield :sweat_smile:

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Its good to hear positive feedback on the Mandello. Its a strange thing about seat comfort. My Breva 1100 is like an armchair and my 2024 Triumph Tiger 900 seat is a torture device. :thinking:

Seats, screens, tyres, bar risers… Everybody has different views of them because they are personal interactions on a machine that’s design has been traded off to the nth degree.

Agreed. It’s all subjective. I think I need a long ride on a Mandello or Stelvio :winking_face_with_tongue:

My V100 Stelvio often hunts around town depending on road incline but I’ve learnt to ride around the issue and it’s no problem. I’ve had the bike two years now and love it. :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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