A New Sport Tourer Coming to the US????

[allandry]

Just doing a little web surfing tonight and came across this. I like the look, but honestly don't know much about Guzzi's....

http://www.webbikeworld.com/Moto-Guzzi-motorcycles/norge-1200/

Anyway, could be another ST to choose from. Not that anyone here is planning on switching :D

Al

[2005RedRider]

Wait a minute. I might be showing my age, but wasn't the original "Norge" a washing machine?:D

[Blue STreak]

I don't know if it was the "first" Norge, but yes, there used to be a Norge washing machine.

I haven't ridden a Guzzi in many years. Let's see, it was probably about 1975 or 76. I hope the new ones are a lot better. The old beast shook and rattled at any speed from idle to top end, and the torque effect when you rev'd the engine at idle makes an air head bimmer seem positively tame by comparison. That bike had 2 monstrously heavy pistons, a heavy crank, and a great big flywheel trying to spin the bike in the opposite direction of the crankshaft.

[rwl1955]

Bob
Where`d you get that picture?
Tell us the story "behind" it.

[STArnie13]

I will be interested in looking at the new Guzzi. While it looks nice I wouldn't consider buying one. My father had 2, my brother had 1 and I had 1 and none of them were close to trouble free. I did enjoy mine when it was running right. With no ownership things may be better but it will take some time for me to believe it.:03biker:

[Putt]

Air cooled.... I hope they did their homework with heat management...
Air off of those heads is gonna be warm.... (Kinda like my old CX 500,
that one was water cooled, and had a Aero fairing and that sucker was
hot)


Putt...

[JReviere]

Wait a minute. I might be showing my age, but wasn't the original "Norge" a washing machine?:D

It was a product line of major home appliances, washers, refrigerators, stoves etc.

JR
394
Old enough to remember.

[Blue STreak]

Bob
Where`d you get that picture?
Tell us the story "behind" it.

I wish I knew. Or maybe I wish I knew the woman. :p:

I ran across it somewhere on the web. Don't remember where, exactly, but I took an immediate liking to it.

See Caption #102 for a larger image:

http://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?p=90660#post90660

[Bones]

http://www.webbikeworld.com/Moto-Guzzi-motorcycles/guzzi-photos/v11gt_2.jpg

This Guzzi was captioned "prototype" and appears water cooled. Wonder why Guzzi decided to go air-cooled? One thing about the air-cooled V11 motor, it growls! I ride sometimes with a guy who has a LeMans and it has a wonderful sound about it.

[vintagemxr]

http://www.corgifan.com/blogger/norge1.jpg

The new Goose is way nicer looking than the old 'fridge. I'd don't think I'd swap my ST for the Guzzi but it would should look nice as a second bike in the garage.

[timmybob4]

Great looking bike (except maybe the mirrors). It's going to have the same problem BMW and Ducati have in my books - small dealer network and no local dealer. I might take a chance on a BMW some day because I think they are reliable. Can't say the same for Ducati, and I know very little about Moto Guzzi. I just can't justify the cost of a BMW, not when I can have an ST or FJR for so much less money and lower maintenance costs.

[Jefro]

Norge - Norway.

Pronounced: nor-guh. Roll the r if you can.

Ja, det er ikke so vaerst, ha det bra og sees dere i Lillehammer.
Jefro.
Larvik gymnaset 1970-1971.
Oslo Bergen july 2005.

[ekcwmi]

Norge - Norway.

Pronounced: nor-guh. Roll the r if you can.

Ja, det er ikke so vaerst, ha det bra og sees dere i Lillehammer.
Jefro.
Larvik gymnaset 1970-1971.
Oslo Bergen july 2005.

What he say????

[gregj]

How well does a dry clutch work in stop and go traffic?

I suspect the air cooling would be show stopper for me. Otherwise, I really like the looks of it.

[mshihrer]

I like it. good looking bike. But I bet its going to be expensive, probably same as an ST. Don't expect to see to many of them.

