There is a difference..

[Huzo]

And that is, I USE the V85 but I RIDE the Norge..
Just did two thousand quiet k’s on the V85 and it did NOTHING wrong. It stops well, goes well, is comfortable (sort of), uses similar fuel to my Norge and like the Norge, will never be sold.
Having said that..
If the Norge was a modern Jaguar, the V85 would be a Range Rover. Not a criticism, but more  an observation.
I’ve done over ten thousand on it now and took the chance to drop in on Roper mid trip to change the oil, I stood back, looked, and I know it will not inherit a place somewhere in me that my Norge has.



There is one similarity and that’s the red Ortleib bag on the back, beyond that there’s 13 years, 175,000 kilometres difference and countless memories separating the two..
Time will tell..
The relentless velvet like liquidity of the Norge torque, ingratiates itself every time I ride it and although I’m happy to have the V85 to play with, the welcoming curves and intuitive responses of the Norge keep me wanting to come back again...and again...(you know what I mean.. )
A metaphor if ever there was.

[Idontwantapickle]

Yes, the Norge is quite a work of art. Both beautiful to behold and to ride. So Italian!
 

[Vagrant]

I too love the V85 and at 3500 miles feel it's a great machine. But, I miss the torque twist from the big block and the heavy flywheel effect. the tone also lacks the normal Guzzi character that the V7 still has but I need one bike that quiet. That might be why Kev m and others liked the V9 so much. I just might buy one to check out the theory.
But all that said I like it more than the small Multi Strada I tested 950 or whatever and the Kawi Versys 1000 I owned.

[tommy2cyl]

I am at an age that my V 85 is now my big bike.  I am quite certain the Norge is a wonderful machine, but I have fully embraced less is more.
My other two motorcycles total 550 cc's, one is 200 and the other 350.  I am currently just under 5000 miles on the TT  and have experienced a 6 day trip,
gravel roads, a full day of rain in 48 degrees and hammering through the twisties of NC and WVa.  Everybody should fully enjoy their bikes.  I feel
like the V 85 was custom made for me and couldn't want for more.

[ohiorider]

And that is, I USE the V85 but I RIDE the Norge..
Just did two thousand quiet k’s on the V85 and it did NOTHING wrong. It stops well, goes well, is comfortable (sort of), uses similar fuel to my Norge and like the Norge, will never be sold.
Having said that..
If the Norge was a modern Jaguar, the V85 would be a Range Rover. Not a criticism, but more  an observation.
I’ve done over ten thousand on it now and took the chance to drop in on Roper mid trip to change the oil, I stood back, looked, and I know it will not inherit a place somewhere in me that my Norge has.



There is one similarity and that’s the red Ortleib bag on the back, beyond that there’s 13 years, 175,000 kilometres difference and countless memories separating the two..
Time will tell..
The relentless velvet like liquidity of the Norge torque, ingratiates itself every time I ride it and although I’m happy to have the V85 to play with, the welcoming curves and intuitive responses of the Norge keep me wanting to come back again...and again...(you know what I mean.. )
A metaphor if ever there was.

One more time to do this reply on my crappy little Bluetooth keyboard.  A storm/power failure knocked out old reliable desk top Dell earlier today.  I just fat-fingered my last response and blew it away!

Anyway, I just sold my favorite bike of (all?) time .... my 2008 2v 1200 Sport.  A Norge, essentially, with sport-touring bodywork.  Wonderful power curve, and a remarkable performer for a venerable v twin pushrod design.  Unfortunately, time and a few health issues caught up with me, and I now needed to go lighter, less weight up high, and less weight overall.

Enter the 2016 Triumph T120.  It has a lot of positive features, but to me, it'll never replace my 2v Sport.  I may be having the same bonding issues with the T120 you're having with the V85.  I get it   .......   different bikes do it for different people.

After riding BMW K bikes for a few hundred thou USA miles, I purchased a brand new 1991 R100GS from Andy Pelc BMW, in Canton, Michigan
No test ride, simply going on the advice of long-time Airhead riders.  I owned it, then took it for a 100 mile loop, then back to the dealer.  Andy Pelc, now deceased, came out to the parking lot when I pulled in, took one look at my expression, and said "you don't like it, do you?"

