very brief ride on a new Stelvio

[Buckturgidson]

The dealer in Reno had two Stelvios for sale on their website this morning, one a "demo" with over 200 miles, discounted but with full factory warranty. I have wanted to do a somewhat thorough test ride on a new Stelvio and this dealer has been reasonable about test rides in the past (I bought a Griso from them.)
I called ahead and specifically asked about the demo, and if I could ride it, they said no problem. I was looking forward to the opportunity of riding it in a variety of conditions, like freeway and the twisties of Geiger Grade, say 30 miles or so.
When I arrived the demo was nowhere to be found. It blows my mind, dealers who need business don't know or don't care what's in their inventory, much less how to explain operation of  cruise control or adjusting the windscreen.
They offered to let me test the one Stelvio they had, it had 3 miles on the clock. First they asked if I wanted to ride it around the parking lot, but then said I could take it out. I didn't feel right about doing the ride I envisioned, so I only put 10 miles on it, mostly freeway.  I mostly wanted to know how the wind protection is at 80 mph., because it will be a long-haul bike if I buy one. For a 6' 1" rider I can say it is good with the stock windscreen, there is a little buffeting around the head and shoulders but overall comfortable..
The bike seemed quite capable, but honestly the new engine didn't give me the same good feeling my 2-valve Norge mill does. There was nothing that made me think I should drop close to $20K to replace the Norge.

[Moparnut72]

Yes, they are not the most congenial people. The next closest dealer is in Elk Grove, quite a haul for either of us. I don't have much experience with them and have only been in that store once. The salesman I talked to was very knowledgeable  about Guzzis. By the way the engine gets a lot better with some miles on it. The transmission in my Mandello was absolutely terrible, I would have never bought it if I had test ridden it. It now is shifting pretty well with 5k miles on the bike now. I expect to get even better with more miles.
kk

[Buckturgidson]

Re: the transmission, when moving from neutral to first at stops the Stelvio had a huge clunk and lurched forward. I realize this may not be a fair criticism since it had virtually zero miles, but it was pretty severe.

[Moparnut72]

It gets better but not a whole lot. Basically just a wet clutch thing. A Harley I had was bad too, left skid marks on the garage floor.
kk

[coast range rider]

Re: the transmission, when moving from neutral to first at stops the Stelvio had a huge clunk and lurched forward. I realize this may not be a fair criticism since it had virtually zero miles, but it was pretty severe.

This is a common complaint for that bike. Should lessen slightly over time, but still.
I hate when people remark about this clunk and/or lurch is normal for wet clutch, because more than a slight clunk when rushing into first is not common to all wet clutch bikes. It is a significant annoyance on the V100. A 2 second pause after pulling clutch lever is at most all that is needed on other wet clutch bikes. Hopefully Guzzi updates the clutch in future year models.

Regardless, my paid for heritage Stelvio helps me resist the new light one.

[Huzo]

When the gear engages with a crash, can you imagine the torture on the engagement dogs ? If it sounds that loud in a fluid environment and inside a thick aluminium casting, try to envisage what mayhem it’s enduring…
I’ll be keen to see how many miles they do, before starting to leap out of gear due to rounding of the engagement dogs.
I’d be more likely to start in 1st gear with the clutch in, again not ideal but I’d sooner be replacing a starter and ring gear than gearbox internals….
Call me old fashioned.

[azccj]

I too hate it when those who have never shifted a V100 from neutral to first, make a comment about how all wet clutches do that. No they don’t! The V100’s and Stelvio’s wet clutch is designed different than any other wet clutch I’ve ever seen. On every other wet clutch the primary gear reduction is between the crankshaft and the outer clutch basket. This allows the whole clutch assembly to rotate slower than the engine is turning. In a normal wet clutch the inner clutch hub is connected to the transmission input shaft.

MG designed the V100 clutch the opposite of a normal wet clutch. The clutch inner hub is attached to a shaft that’s connected directly to the crankshaft. So the entire clutch assembly spins at the same speed as the engine. The primary gear reduction is between the outer clutch basket and the transmission input shaft. The reason why that horrible clunk occurs when shifting from neutral to first is because 1, the whole clutch assembly is spinning at 1500 RPMs at idle as there is no primary gear reduction between the engine and the clutch. And 2, the heavy part of the clutch assembly, the outer clutch basket and all steel clutch plates, acts as a small flywheel and comes to an instantaneous stop when the transmission is shifted into first.

To get an idea what I’m talking about, get on a regular wet clutch bike, put it in neutrals and rev the engine to 5,000 RPMs and shift into first. You feel that horrible clunk? That’s what it’s like every time you shift a V100 into first from neutral.

And yes I’m concerned about just how much damage is happening to the transmission’s internals because of this clutch design. Maybe MG took this into account when designing the thing but their past failed designs don’t make me too hopeful.