[Gonzo]

Some people really like Guzzis, and some people really like V-twins.
However I will take a pass. Good to see something a little new, tho.
gonzo

[HankSTer]

well, if the stats are correct then here's what we're looking at:

Air cooled - not gonna work in florida etc.
Weight - 542 lbs dry - nice
seat height - 31.5 inches - works
tank size - 7.1 gallons including reserve - also works
torque - 70 ft lbs .... ahhhh this could be a problem
Horse power - 87 .... not gonna happen :(

[pepollock]

"Bike" magazine (UK) March issue has a brief comparison of the Guzzi Norge and the BMW 1200RT. They liked the Norge, and it is quite a bit less expensive (in UK), but they picked the RT. Here in the US I'd worry about taking the Goose on a trip. Not a lot of dealers between Boston and LA.

[alan]

I sat on one at the Cycle World show and it felt very comfortable. I liked the lighter weight compared to my 1300. I think it looks just like a ST1300, so it looks good. Lack of a dealer network would be a killer for me, same as BMW.

[ccryder]

My 76' 850-T3 was a great ride! Smooth, plenty of torque, great in the corners, rolled right up to 140mph even with a Windjammer and bags. Sold it to a friend with 60k miles and he racked up another 50k b4 he wrecked it :+{.

I still have my 500 Guzzi as a garage queen. She will rise again, don't ask me when (I'm having too much fun on the ST!).

The Guzzi powerplant is just that a reliable powerplant. Guzzi used to sell more engines for generators and pumps than for M/C. The dry clutch was fine in any climate (who here has a manual transmission? it's a dry clutch in a 4 wheeler, how soon we forget ;+} ).

Time2Work
Neil S.

[Sink]

I like the refrigerator better than the bike!

[Bones]

I like the refrigerator better than the bike!

Which one has more horsepower?

[dduelin]

How well does a dry clutch work in stop and go traffic?

I suspect the air cooling would be show stopper for me. Otherwise, I really like the looks of it.

BMW has used dry clutches in motorcycles for 74 years. They work very well. They still use air cooling in some models too. Your manual transmission car or truck has a dry clutch as well. The first clutch in my BMW went 81,000 miles. A splined shaft stripped in the friction disc so the failure was not due to the disc or pressure plate being worn out. With proper lubrication to the splines by the previous owners the clutch could have gone on many thousands of additional miles.

Several magazines have road tested the Norge in the past 6 months or so. It should be well beyond the prototype phase. I would like the light weight and Italian chassis/suspension and little else.

[motoman]

I'd be a-skeered to buy a Goot-zi right now...

Never know how much longer the Company gonna be around. :confused:

That goes fer Apriller too. ;)

[sherob]

I talked to the MG rep at the IMC... they know that the dealer network is a weakness, they are under the Piaggio umbrella and hoping to use that as a workable solution. I remember seeing about as many MG dealers as Piaggio :rolleyes:

[Shaftrider]

There have been a lot of commwents on the Norge von thge pelicanBMWR1100S BBS. It seems The engine is way down on HP, especially compared to the newish Griso. Guzzis have a lot of personality, Ive toured thousand of miles on the 2 I've had. -Martin

[UNTMatt]

I would never own it due to maintanence costs; however, that is one darn fine looking bike.

[MrClean]

well, if the stats are correct then here's what we're looking at:

Horse power - 87 .... not gonna happen :(

87??
Maybe that's in metric hP :-)

[HankSTer]

87??
Maybe that's in metric hP :-)

Well the conversion is suppose to be 1.34 x KW to get HP
so... yup, using the originally posted link, that would convert to 87

:eek:

Sounds like 2 up it would be pretty sluggish for sure. I don't like the mirrors either, but overall it looks pretty good.

[Ron]

My understanding is the dealer in Jacksonville, Fl has sold the 3 they rec'd. I thought I read the HP was much closer to 100. I agree the dealer network is pretty much non-existant.

[Ron]

The Guzzi web site says 95 hp @ 7500 rpm with 100 Nm (73 foot-lbs) @5800 rpm. This info was found at www.motoguzzi-us.com

[gnorts]

The Norge has created a stir on the wildguzzi site - numerous new owners are raving about them. Many new models in the pipeline from Guzzi, the Norge, Griso and 1200 Sport are here already, I'm waiting for the 940C:D
http://www.guzzisti.it/saloni_eventi/milano_2006/images/guzzi940C.jpg

[Herleman]

Gee. Its a cool bike.

