Stornello as a commuter?

[jlburgess]

I'm looking at a Stornello due to the $2,000 rebate.  The ABS, TC, and 5.8 gallon tank add up to a nice commuter I think?
What kind of fuel mileage do you get.  Does it need premium fuel?

I'll be keeping the Griso but it's a handful in 5 mph traffic.  The clutch pull is heavy too.

[JJ]

I'm looking at a Stornello due to the $2,000 rebate.  The ABS, TC, and 5.8 gallon tank add up to a nice commuter I think?
What kind of fuel mileage do you get.  Does it need premium fuel?

I'll be keeping the Griso but it's a handful in 5 mph traffic.  The clutch pull is heavy too.

I would think the iconic Stornello would be a perfect little commuter, just MHO. :1: 

Regarding MPG, this might be a bit of a  "stretch" but that's what I just found on-line...

[JeffOlson]

The definition of "commuting" can vary. If you are riding above 25 MPH and constantly moving, any motorcycle should be fund. If you are riding in 5 MPH stop-and-go traffic, no motorcycle with be fun. A Vespa motorscooter would be better for that kind of "commuting."

Before we moved, we lived on a farm 21 miles from my office in a city. My commute could take 90 minutes each way, with speeds ranging from zero to 90 MPH, with much of it stop-and-go at 5 MPH. (Welcome to Portland, Oregon, the new Los Angeles!) My Norge loved the top end, but my Vespa was far better at the low end. My car was best of all...

[jlburgess]

No interest in Vespas.  I can justify a Stornello as it would be capable of doing fire roads too.

[JJ]

No interest in Vespas.  I can justify a Stornello as it would be capable of doing fire roads too.

...and I believe it would be "OK" on most fire roads, as long as one did not "beat it" too badly!

[pete roper]

Should be fine John. Any of them except the 'Racer' are eminently well suited for commuting/city work. My first Guzzi was a smallblock V50, I was living in London at the time and rode it everywhere. It handled it well. Light, nimble, adequately braked the only thing that lets the Storny down is its poverty pack suspension.

Pete

[pyoungbl]

V7 mpg ranges from 50 to 60 mpg, all depends on the normal stuff....load, speed, temp, wind, etc.  A range of 250  miles per tank is not out of the question.  I always burn 'regular'...ie, the cheap stuff and have not had a problem.  Pete is correct in his assessment of the suspension.  Take some of that Guzzi savings and upgrade the shocks/forks.

Peter Y.

[Socalrob]

V7 mpg ranges from 50 to 60 mpg, all depends on the normal stuff....load, speed, temp, wind, etc.  A range of 250  miles per tank is not out of the question.  I always burn 'regular'...ie, the cheap stuff and have not had a problem.  Pete is correct in his assessment of the suspension.  Take some of that Guzzi savings and upgrade the shocks/forks.

Peter Y.

Although it cost me a rather stupid amount of money, the fully adjustable Matris suspension front and rear on my V7iii have changed the ride from literally painful on the back over rough pavement to smooth, planted and confidence inspiring.

And I am really enjoying the Guzzi as a commuter and local canyon bike.  Much nicer as a daily ride than my pig of a GS Adventure, which can be more of a pain pushing around the garage and such.  Will likely do some lite touring on her too.

When I first saw the V7 line of bikes the dealer had a V7ii Stornello in stock.  I was smitten by that bike, but really wanted something I could put some cases on.  The high pipe made that look difficult, but really, you could always have the pipe lowered I imagine, or have the luggage carrier fabed up to offset one side so as to clear the pipe.   I mounted the Craven cases on my bike using Touratech "puck" hardware on Hepco Becker racks, so I imagine it would be easy to mount up some aluminum Touratech cases on modified Hepco Becker racks if needed.  The Touratech aluminum cases might look really nice on the Stornello.  I'd have to give that some thought.

[Socalrob]

The definition of "commuting" can vary. If you are riding above 25 MPH and constantly moving, any motorcycle should be fund. If you are riding in 5 MPH stop-and-go traffic, no motorcycle with be fun. A Vespa motorscooter would be better for that kind of "commuting."

