Moto Guzzi V85TT. Why you should consider one...even today.

No other motor on the shelf at the moment? Ahem….the V100 would like a word.

Hi Matt - lovely review - I have had my new V85TT for 6 months and I absolutely love it - it's well-balanced and set and I feel so comfortable on it - I have so much confidence in it...I might just get an Aprillia Toe rag as well but its so hard to find off rode places to go in UK - cheers Maf in Brighton

That was a very good review, Matt. Cavalca bene. Cheers

Im shocked that you did not mention handling in the twists and ride compliance. Two strengths. Yep its an 85/15 road /offroad. Only shaft drive in its category. Agreed on all else said. Nice work.

Great vid. I had a chat with my local Piaggio / KTM dealer a while back who's been selling and looking after Guzzis for 20 years. He noted that Paiggio have got their marketing together now, with Aprila being the sports range, Guzzi the classics / tourers, Vespa being the scooters and Piaggio being the mopeds / commuters so it's a deliberate thing. In years gone by the brands were in competition with each other which didn't help.

Congratulations on 1k Man.

I've just got one of these, went in to buy a visor and put a deposit down and forgot the visor ! Its not something i'd usually look at, I've an old Africa twin, Suzuki DR and a Ducati. V85 is so much fun, 50 now and it suits me great on and a bit off road (with better tyres), not the cheapest but I thought it could be the last air-cooled bike of this size, shaft drive, dash board screen thing is the best I've seen, go test ride one its a lot of fun and will make you smile. good review, many thanks ✌

Great video, thank you. I own a 20 model travel, and I am still loving every minute that I hop on top of it and go I do like the new 100 and can’t keep it out of my mind as a possible upgrade.

☝😊💯

Cool☝😊💯

Great video, I have learnt to ride off road on it and it does a good job, I got 50/50 tires and with few other small mods it works great, the nibble handling actually makes the weight not so bad

Thanks fore the video. Thinking to by one New. Riding R850R in the Nederlands. Hold on to my BMW. And get me a new Guzzi fore my Birthday.

You're spot on about the offroad capabilities. Taken mine to the sticks a few times and is one of the lowest maint bikes you can do a big trip on.

I’m picking up a NEW 2021 model today 20200 ride away it’s the 100 anniversary model the green one ☝️

🦅💚💚🤍🤍❤❤🦅

This moto has lot of character. I love it

I bought my first adventure bike coming from a dirbike motorcross background... I actually love this bike! The Goods! Good power, Good Fun Factor, Nimbleness is good, Gravel Roads its good holds its own its fine, Comfortable very good, Reliablitliy I got 10K no issues change oil's etc, great on the wallet fuel and maintenance..... The bads Narley Terrain ahhhhh there is much better adventure bikes, pure Deep SAND ahhhh not that good..I hit a sink pit of SAND at about 70 Kms it was Gravel Road to Sand like that... On top of that I was doubling my wife on the back.... So Sketchy is the best way I can describe... I didnt lay it down in the sand but I did bring it down to about 15 to 20 kms in sand until I got through that sandy area.. The biggest problem was I was not ready for the sand so I did some crazy wobbles in the sand because there was a big Hump in the middle from farm tractor trenching soooooo ya but man I love the bike its a Mile Muncher with about I would say 70% pavement 30% offroad capabilities... I do want to push it more off-road just see what its limits are but it would be slow travels on knarley trails... Stay tuned I hope to do some videos in the future on it off-roading of course..... I like a challenge! PS there is a guy on Tik Tok who does crazy back country riding with it so Im amazed at what it can actually do......Cheers Mate from a friendly Canadian God Bless!

I have owned 30+ bikes in my lifetime, 2 MGs. They are fun but can't compare to the Japanese bikes in the same displacement category regarding reliability and mechanical refinement. However, they are easier to wrench on and require more operator attention and involvement to keep going, which is great. It is important to be needed and need creates value.

Honestly find all brands just utterly boring except for MG. Have a V7 4 and about to collect a v85 to join it.

"It has rider modes and off-road mode, so it it has LITTLE BIT OF OFF-ROAD CAPABILITY".
Put 0-100 tires for it and it is capable for Dakar Rally. It really seems like, if it does not have 21" front, it is not capable off-road. Imbeciles. Children goes in the middle of the forests with their Honda Monkeys -are those tires 7" or what?
V85TT is very good off-road. And it is good on road. Surely it is the best off-road bike in the world to ride on tarmac, but it doesn't make it bad off-road. It is like people just can't ride bikes anymore. How the hell people rode motorcycles back in 1950's or 1960's when there were no asphalt anywhere outside towns. :)

great review mate ! im in the market for a good used used bike this year and narrowed it down to 2, v85tt or honda vfr 800x , heart says honda but head says v85tt , less complex and more suited to my home maintenance ... off road has no interest to me at all so if i choose the MG it will be strictly for road use only. Whatever i choose it will be a bit different from my FJR 1300. PS i haven't dismissed a later model FJR as yet !! but that's biking for you !... stay safe.

Mate, you keep saying it's primarily a road bike, but out here in Spain, they really rate it for its off-road capability. I'm looking round for a second bike now, comparing the Triumph Tiger 900 GT, Husky Norden 901, KTM 890 Rally, and the Guzzi V85TT. The Guzzi is stiff competition for all these bikes. For fuel economy and servicing costs, it wins hands down. The KTM has the kudos and the equipment but it boils your legs at normal speeds. The Norden is cool but it's ridiculously wide and tall.

