obligatory boring and totally not relevant re-introductionl

[professir]

Greetings from The frozen tundra. (Green Bay Wi). After riding since I was 12 *(1967) which included far too many mini bikes with far too powerful chain saw motors bungy corded to them......2 stroke widow makers, giant 6 cylinder monsters I crossed to the dark sice in the mid 1980s to Milwaukee Iron. Road in clubs, all over the midwest and somewhere got old. Now at 70....still attempting to sling a leg over the 950lb noise maker it occurred to me......hey self, maybe life should not be this hard? Sold the barge and bought a 2022 Moto Guzzi V7 special. Named her Bella La Guzzi. Talk about the dawning of a new day! Fast, smooth, 1/2 the weight, and fun! VERY different riding experience and its pretty cool. Lots to earn, so be prepared for tons of stupid questions...(blame whoever had the poor taste to let a crusty old school biker in). This thing has far too many wiz bang buttons and nannys on it. (ABS, Traction control, MPG age, modes and slirpy makers) but it has the old school gas gauge. (trip 1) All I need now is to find a tank bag that holds a paper map. :)

[guzzisteve]

+1 on the paper maps, welcome, 72 here. Look up the WI Guzzi Club. The Boss Man lives in your town, Chris. Good bunch of guy's
Good Luck on the V7

https://www.wmgr.org/

[Guzzidad]

   I use a Cortech magnetic tankbag that has a proper map pocket. Good quality and looks good.

[TN Mark]

Greetings from The frozen tundra. (Green Bay Wi). After riding since I was 12 *(1967) which included far too many mini bikes with far too powerful chain saw motors bungy corded to them......2 stroke widow makers, giant 6 cylinder monsters I crossed to the dark sice in the mid 1980s to Milwaukee Iron. Road in clubs, all over the midwest and somewhere got old. Now at 70....still attempting to sling a leg over the 950lb noise maker it occurred to me......hey self, maybe life should not be this hard? Sold the barge and bought a 2022 Moto Guzzi V7 special. Named her Bella La Guzzi. Talk about the dawning of a new day! Fast, smooth, 1/2 the weight, and fun! VERY different riding experience and its pretty cool. Lots to earn, so be prepared for tons of stupid questions...(blame whoever had the poor taste to let a crusty old school biker in). This thing has far too many wiz bang buttons and nannys on it. (ABS, Traction control, MPG age, modes and slirpy makers) but it has the old school gas gauge. (trip 1) All I need now is to find a tank bag that holds a paper map. :)

If we had a Winner emoji I’d select that.
Congratulations on your beautiful Moto Guzzi.

[blu guzz]

I've kept my collection of paper maps too. It's part of the fun.

[chuck peterson]

Awesome…. I’m pretty sure many of us arrived here after riding almost every thing else, and have stayed on a guzzi. Surprise, a bike that hits all the buttons…

Have you checked out the 60-70’s loop frames yet? Or the big new Eldorados. They begin to stick on you based on the available square footage in your garage.

[JJ]

CONGRATS on your new Guzzi!  Nice color, nice size...and you should have a lot of fun riding it!!

[Dave Swanson]

Welcome to the clan.  May this be the first of a few Guzzis for you.

That is a fine specimen of a V7-850.   When I bought my V7-850 I was sweating bullets deciding between that blue and the Centenario livery.  I was dithering almost up to the day I drove to Cadre to pick it up. 

[Bulldog9]

Greetings from The frozen tundra. (Green Bay Wi). After riding since I was 12 *(1967) which included far too many mini bikes with far too powerful chain saw motors bungy corded to them......2 stroke widow makers, giant 6 cylinder monsters I crossed to the dark sice in the mid 1980s to Milwaukee Iron. Road in clubs, all over the midwest and somewhere got old. Now at 70....still attempting to sling a leg over the 950lb noise maker it occurred to me......hey self, maybe life should not be this hard? Sold the barge and bought a 2022 Moto Guzzi V7 special. Named her Bella La Guzzi. Talk about the dawning of a new day! Fast, smooth, 1/2 the weight, and fun! VERY different riding experience and its pretty cool. Lots to earn, so be prepared for tons of stupid questions...(blame whoever had the poor taste to let a crusty old school biker in). This thing has far too many wiz bang buttons and nannys on it. (ABS, Traction control, MPG age, modes and slirpy makers) but it has the old school gas gauge. (trip 1) All I need now is to find a tank bag that holds a paper map. :)

Welcome to the way V is meant to be! Glad you are enjoying the V7, it is a great platform. We will all be watching to see what your second (and third) Guzzi will be, these things have a way of reproducing.....

[malik]

Tank bags - the problem is sorting the options from the huge choice available - I like the OEM Guzzi version with its neat & stable tank bra, but it's transparent top pocket is on the small side. Wolfman used to make a couple of good ones, one of which is waterproof. The Kriega U20 is a possible, the optional bra works, altho' it's a bit fiddly, but the optional separate map pocket which velcros to the top is an excellent bit of kit. In practice I found the roll top awkward & the lack of  pockets discourages quick access. The big advantage is the waterproofing.

You will likely end up needing a rear rack. I prefer the OEM Guzzi version (the big one with the four connection points) it's built for a Mack truck & it's both more robust & more elegant than the other 2 alternatives commonly available. It also has built in lugs for attaching side racks should you end up needing those.

More questions are likely to arise along the journey, so keep them coming, there's a deep well of advice & experience just sitting here.

Enjoy,

[davethewelder]

I love the blue Special, MOTO GUZZI's are so unique and everyone wants to talk to you when they see you out riding.