"No, I don't!"

"Give it a chance ..... it's just so different from your K bikes."  Right on, Andy!  She's still with me, 29 years and 160,000 miles later.
Stick with it, Huzo.  Some of our best rides take longer to love.  But just liking them isn't good enough!  Not for me, and it doesn't sound like it is for you. 

Bob

EDIT:  Here she was, during an October ride just south of New Philadelphia, Ohio, several years ago.  For any of you fans of major league baseball, Cy Young is buried in the small kirkyard next to the tiny, old church visible in the distance, on Ohio SR 258, in Peoli, Ohio.

[Huzo]

Your observations are astute as always Ohiorider..
It’s kind of funny really, I don’t mind the V85 being secondary to the Norge, as long as the Norge is there. It’s a first world “problem” and maybe I’m just BS’ing myself because I have the favourite in the shed.
Also one wonders, if the ‘85 had the history of the Norge and I’d just got the Norge, would I be singing the praises the other way ‘round....
But one thing is certain, if there was a fire in the workshop and I only had time to save one..?
There’s be a puddle of molten smallblock Guzzi post fire on the floor.
Strange though it is to relate, if I was offered what my V85 owes me right now, it would not be for sale.

[Gliderjohn]

Yes, the Norge and the Italian effect. Once was unloading the Norge at a motel. A car stopped at the office and an attractive 40ish year old women got out of the passenger side walked quickly over to my Norge and just gushed over it. Her husband looked on perplexed from the car.
GliderJohn

[ohiorider]

I owned a 2012 Griso 8vSE from 2012 thru most of 2015.  The Tenni Green paint and the two tone brown saddle were perfect  .....  and the double  wall pipes never blued  .....  they simply turned to a deeper gold.  I never did nor ever will own a more striking motorcycle.

A couple of occasions stick out:

I'm gassing up at the local Circle K, when a beautiful Mercedes sedan with Florida plates pulled around me to the pump in front, and very carefully backed up toward me.  Once stopped, the passenger, extremely well-dressed, hopped out of the car, approached me, and asked if he could take a few pictures of the Griso, after which he asked where the bike was from.

"Italy."

"It's beautiful."

My question, "do you ride?"

"No, I've never ridden a motorcycle, but a couple of my good friends do.'  I want them to see this bike."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About the same time period, another individual approached me and asked where the bike was from.  As soon as he heard 'Italy,' the big smile came over his face.  "I should have known.  The most beautiful shoes, the finest suits, and now I know, the most beautiful motorcycles,"

I never understood what Guzzi was thinking when they dropped the Tenni Green paint and the brown saddle.  Now, I don't think those same colors would have been right on a bike with more bodywork.  Too much of a good thing!  But on  the slim Griso, it all seemed to come together, even to people that never owned or rode a motorcycle.

Bob





Not my Griso, but one of the pics that saw me fly to Georgia in 2012 and ride a beautiful 8vSE home to Cleveland

[PJPR01]

Anytime you have more than 1 bike, there will be a pecking order in terms of preference.  No two bikes can occupy position #1 in the heart...can't be done! 

The only issue I have with your analogies is that the Norge is in fact the same feeling as my Range Rover, not a tinny Jaguary XK8 please, by way of analogy my Scura is the same feeling as my Porsche 911, and the Griso is probably an AC Cobra I'd guess - just based on raw rough muscle power, although I've never driven or owned a Cobra.

The V-85...might be, possibly could be a Discovery Sport, if fully farkled, a decent L4, but Range Rover...nope!

 

[Huzo]

Ok, I accept that..
You do get it.

[skippy]

There is indeed a difference. I am really beginning to enjoy what The V85 is really capable of But I am now keenly aware of what My Breva is not capable of. I now fully appreciate what a wonderful sport tourer the Breva is and how she will aggressively gobble up the miles on the back roads of Colorado but I am really beginning to appreciate how efficiently the V85 can gobble up miles on lesser roads that I went around before.

Skippy