Guzzi does have 1500 aud off v85 MY22s now. If you push you can get it to 2k from some dealers. That’s probably the best you will get on a new bike.

Merci beaucoup l'Ami

I’m wrapped in this bike. I’ve owned an R80GS and and an R100GS. This bike reminds me a lot of my R80GS. Big lazy mile eater you can take on gravel roads.

I really like the look of the bike, especially in the green and silver colour scheme. But when I went and looked at them in person I was kinda surprised/disappointed that it felt quite plasticy in a way which didnt really match it's classically inspired styling

Former Stelvio owner and current v85 TT owner. I have to make a strong case for a great overlander that the v85 is. Like everyone's going to do their thing. It's spacked out appropriately stripped back a little full Mistral titanium exhaust/carbon fiber can, k&n some air box mods, a mistral velocity stack and the bike is up 10 ponies to the rear and down 25lbs which brought it to 482 ready to ride with half a tank, oh and an appropriate tune. The bike runs better than my Stelvio and weighs about 100 pounds less. Currently has done just about everything. Colorado can throw at it and it really is just a full of character. Amazing bike. And it gets 55 miles of the gallon. I don't know what else people could want.

Like wise shocked... These are beautiful in the twists. Balanced. Im a Texas resident ad do long rides. First ride; Corpus Christy to Amarillo. 650 miles mate. 11hrs of highway, not pushing a new engine. Love it. Great review!

They're dirt cheap in Canada

I love my '22 V85 TT Centenario. My first Guzzi but have wanted one for years. I will be doing lots of pavement miles (backroads) and significant gravel. Probably not high tech offroad. I think it is brilliant.

I'm scheduled to trade in my 1190adv for a V85TT this Wednesday.
I KNOW I'm going to miss that 150hp on the 1190, but to me, with my age, style of riding, tastes and a bunch of subjective stuff, that's pretty much the only appeal the 1190 ever had. I find it to be an ugly, generic looking bike, with a bit of a boring ride unless I'm going way over the speed limit.

The Guzzi has amazing looks, I've loved the brand since I had my 2000 V11 sport and I'm hoping the V85TT puts a riding smile back on my face.

I just bought one of these, selling points for me were cruise control, which is sorely missing in almost all other midweight ADV'ish bikes. The shaft drive, which is also a rarity. The transverse mounted engine which looks cool with the cylinders poking out the sides and the torque twist at idle. I think the dash and electrics are about on par with other bikes, if not a bit quirky. The styling is so Italian, it's up to your taste but I love it. I live on a managed dirt road and that's the extent of the off-roading this bike will face. The only downside for me is the horrendous amount of heat coming up from the bike. Even on 80 degree days (28C) my legs are getting really hot and forget getting a seat heater the bike naturally heats the seat up. I'm in a place where I can de-cat the exhaust and re-map the computer to add more fuel to hopefully bring the heat down.

Great review...thanks.

I have a 2022, with 12,000 miles and its really great bike

It's out classed by nothing.It's the only mid sized adventure bike with shaft drive on the planet.I wouldn't trade mine for anything else.

Who would buy it? Imagine a 50 year old man who wants to tour in comfort on a beautiful bike that looks like nothing else on the road. This man has another bunch of bikes in the garage, one for speed, one for silly stunts, one for off road, a bunch of classics. This bike won't deliver the power of a KTM 1290 or BMW GS, you won't cruise on the highway at 120mph. The comfortable speed on a bike like this is about 80 to 90mph. The suspension is very good for what it is meant to do, it has a driveshaft, air cooled, not wide like an elephant and easy to maintain. The same man also would have a bunch of other Guzzis in the garage, brand loyal and is looking to do many miles per day in comfort.
That 50yr old man is ME and I love mine.

Moto Guzzi is a motorcycle company that makes motorcycles for people who like to ride motorcycles.

Japanese bikes, and now the majority of European bikes, feel like electric scooters.

No vibe, no rumble. It's like comparing a gen 1 Miata vs a 2024 Miata.

Good to see a review by someone a good height. Reviews by guys 5'8" and less are useless.

Belisamo

This is likely simply the Guzzi to have. I've got a v7 myself, and the overly stiff suspension is my main gripe. Alot of perks on this you don't get with the standard models, and the price difference isn't huge.. The windscreen and beefier suspension probably makes it the perfect daily. The engine in these is something you grow to love. If you're used to Japanese bikes, it feels unrefined, but it has character. Coming from Harleys though, feels smooth as butter!

Right on 🎉

great honest review
i have a 2020 v85tt travel
and your review is spot on
i notice at 80 feels like she wants to give more but held back. still have stock eghuast

major players are chinese motors☠

You forgot to mention the drive shaft. Which is one thing that others in this class don't have.

Love the 85tt but looking into the v7. You find the v7 too small for you?

I'm considering buying a used V85TT. Being air cooled would it be too hot for stop and go traffic for my daily commute in a 30C summer day, or should I stick with something water-cooled? For your reference, I used to ride a Kawasaki Versys 650 and love it, until someone decided to head on into me.

Great review and good to see an Aussie doing it all

Air Cooled…in Australia!!