[dduelin]

Well the conversion is suppose to be 1.34 x KW to get HP
so... yup, using the originally posted link, that would convert to 87

:eek:

Sounds like 2 up it would be pretty sluggish for sure. I don't like the mirrors either, but overall it looks pretty good.

Well,

If it is 87 (MG claims 95?) it is doesn't have to haul the extra 110 or so lbs an ST does. The power to weight ratio in hp is something like 6.2 for the Goose and 5.2 (5.7 at 95 hp?) for the ST. The Guzzi isn't a powerhouse but then it is a pushrod twin with a respectable amount on thrust. I really love and am really spoiled by the motor in my ST but I still get a buzz from the 67 hp (54 at the rear wheel) R100's motor. It only has to push 437 lbs or 6.5 lbs per hp and has the wonderful torquey personality of a boxer twin. On paper it's hopelessly out dated but on the road it's blast to ride.

[Shaftrider]

Whats that a picture of Gnorts? Is that the 8valve engine? 1200cc?

[gnorts]

Whats that a picture of Gnorts? Is that the 8valve engine? 1200cc?

That's the 940C, or 940 Custom. The 940cc motor is a destroked version of the Breva 1100 twinspark v-twin. The shorter stroke will make it quicker-revving with a higher redline than the 1100. The suspension and final drive are basically Breva as well, with the CARC reardrive that prevents jacking, much like the BMW reardrive and, frankly, a generation ahead of Honda's shaft drive. The bike has been announced in Europe, and I hope it will be here in '08. No specs available yet, or at least I can't find 'em.

Regardless of what the specs say, the Guzzi V-twins are torque monsters! Just gobs of low-end grunt. And I think this 940C will be light enough to be a great performer.

[Bones]

I ride on occasion with a guy with an V11 Le Mans. It's cool looking and growls like a race car. He got it used for a song from a guy who didn't care to deal with all the Italian "character" it has. There's apparently an active web community for Guzzi owners and my friend got a handle on all sorts of fixes, which he did himself (he's a seasoned wrench turner). It's never had a problem when I've ridden with him and it gets plenty of stares at rest stops. Trustworthy for long distance touring? Not so sure.

[kaipan]

I took a test drive with Norge Guzzi and so.. The first feeling was the lightness of that bike. When I started it the wobbling of V-twin was very noticeable.
It was very easy to drive and the gear box is imaging. So smooth and light. The driving feeling was like BMW R 1200 GS.
But truely when I got back to my ST I knew that it is MY BIKE! ST is faster and it has more torque and it is smooth!

[dduelin]

That's the 940C, or 940 Custom. The 940cc motor is a destroked version of the Breva 1100 twinspark v-twin. The shorter stroke will make it quicker-revving with a higher redline than the 1100. The suspension and final drive are basically Breva as well, with the CARC reardrive that prevents jacking, much like the BMW reardrive and, frankly, a generation ahead of Honda's shaft drive. The bike has been announced in Europe, and I hope it will be here in '08. No specs available yet, or at least I can't find 'em.

Regardless of what the specs say, the Guzzi V-twins are torque monsters! Just gobs of low-end grunt. And I think this 940C will be light enough to be a great performer. The Norge has the CARC shaft similar to BMW's Paralever. The new Kawasaki 1400 Tourer will have a similar articulated swing arm. I guess that leaves just Honda and Yamaha (Ducati's ST3?) using monolever-type swing arms on their sport-tourers.

[roginoz]

I saw one at the cycle show in Ft. Worth a couple of months ago. If you're a Guzzi person, it might be a good choice. I don't think it has anything over the ST1300, and is missing a few features. The windscreen was non-adjustable (hopefully fixed on production models,) it was air cooled, and didn't "feel" as good as my ST13. The dealer network is also problematic. Still good to see someone else promoting the sport touring sector. The more I see of everything else, the happier I am that I replaced the ST11 with an ST13.

[gnorts]

I don't think Honda has to worry about an articulated rear drive for their lineup of shaft-drive bikes - they're all too HEAVY to make it a problem:D