Should I buy a Guzzi?

[slowmover]

Yes. I've had 2 over 7 years and if I had to get a new bike I'd get another.

[Huzo]

If you have sufficient technique and stay in practice, you'll find you don't NEED to flat foot both sides at once. I'll bet my flat tappets that if you strapped my right foot to the 'peg, I could ride around and put only my left foot down every time, or vice versa and that's on a Norge, most any experienced rider on this forum could also. It's not an ideal situation but my point is that you can manage quite well by putting only one foot down at stops and therefore can adapt readily to your height concerns. I'd say though, once you select your bike, don't ride anyone else's and stay in constant practice by doing lots of riding and practice putting only one foot down and make it the one YOU nominate to prove to yourself that you are commanding the bike, not it commanding you.

[Lannis]

If you have sufficient technique and stay in practice, you'll find you don't NEED to flat foot both sides at once.

That may be true.   But for my part, despite a lifetime of experience, I'm not buying any more bikes where I can't comfortably reach the ground with both feet when stopped, even at 6'2" and 32" inseam.

First of all, especially in a commuting situation on ugly city streets with potholes, gravel, manhole covers, antifreeze and diesel on the road, etc, you don't always have the luxury of stopping where you have good footing on both sides, and you can't always see what the footing is before you stop.   Many a time I've stopped, put my feet down, and had one foot go right out from under me on pea gravel or a patch of slick stuff on the pavement.   Only the fact that I had both feet down and my "body language" could get my COG to the other side instantly saved me from a fall.  If my other foot were "strapped to the peg", I'd be down.

My Stelvio was "tip toe" only when I got it.   I got tired of that, especially riding it two-up with a load, so I lowered it an inch or inch and a half with a new rear suspension (the old one was worn out anyway) and an upgraded front, and now my feet are down flat.   On my Triumph, I did a lowered seat and lowered footpegs and now am comfortable with the height - with a heavy bike, loaded two-up, I really need some stability.

Lots of nice bikes out there, all of the modifiable for height if they're an inch too high.   If it's more than that, I'd skip that bike and choose another .....

Lannis

[Kev m]

My hesitance is the seat height and the maintenance since I'll be doing a short commute on it every day.

I currently don't work on my own bikes so while I'm getting up to speed on performing my own routine maintenance I'll be running to the dealer.

And, I'm short. I am in the process of moving back to the states now and am considering buying a particular used V7 from a dealer without having ridden it. I'm banking on the lower seat, my riding boots and if necessary modifying shocks to get it to a comfortable height. I don't like to mess with suspensions but since I'm still an intermediate female rider and I only weight 130lbs after a big dinner I think it'll be ok.

There you have it. Thoughts? I appreciate your time....

I think Sign answered the height thing well, though I would check with the dealer in question as they may be willing to set it up for you initially (including any suspension parts swaps).

I've got a good friend who is 4' 10" and a Triumph dealer tried everything they could (swapping shocks, moving forks) to test fit her.

As for commuting what's the daily/weekly distance?

Let's say it's 200 miles/week (40/day), and you're exclusively using the dealer then you're back to the dealer about every 30 weeks or close to 2x/year.

Is this acceptable to you?

Will you have a backup method?

That's the kind of question I'd want to ask myself.

[malik]

If a V7 does fit roughly & appeals (750 Breva's are now scarce), there are plenty of accessories available - including at least 2 lowered seats. There is enough familiarly & experience with the bike that, if needed, suspension mods wouldn't be too difficult to get sorted. The V7 handles well in the city, with the added advantage of being able to ride it comfortably around the country should you so wish.

It's really useful to have convenient access to a local dealer/mechanic when you're new to a brand. Eventually, you are likely to be doing most of your own regular servicing - it's easy & there's not much to it. Finding another owner locally and doing it together makes a social event of it & is lots of fun.

If you have choices of contenders for your garage, a bike that already has a centre stand is good. If one also has a rear rack, that's better - you'll find that useful. The earlier models 2009-2011 like the Classic are likely to be cheaper, but replacing the air filter is awkward. The later single throttle body models have that filter under the seat, so easily accessible. The later still V7 II have a six speed gearbox which is supposedly better, along with ABS & Traction Control. Basically not a lot of difference between the models, just little things. It will depend upon what's available when you're looking. They are all good.

[Huzo]

That may be true.   But for my part, despite a lifetime of experience, I'm not buying any more bikes where I can't comfortably reach the ground with both feet when stopped, even at 6'2" and 32" inseam.

First of all, especially in a commuting situation on ugly city streets with potholes, gravel, manhole covers, antifreeze and diesel on the road, etc, you don't always have the luxury of stopping where you have good footing on both sides, and you can't always see what the footing is before you stop.   Many a time I've stopped, put my feet down, and had one foot go right out from under me on pea gravel or a patch of slick stuff on the pavement.   Only the fact that I had both feet down and my "body language" could get my COG to the other side instantly saved me from a fall.  If my other foot were "strapped to the peg", I'd be down.