Before we moved, we lived on a farm 21 miles from my office in a city. My commute could take 90 minutes each way, with speeds ranging from zero to 90 MPH, with much of it stop-and-go at 5 MPH. (Welcome to Portland, Oregon, the new Los Angeles!) My Norge loved the top end, but my Vespa was far better at the low end. My car was best of all...

Of course if you lived in LA you would be splitting lanes on the moto and you would reverse order those vehicles, not to mention knocking that commute down to less than 30 minutes.

[Green1000S]

Although it cost me a rather stupid amount of money, the fully adjustable Matris suspension front and rear on my V7iii have changed the ride from literally painful on the back over rough pavement to smooth, planted and confidence inspiring.

How much is "stupid amount"?
Looks like I may want to do it too, just want to know if I need to rob a small or mid size post office....

[Socalrob]

How much is "stupid amount"?
Looks like I may want to do it too, just want to know if I need to rob a small or mid size post office....

$1600 shocks, $650 forks.  Now if this was a $25K BMW maybe that makes some sense.  For a $10K bike that is about a quarter the cost of the bike.

I have always been really cheap on upgrades in the past.  I'm 60yo and decided I was going to put whatever I want on this bike.  I intend to keep it until I stop riding, and then give it to my son.

[pyoungbl]

Folks, you do not need to rob a bank to put better shocks/forks on the V7.  RaceTech shocks were about $600 for the pair (G3-S).  Gold Valve emulators for the forks were about $170 and springs were about $130.  You have to call RT to get these since they are not shown on their web site.  There are lots of other options for the shocks, not so many for the forks.

Todd used to sell RaceTech, I got mine through him.  Now he seems to sell only the gold plated Matrix products, certainly a quality product at a premium price.

No matter which way you go, upgrading the suspension is well worth the investment.   The OEM suspension bits are bargain basement.  Mine would actually launch me off the seat when I hit a pothole or even an expansion joint.  Oh well, guess I'm just a bit sensitive to these things.

[Lannis]

I thought back on all my commuter bikes back when commuting was part of my week (I seemed to get a lot more riding in when my job "forced" me to ride an hour and 15 minutes each weekday!), and I remember that all of them had significant carrying capacity - top box and/or panniers, and at a MINIMUM a tailbag on the passenger seat if the hard luggage was off for some reason.

1) Errands to run, a few things to "pick up after work" ...
2) Things to carry back and forth to work, notebooks, briefcase, tools, depends on your job ...
3) Rain gear, spare jacket, normal riding stuff.

Maybe your habit is to just hop on and go, and you'd never use the box or panniers, but I always did!

Lannis

[Socalrob]

Folks, you do not need to rob a bank to put better shocks/forks on the V7.  RaceTech shocks were about $600 for the pair (G3-S).  Gold Valve emulators for the forks were about $170 and springs were about $130.  You have to call RT to get these since they are not shown on their web site.  There are lots of other options for the shocks, not so many for the forks.

Todd used to sell RaceTech, I got mine through him.  Now he seems to sell only the gold plated Matrix products, certainly a quality product at a premium price.

No matter which way you go, upgrading the suspension is well worth the investment.   The OEM suspension bits are bargain basement.  Mine would actually launch me off the seat when I hit a pothole or even an expansion joint.  Oh well, guess I'm just a bit sensitive to these things.

I am confident you are right, but just for once I wanted to try "the best".  I was surprised how much difference the fork cartridges and springs made.  I do suggest not to stop at the shocks.

[BoatDoc]

I've been commuting with my Stornello for about a year. I use 89 octane. The bike and gas work fine!
I used the OEM side racks and large tail rack and drape Wolfman Expedition bags off it. On the right side I added spacers to get it to clear the exhaust.
Have fun!

[Muzz]

Funny you say the clutch is heavy. The Breva I find quite light, especially when I compared it to a Lario.

Did they change something radically between the 2TB and the 1TB?