First, the buying experience.
I'm an existing customer at Erico Motorsports, having purchased my 2022 V7 Stone from there, but it's only been back there for service once as most of the bike's service has been while touring or at a nearer dealership, which I've not been satisfied with. I had been kicking around the idea of a V7 Sport and researching the differences in equipment, what quirks might be addressed, etc. Then while walking around near Erico with a friend before catching a Rockies game, we stopped into the dealership to check out the Vespas. There were a few Moto Guzzis on the floor, but no V7s. I talked with one of the sales people, got a card, and was told that for the most part they order them as requested and then find out if there's one in the area that they can get, or if it will be built and shipped from Italy. A few days later, I placed a deposit for a V7 Sport over the phone on July 7, finally deciding that I liked the slight changes to the bike, and I love riding my V7 Stone but the bike is unfortunately haunted or was built on a bad day at the factory [
1,
2] and I would like to re-roll the dice on a new Guzzi with a more extensive warranty despite my V7 Stone now being sorted out as far as I can tell.
Erico received the V7 Sport on Aug 20, completed PDI on Aug 21, and then I picked it up early the next week on Aug 25. Living ~50 miles from the dealership and wanting to have a bank check made out for the full OTD amount, I had a lot of trouble going back and forth on the numbers a new sales person I was working with where I was sent photos of different prices depending on what packages I might buy, rather than a line by line quote for the packages I had requested and the taxes all calculated out. He was polite... just not very helpful. To my relief, when I called the day of picking up the bike I learned that sales person had moved on to a new opportunity, and the next sales person I worked with was much more direct and easier to deal with. I got a clear updated quote, addressed a price difference between what had previously been communicated, got a number, and then went to my bank and had a check made out. When I picked up the bike I found out there had been a slight error made in the final OTD calculation, carried over from an earlier version of the quote, so the check would have had change, and they applied that remainder to my account for future parts & service payments.
I ended up purchasing the 2027 V7 Sport, a 36-month "Northstar Sport - Diamond" warranty that covers wear-and-tear items that the standard warranty does not for $994, and the dealership's "Pit Crew" maintenance plan for the first 6 maintenances or 36 mo for $1,999 , with one of the selling points being that it includes a loaner bike when I drop the V7 Sport off for service, which eases the fact that the dealer is just over 50 miles from me. Both of those packages would have paid for themselves with my 2022 V7 850 Stone. I wanted the OEM accessory heated grips on the V7 Sport, and they wouldn't throw in the install, but assured me a reduced rate for labor on them, and knocked $100 off the price of the bike to go toward the parts or labor for the heated grips which I ordered separately at the parts counter and am waiting on, hoping to bundle the install with the first service if they arrive in time.
Total for everything OTD, with the $1k deposit factored in, was $16,571.41
When I picked up the Sport, there were two other Verde Legnano V7 Sports alongside it on the dealership floor, which they'd received together. The other two were also marked as sold.
I rode the bike home ~70 miles taking a slow-ish route, and stopping twice along the way, first for a meal, then for ice cream, but ultimately with the reason of letting the engine cool and complete a few heat cycles.
When I got home, the final drive oil drain plug was wet with oil. This almost drove me up a wall, but I snugged it up just a little, maybe 1/32 of a turn, and it hasn't returned yet.
The next day I took off work to swap parts between the Stone and Sport so I could ride the new sport, on a non-interstate route, to the Colorado Moto Guzzi Rally for most of its break in miles. I took a lot of breaks, so it took me much of the day to move accessories over and pack for the trip.
Here's what I moved over that was compatible between the two:
Hepco & Becker rear rack and side racks, though the side racks for the Flash 30 require narrower turn signals in the rear and a license plate frame trimmed of the reflectors on the side. I had already sorted those parts out on the V7 Stone, so I moved over my Euro turn signals and plain Aprilia license plate frame that fit. The Sport already has nicely updated modern LED turn signals, but the USA ones are still larger and longer than the Euro market ones.