My Stelvio was "tip toe" only when I got it.   I got tired of that, especially riding it two-up with a load, so I lowered it an inch or inch and a half with a new rear suspension (the old one was worn out anyway) and an upgraded front, and now my feet are down flat.   On my Triumph, I did a lowered seat and lowered footpegs and now am comfortable with the height - with a heavy bike, loaded two-up, I really need some stability.

Lots of nice bikes out there, all of the modifiable for height if they're an inch too high.   If it's more than that, I'd skip that bike and choose another .....

Lannis

Ok Lannis. Ltl1 has expressed an interest in owning a Guzzi, not what you, me or anyone else has decided to do with the rest of their motorcycling life. My point about strapping one foot to the 'peg was to illustrate that you can develop enough confidence and ability to be able to operate a bike without needing to be able to flat foot both sides at once, sure it's an advantage but not a necessity. We can all come up with a litany of horror stories about the certain disaster that awaits the hapless poor individual that dares to venture out on a bike that they can't reach the ground from both sides at once on. The worst conceivable thing that MAY happen is that she'll drop the bike at standstill and do a Hardaspie on herself.. Oh well. I'm suggesting that if she goes and lumbers herself with some pox ridden 250 that wouldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding, her limited experience will see her trying to match traffic and will be exposed to the hazards inherent in riding an underpowered pile of pus. If she were my daughter, I'd be happier to see her come home with a broken clutch lever and a scratched knee, than a head on collision because she got hung out to dry trying to pass a belching diesel on an uphill grade into a head wind. We all know it can and does happen. So a V7 and lots of practice and address the problems...Oh and BTW, you should'a looked where you were putting your feet...Also Ltl1 isn't trying to fly a fully loaded 8 foot tall two up Stelvio, although I agree that all things are relative.

[Lannis]

We can all come up with a litany of horror stories about the certain disaster that awaits the hapless poor individual that dares to venture out on a bike that they can't reach the ground from both sides at once on. 

We're all just trying to help.  I'm sure Ltl1 doesn't want a litany of horror stories, just some people's opinions and experience.

 If she were my daughter, I'd be happier to see her come home with a broken clutch lever and a scratched knee, than a head on collision because she got hung out to dry trying to pass a belching diesel on an uphill grade into a head wind.

The OP has expressed an interest in owning a Guzzi, not in getting some iffy Aussie parenting advice ....     

Lannis

[Huzo]

That's right she has. So therefore I'd be thinking of some strategies where she could investigate the viability of owning one. It wasn't advice on parenting, she'll be closer to the ground on a V7 than a Stelvio, so will have more chance of seeing the pea sized gravel. I don't doubt for a tenth of a second that all of us are trying to be of help.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Great feedback, thank you. The standard I ride now now has a 28' seat height and I can flat foot it easily without riding boots. I appreciate your first hand feedback....

I'm inseam challenged myself, and it's certainly *not* necessary to be able to flat foot with both feet. I had Darth Quota for a couple of years, forheavinsake. That was tippy toe time on one foot. (!) There is a learned skill of having one foot down *at a time.* You can do it. Right now, the only bike I have that I can flat foot is the Monza. The Lario is one foot down with the bike leaned a little. The Scura is both feet on toes or one foot down and the bike leaned a lot. *It's no big deal.* Seriously.
Welcome to WG, btw.. 

[boatdetective]

The V7 is stylish, easy to ride, and extremely approachable in terms of routine maintenance. I am not quite certain about your traffic situation. It is an air cooled bike- so prolonged gridlock might be a problem.  It's also mu opinion that it would not be a great highway machine. Plenty of folks here will screech and howl at that, but I still maintain that a larger machine would be better on the open slab. Then again, your physical constraints might rule that out.

As far as parts and every day wrenching- you should have no problems. The groups here is extremely helpful.

Is it a single throttle body V7?  I recall reading here that those machines can have stalling issue on cold startup.

[smdl]

Is it a single throttle body V7?  I recall reading here that those machines can have stalling issue on cold startup.

I think that Mark (Beetle) has that pretty much sorted now with a new map.  Even without that, though, people say they are fine if you just let the bike warm up a bit while putting on helmet and gloves.

Cheers,
Shaun

[Ltl1]

I think Sign answered the height thing well, though I would check with the dealer in question as they may be willing to set it up for you initially (including any suspension parts swaps).

I've got a good friend who is 4' 10" and a Triumph dealer tried everything they could (swapping shocks, moving forks) to test fit her.

As for commuting what's the daily/weekly distance?

Let's say it's 200 miles/week (40/day), and you're exclusively using the dealer then you're back to the dealer about every 30 weeks or close to 2x/year.

Is this acceptable to you?

Will you have a backup method?

That's the kind of question I'd want to ask myself.

Great response Kev M: the commute is a little shorter than that, and yes I'm ok with 2x / year until I'm up to speed, and I do have a back up plan for the commute if needed!

Thanks for the thoughts, I appreciate it!

[Ltl1]

The V7 is stylish, easy to ride, and extremely approachable in terms of routine maintenance. I am not quite certain about your traffic situation. It is an air cooled bike- so prolonged gridlock might be a problem.  It's also mu opinion that it would not be a great highway machine. Plenty of folks here will screech and howl at that, but I still maintain that a larger machine would be better on the open slab. Then again, your physical constraints might rule that out.

