Moto Guzzi Norge???

rwthomas1

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Rhode Island, USA
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'01 ST1100 non-ABS
On a cold winter weekend without much to do in the evening I find myself looking at bikes for sale. Likely I'm not the only one.... That said I ran across a fairly obscure Sport Tourer that I had never seen or heard of, the Moto Guzzi Norge. Kinda odd looking, but checks all the boxes. Hard bags, shaft drive, ABS (some), really big Brembo brakes, a V engine, 6 speed, adjustable windshield, etc. Reviews and owner reports were pretty positive. Air/oil cooled so simple? The only complaints I could find was the suspension being too soft. Supposedly very reliable, which I would never expect from something Italian and mechanical. Never ridden a Guzzi, and rarely see them but they have a loyal fan base. Looks like it had a 10yr production run and there are a few for sale. Just another odd but interesting motorcycle.
 
I looked at them back when they were current. Not much room for highway pegs and the usual lack of dealer network were my thoughts. Overall a pretty solid bike. Guzzi factory build quality has been rising the last 10-15 years.

I own a '23 V85TT. It's a mid range (850cc) GS. A pure joy to ride! As with most new bikes, I'm still trying to sort out the windshield issue. The embarrassing horn was easily fixed. I've heard more authoritative horns on a tricycle. :D
 

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Ron said:
I looked at them back when they were current. Not much room for highway pegs and the usual lack of dealer network were my thoughts. Overall a pretty solid bike. Guzzi factory build quality has been rising the last 10-15 years.

I own a '23 V85TT. It's a mid range (850cc) GS. A pure joy to ride! As with most new bikes, I'm still trying to sort out the windshield issue. The embarrassing horn was easily fixed. I've heard more authoritative horns on a tricycle. :D
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I saw one of those parked on the street one day. Sure is purty.
 
I do have one, a '14 I picked up in December. I've put 1600 miles on it since and it's a really nice bike. I'm having a blast with it. If you're looking you want a late '12 or newer (8 valve). They sorted a lot of the things that needed sorting on the earlier (4 valve) bikes. If you like to tinker they're super easy to work on and most everything is readily available. Not the greatest dealer network but if you do your own work you don't need no stinking dealer, ask Uncle Phil! Pretty sure you have a very good dealer in Kingston RI, Razee? Actually once you get into it there is a wicked cool support and dealer network that you'll discover. There is something very rugged and industrial about their architecture. Here's the thing you've got to remember it's a 10 year old Guzzi. That generation Italian bikes is a lot different than the new ones and very different than Japanese bikes of that era. Here's the trick to happy ownership. What you need to do is stand with arms out bent at the elbow palms up and shrug your shoulders while saying "It's Italian" and you'll be fine.

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Donk said:
I do have one, a '14 I picked up in December. I've put 1600 miles on it since and it's a really nice bike. I'm having a blast with it. If you're looking you want a late '12 or newer (8 valve). They sorted a lot of the things that needed sorting on the earlier (4 valve) bikes. If you like to tinker they're super easy to work on and most everything is readily available. Not the greatest dealer network but if you do your own work you don't need no stinking dealer, ask Uncle Phil! Pretty sure you have a very good dealer in Kingston RI, Razee? Actually once you get into it there is a wicked cool support and dealer network that you'll discover. There is something very rugged and industrial about their architecture. Here's the thing you've got to remember it's a 10 year old Guzzi. That generation Italian bikes is a lot different than the new ones and very different than Japanese bikes of that era. Here's the trick to happy ownership. What you need to do is stand with arms out bent at the elbow palms up and shrug your shoulders while saying "It's Italian" and you'll be fine.

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What is your verdict on the Mandello, Donk? They sure look beautiful and fairly sensible.
 
TerryS said:
What is your verdict on the Mandello, Donk? They sure look beautiful and fairly sensible.
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They are that. I really like it. So much that I was jonesing the days I couldn't ride it last fall. It's a completely modern bike, more like a Japanese bike than the 11 year old Norge. There seems to be a lot of aftermarket support for it already which is great. Only downside so far is it doesn't come with a rear rack and I use a tailbag. The OEM one is SO ugly a friend threatened me if I put it on the bike and I haven't found one to my liking yet. I didn't get the bike until Oct 7 so not many miles on it before Wisconsin weather trapped it in the shop. This year will be the true test when I tour on it but have high expectations. Weather protection is excellent despite small frontal area, @Daboo can explain and those silly spoilers really do work to keep the wind and rain off you. It is very much like a smaller lighter modern St1100/1300 or FJR.
 
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St-Gerard said:
Modern version of the 81 Silverwing, nice looking bike Donk.IMG_5103.jpg
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Which came first the chicken or the egg? I always thought Honda got the idea for the CX? 500/650? and Silverwing from a Moto Guzzi. About that time California was still using the 850 Eldorado/Police bike with good results. Never owned one of those Hondas but I always kinda liked them.
 
