My first 120 miles on my V7 III. Obviously I'm an expert now!

[BedMac]

Ha no seriously, this whole Moto Guzzi thing has been a new adventure for me...

I first took it around the block a few times.  I then took it up Azusa Canyon (Hwy 39 in CA).  I then took it to lunch to meet a friend in Burbank.

So first impressions?  When I went up Azusa Canyon I rode without my usual earplugs and music beaming into my helmet.  I wanted to hear stuff.  Wow a lot of weird noises.  The gears(?) seemed to be screaming at me at times.  I smelled the clutch maybe.  But it pointed where I wanted to go real easily.  I found myself using the rear brake at times, something I rarely do on my Ducati.  But it seemed to help things a bit.

The next day I took the freeway.  Mostly fine but at 70+ a bad bumpy freeway was a REALLY bumpy ride.  And there was so much wind (duh, most bikes I've had have some version of a windscreen).  But this ride I had my earplugs in and music playing.  So it was fine except for the bumpiest bits. And I got my first practice with it lane splitting.  Easy.

Today I finally was able to set my sag.  My wife helped because my usual friends were busy or had food poisoning.  My quick ride after setting sag, which from the dealer was well off from my target of 37mm, was an improvement. I'm 220 pounds and was surprised I could find that with the OEM shocks without being at the end of the range; maybe things will change as it breaks in? C'mon you next bumpy freeway!

I just ride the thing and I'm loving it.   The stuff you read about it bringing back the simple joy of riding is so damn true.

[malik]

 

[Dave Swanson]

Congratulations on starting what may be a lifetime of Guzzi enjoyment! 

I like many others found it was mandatory to upgrade the rear shocks at the earliest opportunity.  I couldn't tolerate the stock units. 

[chuck peterson]

Yup! Welcome! You’ve been bit...

[Thirtyaughtsix]

I bought my Stone brand new on April 5th, just rolled over 5600 miles on the commute home friday morning, just got the kit in the mail to do my service at 6k. I too smelled the clutch for awhile but it will come to pass, they point it out in the manual as a thing that could happen. The suspension gets better over time too, for me anyway. It started out pretty rough but I've realized I've mostly forgotten about it, the components have broken in or a combination thereof, have yet to adjust the rear or anything. It really isn't that world-endingly bad as a lot of people have made it out to be, I figure if you're a problem looking for a solution than yes you might hone in on the suspension. To date I've put $2-2.5k worth of mods into mine, none of that going towards suspension and I don't regret it one bit, not sure if I ever will honestly.

Keep doing what you're doing, just ride the thing. Mine has yet to miss a beat.

[canuck750]

So well described! You are hooked 😊

[Kev m]

I'm guessing the Burbank friend isn't the one with food poisoning. 

Glad you're enjoying.