The factory accessory USB port carried over, which I use as an ignition switched power trigger for a Tusk 3-Way Compact 12V Accessory Power Harness that I also moved over to run power to my Garmin XT3. On the Stone I also used that to power Koso heated grips, but with the V7 Sport I have ordered the OEM heated grips and am hoping those are warm enough because the integration looks much nicer.
Things that don't interchange:
The seat. I had no reason to swap seats between the bikes, but wanted to check, and the 2022 V7 Stone E5 seat does NOT fit the 2027 E5+ bike. It doesn't latch into place in the rear, as the ECU moved into the way. The newer bike's seat is also more carved out for the ECU, possibly resulting in less pillion comfort, but I haven't had a passenger on the Sport yet to know. The seat is still not very comfortable for me, so I moved my AirHawk seat pad over, will use that on longer rides until I eventually cave in to buying a different seat or having mine modified for comfort.
The mirrors. The V7 Sport is missing stalk mirror holes since it has bar end mirrors. The bar end mirrors on the Sport are very usable and much clearer (less vibration) than the stalk mirrors, and they look slick, but unfortunately I simply don't like them after having given them a try for a few hundred miles. The right one is awkward to hang my helmet from, and the left one gets bumped when I try to mount the bike with the steering turned to the left. They also reduce my confidence with lane filtering (legal in CO, and boy do I appreciate it regularly!), as they make the bike wider.
I'm ordering a front brake side perch, which is just the U-bracket. For the clutch side it's a whole different perch than on the prior generation, so I'm ordering the clutch lever assembly, as well as the bar ends, from the E5+ Stone.
I have OEM accessory adjustable hand levers on the V7 Stone, didn't bother moving them over to the V7 Sport because it came from the factory with an adjustable front brake lever, and that's the only one I really desire to adjust the reach on.
I also didn't try to migrate my OEM accessory "touring" windscreen, as I had an Isotta tall one I wanted to try. It does look like windscreens that tie into the instrument cluster shroud bolts, front blinker mounts, and/or headlight mounts, should interchange just fine though, despite the Sport having a new aluminum headlight/turn signal bracket. The Isotta Tall windscreen I tried seems kind of "meh" to me. It's a good looking windscreen, but functionally it seems about the same as the OEM accessory touring screen. It keeps bugs off the back of the instrument meter/gauge ("clock" as some of you call it), and some wind off the torso, but probably causes more buffeting than its worth having. I continue my struggle of finding an aesthetically pleasing yet functional windscreen for this bike, despite knowing the easy solution is a big barn door one.
Despite this page saying it doesn't fit, I was able to get this leather document bag from my E5 Stone moved over to the E5+ Sport without issue. When I originally received it, it included the wrong size screws to install it to the seat. The same screws used on my E5 Stone worked on the E5+ Sport.
https://www.francocuoio.it/product/001-tasca-porta-documenti-nero-guzzi-v7/I don't know that I would recommend this though, as it does set the bag on the ECU and the maker of it says it shouldn't fit.
I have a Pyramid Fender Extender (applied with 3M tape) on my Stone, didn't move that over to the Sport. The front fender is different and there is a new version specifically for the Sport, which I may skip out on as the brackets for it look a bit out of place to me.
https://pyramidmoto.co.uk/blogs/news/extenda-fenda-extra-for-the-moto-guzzi-v7-sportSome other thoughts:
The new handlebar switches are blocky and less appealing to me aesthetically, but they're functional, and I haven't had to use contact cleaner on a flaky starter switch yet on the new assembly. *knock on wood*
The Sport has a different fuel tank than the Special/Stone and a fuel level indicator. A nice feature considering entry level Honda mini motos also have a fuel gauge, despite it not being a necessity.
Moto Guzzi seem to have switched the gear position indicator to one that reads the physical position. On the E5 Stone I wished the bike didn't have a gear position indicator because it reported the wrong gear for me most of the time when the clutch was pulled in or you had just made a shift. It seemed to calculate gear position based on wheel speed and engine RPM, which was a flaky implementation.
The throttle-by-wire has a lighter return spring than the manual throttle cable setup. Because of this, I've felt no need to use the Throttle Rocker I used on the V7 Stone, or the cruise control. It's comfortable on my wrist so far, and I've been varying speed/rpm as much as possible anyway during the break-in.