As far as parts and every day wrenching- you should have no problems. The groups here is extremely helpful.

Is it a single throttle body V7?  I recall reading here that those machines can have stalling issue on cold startup.

Thanks for the thoughts. No gridlock, and only secondary roads- no real highway on the commute. I pretty much always warm my bikes up and I live in Southern California so I think I'll be ok there.

Thanks again!

[Ltl1]

Ok guys- thanks for all the helpful feedback and different points of view!

Success! After going back and forth via email from here in Asia for a bit, the awesome rep at the dealer is going to hold the bike for me on refundable deposit until I return to the states in a couple weeks.

He's also aware of the mods we might need and they're going to try to help sort it for me.

We'll find out if it's doable! Thanks again for all your time as I hopefully move into a mid-sized!

Ltl1

[Huzo]

As we say in Australia... You bloody beauty !!! Enjoy the process of working through the facets of ownership. There's very little that these guys can't give advice on... And it's FREE !!!

[not-fishing]

The V7 is stylish, easy to ride, and extremely approachable in terms of routine maintenance. I am not quite certain about your traffic situation. It is an air cooled bike- so prolonged gridlock might be a problem.  It's also mu opinion that it would not be a great highway machine.

Is it a single throttle body V7?  I recall reading here that those machines can have stalling issue on cold startup.

In California we split lanes legally so the smaller bikes actually work better.  So far my record is 10+ miles of bumper to bumper, stop and go, on the 12 and 80 East

As to Cold Temps San Diego only gets down to the 50's - rarely.

[TimmyTheHog]

Up here in Canada. Got a 2015 V7 Stone and my inseam 29.5.

I still have the standard seat on the bike and I can flat foot 1 side while sitting on the bike. Tippy toe with both legs down like a cruiser. I am sure i can flat foot both if I get the lower gel seat too.

I commute when I can with 45KM each way. Got quite a bit of slow crawls with lots of semi & gravel trucks around my route....As long as I don't ride & stop on gravel roads, I am usually fine.

During cold days (coldest day I rode with my V7 is about 5C with some fun wind), I didn't find it stall but did find a few time the bike's idle fluctuate a tad until it warms up...think the ECU was trying to compensate with lack of fuel burnt with colder temp.

Long story short, V7 will be a nice commute bike for you...at least it is for me :)]

one thing is I sometimes almost forgot to fuel up because i am so used to its big tank LOL...

[Socalrob]

Great feedback, thank you. The standard I ride now now has a 28' seat height and I can flat foot it easily without riding boots. I appreciate your first hand feedback....

Even though I am 5'10" with a 32" inseam, I have been riding adventure style bikes and the best I can usually do is get toes down.  It is not necessary to get both heels down at once.  When on a tall bike (my KTM 690 is a skyscraper) you just need take some foresight on parking and make sure you never stop with the front wheel on the asphalt past the gutter, the rear wheel up on the slanted drive approach, and your foot down area in the gutter, as that can add a good 5" to seat height.

An old friend of mine was shorter than you by a good bit, and he at best could get toes down on one side by having his whole but off the seat of any full size bike he owned. Sure, he dropped bikes a time or two, but he adapted.  IMO, as important as height is weight, as I know when I am on my GSA loaded up for camping, it pays to watch where I park, because if the bike is leaned way over  on the side stand due to slope, it can be a real bear to get it upright. 

The V7 is fairly light for a full size bike, and at least the stock seats let you move from side to side pretty easy, so you can always get one foot down.  I would hazard that you would be able to make adjustments to make the bike fit you, if you really love the bike.  If you don't really love the bike, every time you have to stretch to get a foot down or huff to get it off the side stand, you will curse it.  If you love it, those things are just part of its character and helping you be a better rider.

[Huzo]

The mods you make and the adaptations that you perform will combine to cement the relationship and make it "your" bike. Socal's observations are very astute and born out of hard learned experience also from a lifetime of riding by the sounds of it. You're gunna love it !

[Tennmoto]

Ok guys- thanks for all the helpful feedback and different points of view!

Success! After going back and forth via email from here in Asia for a bit, the awesome rep at the dealer is going to hold the bike for me on refundable deposit until I return to the states in a couple weeks.

He's also aware of the mods we might need and they're going to try to help sort it for me.

We'll find out if it's doable! Thanks again for all your time as I hopefully move into a mid-sized!

Ltl1

Congratulations on your MG ownership. Not to bad when you have all these helpful people on this forum.
Makes ownership a great experience!

[JJ]

Ok guys- thanks for all the helpful feedback and different points of view!

Success! After going back and forth via email from here in Asia for a bit, the awesome rep at the dealer is going to hold the bike for me on refundable deposit until I return to the states in a couple weeks.

He's also aware of the mods we might need and they're going to try to help sort it for me.

We'll find out if it's doable! Thanks again for all your time as I hopefully move into a mid-sized!

Ltl1

Congrats - - and when you get her home - - post a photo for the forum!!  :1: