Love my Norge, BUT

[Daleroso]

Much disrespected & disregarded BUT I truly enjoy my Centauro for the above & many other reasons. (FYI, check out the styling of the NEW Suzuki M109R B.O.S.S. except for a chin spoiler; déjà vu/Centauro)

[mtwillyman]

I took my new to me 2008 black Norge on a 500 mile plus 2 day ride in Washington state. the bike performed well. I averaged 46 mpg and it is very stable. It's not very flickable and the leaned forward riding position is not comfy below 80 mph. I'm 5 ft 7 inches tall and weigh 165 lbs. My biggest complaint with this Norge is the amount of heat it throws on both legs from the knees down in temperatures over 70 degrees. It's very noticeable and other then that I like my Norge pretty well. The lower fairings are removed on my Norge BTW. The dash has lots of cool info but is unusable while riding. I have to look way down to read it? Thanks for any good tips, peace. 

[Vasco DG]

If a bike doesn't work for you? Sell it. It's not compulsory to like anything. It doesn't necessarily make it a bad bike though.

Pete

[Scott of the Sahara]

mtwillyman. I think the lower fairings help with heat management. I can ride in 80 degree temps without any problem on the lower legs. I can also keep my knees about 4 or 5 inches away from the tank and get air to my legs if things get hot. In the winter I am glad for the hand warmers.
I also bought 35mm bar risers so I could install handguards. It does ease the riding position just a bit.
I only look at the speedo and the tach while riding. Most everything else is pretty much unreadable. Hope that helps.

[canuguzzi]

I took my new to me 2008 black Norge on a 500 mile plus 2 day ride in Washington state. the bike performed well. I averaged 46 mpg and it is very stable. It's not very flickable and the leaned forward riding position is not comfy below 80 mph. I'm 5 ft 7 inches tall and weigh 165 lbs. My biggest complaint with this Norge is the amount of heat it throws on both legs from the knees down in temperatures over 70 degrees. It's very noticeable and other then that I like my Norge pretty well. The lower fairings are removed on my Norge BTW. The dash has lots of cool info but is unusable while riding. I have to look way down to read it? Thanks for any good tips, peace. 

MG solved the heat problem with the changes to the fairing and adding the valve cover shrouds. I think you can add them to the 2V. Solves the problem. A cheap but effective solution to your biggest concern.

  on the LCD dash but then there isn't much to look at when riding, I prefer the road ahead. Things like avg speed, highest speed, avg mpg and so on really add little value when actually riding.

The speedo and tach are sort of important, the tach less than the speedo. Shift by sound and feel. There is no way to get the engine overspeed without knowing it. Road speed, well, that is another story. Most other stuff, if you learn to know how the engine feels and sounds, you'll know before some light or faint LCD icon tells you.

[jdgretz]

I really never understood the heat thing.  Here in the San Fernando Valley, it regularly get up over 100*F and stays there for weeks at a time and I ride daily in that stuff.  Perhaps once it gets over a certain point it no longer seems relevant, but I've never figured out what that point is.  I find the bike very comfortable at virtually all the temperatures I ride in, but when it gets cold is where I become unhappy.  Fortunately there is heated gear for those days.

I do ride full ATGATT - full face helmet (Shoei GT-Air), MotoPort stretch Kevlar pants over regular jeans (some very warm days I opt for shorts under the MotoPort), Tourmaster Sonora Air jacket, leather gloves, and Alpinestar boots.  I'm as comfortable at 100*+ as I am at 75*.

I did 400 miles on Friday where it never got below 85*.  Heat from the Norge was not an issue for me.

jdg

[roofus]

I use my Norge for distance and rural travel. It is great for this. However, it is a pig to schlep around the garage or maneuver in a parking lot. It's also a pig if you come to a red light on the uphill where you have to stop and turn left, carrying a full load of fuel and luggage.

i have a V7 Special that I use for day trips or overnight trips. It's comfortable for reasonable distances, but quite easy to handle at low speeds or in tight quarters. If you can afford it . . . think about a smaller bike for smaller trips.

My Norton is used primarily for posing and showing off. 

A word of warning to other Norge owners, I dropped mine in the garage last fall due to my own carelessness. I didn't make sure the side stand was fully extended and I started to get off the bike. The bike slowly toppled to the left and I couldn't save it because I was on my left leg. (Sorry but it's not on You Tube!)

Make sure you push the crappy side stand all the way forward and keep the front brake on while dismounting and you won't do what I did!

[Waltr]

The weight was one of the reasons my slant K1200GT is recently departed. It was always a chore to move around, even from the saddle because the (necessary) taller Russel day-long saddle prevented me from flatfooting it on both sides. I didn't find it particularly top-heavy, and I never dropped it, but I always felt like it was just a matter of time. That feeling gets old.

Same for me and my K1300LT.

[canuguzzi]

I use my Norge for distance and rural travel. It is great for this. However, it is a pig to schlep around the garage or maneuver in a parking lot. It's also a pig if you come to a red light on the uphill where you have to stop and turn left, carrying a full load of fuel and luggage.

i have a V7 Special that I use for day trips or overnight trips. It's comfortable for reasonable distances, but quite easy to handle at low speeds or in tight quarters. If you can afford it . . . think about a smaller bike for smaller trips.

My Norton is used primarily for posing and showing off. 

A word of warning to other Norge owners, I dropped mine in the garage last fall due to my own carelessness. I didn't make sure the side stand was fully extended and I started to get off the bike. The bike slowly toppled to the left and I couldn't save it because I was on my left leg. (Sorry but it's not on You Tube!)

Make sure you push the crappy side stand all the way forward and keep the front brake on while dismounting and you won't do what I did!

Wait until you ride up Gough Street in San Francisco and get 3 cars back from the top of a crest and the sled driver at the top puts on his emergency flashers and decides to sit there waiting for some stockinged, thigh booted 20 something to come out of the building and jump in as you contemplate how far back you can slide before the you fall over. That isn't bacon frying, it is the clutch.

[jdgretz]

Sounds like you've never used the emergency brake in a stick shift car to do the same thing.  Put the bike in gear, hold in the clutch, hold the front brake, shift your left foot to the ground and move your right foot to the rear brake.

Takes a bit of coordination training as that is not how most people sit on the bike at a stop, but once you master this, those silly hill stops are not that much a problem.

jdg

[blackcat]

MG solved the heat problem with the changes to the fairing and adding the valve cover shrouds. I think you can add them to the 2V. Solves the problem.

The covers are cheap from MG and I used some aluminum stock from HD, a vice,etc. and a few hours later:


Helped but didn't solve the problem and I may just put the lowers back on and see if that solves the problem.

[PJPR01]

Can you elaborate on what you did to add those valve cover shrouds?  You had to cut some of the existing fairing to make them fit?  Thanks!

[Groover]

What do Norges look like without all the fairing and such? Photos anyone?

[sidecarnutz]

I recently sold my Urals and got a old 2003 Royal Enfield. That bike feels like a ten speed bike with a little toy motor attached. The old Cali III touring bike feels like a beast by comparison. And I never used to feel the Cali's were very heavy bikes. The RE is a wonderful backroad and parkway bike. I've been up at 4500' on the Parkway and it'll lug my fat ass up a hill in 4th gear at 45 mph. Like the little engine that could.

[atavar]

What do Norges look like without all the fairing and such? Photos anyone?

Pretty much like an ugly Breva..   
The tupperware on the Norge covers a lot of unsightly wiring and would leave many unsightly hardpoints exposed if removed.

[blackcat]

I didn't have to cut the fairing, just purchased some 1/2" aluminum stock and bent them into shape to attach the covers. Nothing pretty on the brackets and I painted the rear one black because it can be seen.

My assumption is that the factory decided the location of the oil cooler was the heat problem and lowered it on the 8V and I have considered doing the same thing to my bike. I wish the smaller V11 engine cooler would work but that is probably not a wise choice. In the end, I probably won't do anything except install the lowers.

[PJPR01]

Thanks Blackcat...that looks pretty good!  May just have to get a set of those and see what effect it has.  I don't find the heat intolerable by any means, but I do like the look of those shrouds.  Now I was also thinking about getting my valve covers powder coated (red or black)...might look pretty cool to add the shrouds as well.

[frans belgium]

Problem is, one is getting older.  And, let's face it, weaker.
Used to push my bikes around like puppies. Not anymore I'm afraid.
My bikes seem to get heavier as I get older.   Have learned to stay seated and Flintstone it.  My wife is getting quite good at pulling it on little  slopes in the parking lot

[Irn]

I recently sold my Breva 750 after falling in love with a BMW F800ST.  The BMW is an amazing light touring machine, with an awesome flat power band and tons of torque, but it is a BMW.  I miss the Goose, and went shopping to return to the fold.  I went to test ride a 07 Norge, and never took it out of the driveway.  Getting the beast on and off the center stand was enough to make me realize in short time I was going to dump the bike at no or low speed maneuvers.  No matter how great it was at speed, low speed dumps are a drag.  So the question I have it why are all touring bikes so friggin big and heavy?  Just got back from a 3800 miles through BC Canada on the F800ST and it was a champ, great gas mileage, comfortable, good wind protection, very nimble suspension and great power.  Yet all the BMW's I saw on the trip were 1200 RT, K or GS.  I stopped by Seattle to chat with Dave at Moto International, looked at the new Stones, but even he agreed Guzzi should come back with a new Baby Breva.  The only other bike that seems like it can be easily made into a good light tourer is the NC700X Honda, still a long way from a Goose.

[JeffOlson]

^ How hard would it be to turn a V7 Stone into a light-weight "touring" bike? A windscreen of course, perhaps saddles bags and/or a top case, maybe heated grips... Just a thought.

Actually, I prefer a heavier bike for long-distance riding. Even my Norge is not heavy enough for that. In my book, heft helps with smoothness and stability. Unless I am traveling two-up, my Norge gets tossed about on the freeway by the swirling tornadoes caused by hundreds of semis plowing through the air.

[atavar]

Unless I am traveling two-up, my Norge gets tossed about on the freeway by the swirling tornadoes caused by hundreds of semis plowing through the air.

That is one thing I do not have a problem with on the Norge.  Surprisingly it is less of a problem since I put the extra tall windscreen on, I thought that would have made it worse but it seems to have helped.
Strong lateral sidewinds are not a friend to the Norge, though. 

[charlie b]

Interesting on the F800ST.  I test drove one when looking for a bike (bought the Honda NT700 instead).  I loved the little beemers engine, transmission and handling.  I just could not live with the cramped position and strong vibrations in the bars.  The kicker was when the radiator fan came on in traffic and blew all the hot air right on my upper legs.  If you like riding sport bikes the F800ST will seem like luxury :)

I had hoped that the F800GT would have fixed the problems, but, they didn't fix the vibrations in the bars.  Riding position was a little better.  Makes the Goose seem like a calm sea.  Wind protection also a little better, but, not what I would call good.

I guess I like my T5 with the fairing better than most other bikes.  Even if it is right at 500lb and can be a handful to move around in a garage, I still like it.

[Bill Hagan]

****

 Unless I am traveling two-up, my Norge gets tossed about on the freeway by the swirling tornadoes caused by hundreds of semis plowing through the air.

I so rarely travel the slab that such turbulence is a non-issue for me.  Suppose a bigger deal out west where distances might require that.  If I don't see a turn ahead as I ride back roads here, I worry I'm lost in Kansas!   

Problem is, one is getting older.  And, let's face it, weaker.
Used to push my bikes around like puppies. Not anymore I'm afraid.
My bikes seem to get heavier as I get older.   Have learned to stay seated and Flintstone it.  My wife is getting quite good at pulling it on little  slopes in the parking lot

True all around.  Just back from my 50th high-school reunion.  Lots of old people.     As Wayne said on the same subject a few years ago: "Last reunion that I went to, none of the people I went to High School with were there. Just their parents." 

Bill

[JeffOlson]

I so rarely travel the slab that such turbulence is a non-issue for me.  Suppose a bigger deal out west where distances might require that.  If I don't see a turn ahead as I ride back roads here, I worry I'm lost in Kansas!   

True all around.  Just back from my 50th high-school reunion.  Lots of old people.     As Wayne said on the same subject a few years ago: "Last reunion that I went to, none of the people I went to High School with were there. Just their parents." 

Bill

Or their grandparents! This getting older is no fun..

[Idontwantapickle]

mtwillyman. I think the lower fairings help with heat management.

They do indeed. I did a bit of experimenting with mine by trying it with various pieces removed. The heat is coming, for the most part, from the exhaust pipes rather than the engine. In the end it turned out that the guys with the wind tunnel and Ing. at the end of their names had it worked out quite well. Who knew?
So I ride well into the 90s with all the fairing intact. Works great.

[rocker59]

1) It's not very flickable and
2) the leaned forward riding position is not comfy below 80 mph. I'm 5 ft 7 inches tall and weigh 165 lbs.
3) My biggest complaint with this Norge is the amount of heat it throws on both legs from the knees down in temperatures over 70 degrees. 

