Production-ready Moto Guzzi V85 TT revealed

Italian motorcycle company, Moto Guzzi has revealed the production-ready version of the V85 TT concept bike they showcased last year at the 2017 EICMA. Called the Moto Guzzi V85 Tutto Terreno (all-terrain), it features prominent ADV bike features like a large fuel tank, an adjustable windscreen and large diameter spoked wheels equipped with tyres suited towards dual-sport riding.

Moto Guzzi has showcased the production-ready TT in a colour scheme that, one could say, enhances its quirkiness. The red colour highlights all the exposed chassis components and the bodywork is finished in yellow and white. The bike is properly retro when it comes to its design, with a wide beak, circular twin-pod headlights and period-correct fuel tank.

Describing the new motorcycle, Moto Guzzi said, “It is the motorcycle that was needed by an increasingly standardised market dedicated to travelling in its purest form, recalling the epic rally raids of the 1980s, a point of reference from which it inherits style, charm and thus emotion, but which has been designed to take on both everyday routes and long-distance routes, using the most up-to-date requirements.”

While it is retro in appearance, the new adventure bike does pack a decent level of electronics. The V85 features traction control and ABS, which change intensity depending on the riding mode (Off-Road, Rain or Road) being used. The bike also has a full-colour TFT screen that displays all of the regular information, rider modes and cruise control settings, and even Bluetooth multimedia data.

Powering the motorcycle is an engine that shares its architecture with the company’s V9 models. Everything else is new including the crankshaft, connecting rods, shorter piston skirts (that drop rotating mass by 30 percent) and a new ‘semi-dry crankcase’. The engine, however, continues to use two valves per cylinder but gets new titanium intake valves and a large 52mm throttle body. The air-cooled, transverse V-twin on the V85 is tuned to make 80hp and sends power to the rear wheel via a shaft, rather than a chain.

The V85 TT also uses a new steel-tube frame. When it comes to the suspension, Moto Guzzi’s ADV bike uses a USD fork and an off-set monoshock, both featuring pre-load adjustability. The bike rides on a 19-inch wheel up front and a 17-inch one at the rear. These spoked wheels, however require a tube and cannot accommodate tubeless tyres.

The Moto Guzzi V85 TT is expected to go on sale in the United Kingdom in February with a price of around £11,000 (Rs 10.47lakh). The V85 TT goes up against the Triumph Tiger 800 XCx (£11,250) and the BMW F 850 GS (£9,400). While the Moto Guzzi is down on power compared to its rivals, it does stand out with its retro styling and unique engine layout.

Moto Guzzi generally brings most of its offerings to India and we expect that the V85 TT will make it here as well. Pricing will be key and the company hasn’t been able to offer competitive rates on most of its motorcycles yet.

How do you think the Moto Guzzi V85 TT would fare in India? Let us know in the comments section below.

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