The bike has 90 degree valve stems! That was a mod I had on my V7 Stone, with valves from a prior model V7 Stone, so I'm happy to see they are standard equipment.
I haven't adjusted the suspension yet, and haven't felt a need to. My V7 Stone's rebound can be a bit annoying on some roads while loaded down, haven't had that issue on the Sport yet.
The final drive on the V7 Sport has a fill plug marked "MAX 130cc" to *hopefully* address the overfilling issue.
The air filter definitely look more involved to get to than on the prior generation, but the fuse box now looks to have better weather protection.
Other accessories/mods I have planned:
Will try the OEM engine protection bars, I have Hepco & Becker ones on the V7 Stone and have no complaint about them, but figure the OEM ones are nearly the same style
Will install SW Motech 1 inch Sweep Back Bar Riser Set, same as I've used on the V7 Stone, to provide some comfort to my arms/shoulders, and sit me a little bit more upright which results in me being further back in the seat, and that rider triangle adjustment keeps my legs a little further from the cylinder heads for more comfort in the summer.
I have Agostini long exhausts on the V7 Stone with the baffles installed and the UpMap tune. I don't think I will bother with aftermarket exhaust on the Sport. The Agostinis sound great, but I'm appreciating the bike being quieter and reserving its bark for when you're giving it the beans (haven't really yet, since it's still being broken in). The open-loop UpMap tune also reduced MPG. Not a big factor to me on a motorcycle in terms of cost, but I am enjoying the range improvement on the Sport so far. I went just over 220 miles on the first full tank and the fuel gauge still displayed 2/6 bars. That's likely to change once I'm doing interstate miles, but still the range difference seems worthwhile to me, especially for riding in the mountains where fuel stops can be more spread out.
Moto Guzzi now offer two different styles of tank protector knee pads for the V7, so I need to decide between the older style I have on my Stone, or the modern looking ones. I hug the tank quite a bit with my knees, especially when I stand to ride either to stretch or down unpaved roads (lots of washboard dirt/gravel roads in the CO front range), and without them the tank will likely scuff over time.
I doubt the upgraded aluminum intake covers I have on my E5 Stone will carry over, but I would prefer them to the plastic ones on the V7 E5+ which appear to be the same ones as on the V85, so I'll have my eye out for better looking covers.
The exhaust stud nuts on my E5 Stone got rusty and ugly so I replaced them with the stainless acorn nuts from the V85TT (2B007821). I'm ordering 4 of the same to swap them out on the Sport. I'm only a little disappointed the newer V7 E5+ Sport didn't already come with those, would have paired well with the other slight updates to the bike and it's an existing OEM part.
For now I think I'll keep the V7 Stone through the winter, but will likely prep it for sale in the spring. If anyone has any curiosities between the two bikes and would like for me to check parts or send photos, just let me know.
Here are some photos of the Sport.
Three Sports on the Erico floor
Factory turn signals, mirrors, and switch controls. I wished they had a new Stone or Special to compare on the floor.
MAX 130cc final drive (rear transmission) fill plug
First stop and heat cycle
Every time I see this little cowboy it gets a chuckle out of me
Waiting for the engine to cool at Bridgewater Grill in Golden
Rode the bike through the Coors factory tunnel for good luck
Second heat cycle and a cool down for myself in Boulder
A brief stop at my local muffler man in Longmont
Two generations of V7s
Wet final drive drain plug in need of an ugga dugga
Had to pull the cover off the back of the instrument meter to get to the front turn signal plugs when swapping for the Euro ones
The updated airbox and fuse box
OEM accessory USB installed
Tusk accessory power harness installed. Note that it needed to be double-sided taped a little higher on the battery for the body panel to fit over it, I just didn't retake the pic after moving it
V7 Stone E5 seat on top, V7 Sport E5+ seat on bottom with foam showing for ECU cut-out
With document bag installed
I get a kick out of both generations of V7 using duct tape on the seat construction
More photos in
https://wildguzzi.com/forum/index.php?topic=125827.0