1)  What tires do you have on the bike, and is the rear flat spotted in the middle?  I find that going down to a 170/60-17 rear helps a lot with turn-in vs. the 180/55-17 on the 5.5 inch rims.  Brand and model of tire can make a difference, but you really should try the 170 rear if you want to improve turn-in.

2) For me, the Norge has a very upright position, but I'm 3-inches taller than you, and probably have longer arms.  Or, I'm just used to leaning farther forward.  Everyone is a little different.  You may need to come up with a conversion that will move the bars back toward you.

3) Do you wear tall boots when you ride?  Have you tried the bike with the lowers in place? 

[canuguzzi]

A Norge should not be blown around by trucks or anything else more than other bikes. There is a mothod to use around trucks to minimize wind effects.

1. If you ride alongside trucks, you are asking to become one with the truck or the pavement or both. Stay away from them, there is nothing to be gained drafting trucks or riding beside them except an increased risk to your well being.

2. If you are going to pass a truck, don't follow a car or another vehicle trying to do it, they might decide to sit just past the front of the truck which leaves you in the position called foolish. Wait for a clear lane and then instead of trying to leisurely pass, use that engine and get it over with.

3. When you pass a truck, don't run right along side them real close, start out on the inside of your lane blending toward the outside as you get to the rear of the truck. The wind will have less effect. You lean slightly toward the truck but keep riding straight ahead. Yes, it can be done.

4. As you get close to the front of the truck, increase your speed slightly and as you clear the front, lean in and start to move toward the inside of the lane. By this time you should be clear of the truck's front end and moving back into the lane ahead of the truck.

By doing this you are attacking the wind head on instead of letting it push you around.

All bikes behave different in wind but for passing trucks this works with any of them.

If all you do is maintain one position in the lane, expect not to be buffeted, your expectations are out of line. Learn to ride well when trucks are present and most wind issues you experience will evaporate.

[Lash]

Well, as the owner of a gorgeous 2012 Norge - Yes, it can be tough in parking lot situations if there are hills. And it's not an around-town bike. Which it wasn't designed for. Doubt the 'not very flicable' comment - my experience is the Norge not only does what you want, but forgives you for your mistakes when it gets tight. I've been fortunate enough to ride the first generation thanks to Bill Hagan, then mine, thousands of miles. Always a pleasure. P.S. - Yes I did drop mine once, you have to be careful about balance. Attention to detail, all that.

Like anything else - if you're not happy with what you ride, find another motorcycle.

[jovato]

Again, I'm not sure what people are comparing the bike to.   The Norge is the easiest 1000cc plus sport touring bike to throw around in traffic or crawling through a parking lot.  I also have absolutely no trouble throwing it in and out of my garage.  I just lean against it and walk it where it needs to go.  It is a bit tougher to get it on and off the center stand, but I'm just happy that came standard.  All of the comparable sport touring bikes are much larger and less nimble (save maybe the R1200 RT).  The FJR 1300, Concourse 1400 and ST1300 are all long distance commuters that feel awkward in town.  I shoot in and out of Seattle traffic all the time on my Norge.  The shorter wheelbase and lower weight make a huge difference.  Sure a 650 CC Sportbike  or a small 500cc standard feel easier in traffic, but I can ride cross country on my Norge.  I firmly attest that, in its class, the Norge is the nimblest sport touring bike there is.  I don't put the BMW 800GT in the same class (although it is a fantastic commuter).  That bike is a buzz machine with an engine that sounds like it is wrapped out at 80 miles per hour.  The Norge is just loping along with two up riding all day at 85mph.  The Yamaha FJ-09 could be the alternative to the Norge that many seem to be looking for with regards to maneuverability and weight with a pretty broad power band.  However, it is absolutely butt ugly in person.  It makes a V-Strom look good.  The Tiger 800 (street version not XC) is a great all around commuter that looks good and can be toured with.  I'd rather have my Norge, though.

[Gliderjohn]

Concerning wind a semi trucks. I ride a 2011 Norge and a T-3. I live in Kansas so I am quite familiar concerning riding with wind. I have not noticed any handling concerns in strong crosswinds but the wind noise is very loud and will buffet my head from the side compared to the T-3. Meeting a semi is not any worse or better than the T-3 but the Norge does "feel" the turbulence more than the T-3 when approaching and passing a semi. It makes no difference if I am using the stock screen or the larger Cal/Sci screen. It has never caused me to have a "Oh Crap" movement.
GliderJohn