I have a friend in KC, MO that has a white Norgay (pronunciation) that has been down for almost two years from an evidently irreplaceable computer.
 
Same engine in the CX and the Silverwing, in fact I put the 650 from my CX650e in the Silverwing, went from 50 hp to 65 hp noticable difference.
 
There's a recent thread about the Honda NT1100. Some members were wondering if they could buy a Canadian version and import it into the states. As great as I'm sure the NT1100 is, I'd rather have the Guzzi. At least the Guzzi is officially here.

And it is a competent sport touring bike. Both are...but the Honda is priced in unobtainium.

Donk said:
Weather protection is excellent despite small frontal area, @Daboo can explain and those silly spoilers really do work to keep the wind and rain off you. It is very much like a smaller lighter modern St1100/1300 or FJR.
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It's not hard to explain. Modern motorcycles are designed with wind tunnels. The idea isn't just to move the air away, but to move it only enough...and no more.

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I couldn't find a full frontal picture of the V100 Mandello to paste, but the front of the BMW F900XR should suffice. It doesn't look like there's much there for protection, but there is.

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My first impression of the fairing panels looks like a bunch of tacked on fairing pieces. Each one of those is there for a reason. The end result is a bike that cuts through the wind and doesn't get affected as much by wind gusts and turbulence. While I used pics of the XR, you'll see the same thing on the V100 Mandello.

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If there's a downside to the Moto Guzzi, it would be that you'd have a hard time leaving rest areas and other parking lots. I expect @Donk to be swarmed with people wanting to know what he's riding. :D I suppose there might be a second downside...he'll have a problem keeping his bike clean with all the people drooling on it. :D :D

Chris
 
I rode the NT1100 a year or two back. Certainly smaller and much more manageable than the ST1300, but it didn't shout "buy me!".

Given the moderate climate I live in, the full coverage afforded by the ST fairing is often too much and I understand the concept of smaller may be better. The bigger the fairing, the more turbulence is created around the edges. Less coverage but smoother airflow would certainly be preferable for me. The Mandello is the only Italian bike (aside from my Vespa GTS300) that I would consider owning at the moment.
 
RaYzerman said:
I would take a Mandelo over an NT1100 these days...... the MSRP is the same but the Guzzi is more motorcycle for the money IMHO.
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I'm not sure there are any "bad" choices out there for motorcycles these days, especially in the sport-touring category. Competition has forced innovation to the point where you might rate one model a 94 and the other a 95. The differences are more of personal preference than technology and design.

In the "old" days, you had bikes like the FJR, C14 and ST1300 that have large engines with heavy frames to carry that weight. And then you had the R1200RT, at over 100 lbs less. Three approaching the sport touring motorcycle answer and one taking a different approach. Now, you have a large group in the 470-525lb group that do the sport touring job.

Chris
 
I know it was over 5 years ago but the experience of ordering parts from Piaggo for a dealership is a deal breaker for me. I know, most MG owners will never have a bad experience but I saw late model bikes down for weeks or even months waiting on the US network to get the part or the right number of parts or even send the right part. The latter maddening when they send the wrong part two or three times. For those owners it was frustrating.
 
Out of production since 2016...
Dunno about the spares supply on "vintage" Guzzi's though... maybe not as common as with Honda's...
It does check a few boxes though: a fairing actually deserving being designated as such, shaft drive, panniers included, analogue gauges one doesn't need to decipher, 23ltr tank, a range of ~350km, HP and torque within the specs of an ST1100, but so do net and gross weight with 275 & 478 kg... like with cars does Grand Tourismo require some mass...
It does however miss any OEM tip over protection, in fact are swing arm and f/drive housing so exposed, that they actually offer a crash bar for that, not without a reason it would seem...
 
I think the RT was first sport tourer with electronically adjustable windshield? Was an option on first ST1300 and standard shortly after. The gen1 Norge had it in '07.

From what I've been told Piaggio is very good with parts for their newer bikes. Parts availability from Piaggio US is solid. I think they have upped their game in order to be competitive as a manufacturer. Gone are the days when people are willing to wait 30 days for a European part. I was told or warned that Italy goes on holiday for August and that getting anything out of there during then is slow but that's not limited to Piaggio it's a culture thing. From my experience Yamaha is the worst for parts. They only make a limited number of any given part and if it's sold out for the year it can be 6 months or more. As for the Norge it's a 10 year old out of production bike so parts aren't always on the shelf, same as the ST. I have quickly learned that there is a network of dealers who stock a lot of the older stuff and with a couple of inquiries have found everything I've needed. I think it comes down to once you know where to look it's not bad. Probably similar to the airhead world. Any time you buy an out of production bike you better have an open mindset about parts availability.
 
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