New Stelvio posts

[DaddyRabbit]

Hello Gents,

Long time, no lurky.  I came back hoping to find an active interest in the new Stelvio and to learn from those who have taken the plunge but looking back several pages i don't see any discussion.  Has the Stelvio been largely passed over by the faithful?  Is there not much interest in the new V100 lineup?  Internet reviews seem largely positive, and i think they are beautiful looking bikes.

I test rode the Stelvio a month or so back and as much as i liked what it had to offer i could not for the life of me get the ride to be compliant enough to enjoy.  Mind you, this was only about a thirty-minute test ride with me twisting the rear shock up and down to find a happy place where abrupt road blemishes didnt absolutely startle me with a jolt.  I was not able to settle the bike down.  Loved the motor and general set up, but not the ride.

I ended up passing on the Stelvio and opted for the Ducati Desert X, which has been at total hoot and great fun- until i got the bike to where my use case actually was.  Riding around the outskirts of the city and country roads was just excellent, but i bought it for the NC mountain roads.  The DX is a ton of fun in most situations, until you have to manage the low-speed hairpin turns and 1st/2nd gear twisties.   At that point, the mapping and the motor have me working harder than i care to in order to find the right happy place for the motor. The guzzi motor seemed more settled up and down the rev range.

Anyone out there with time in the new Stelvio saddle have any guidance on: 
A) the happiness of the Stelvio in very twisty environs, and
B) were you able to dial in the suspension without sending it to Ohlins first?
 

DR

[Tkelly]

The Stelvio is ok but the v100 is better in mountain terrain,not sure about suspension,just rode for a week in S icily,owners would know more but I don’t recall any discomfort on the ones I rode.

[Huzo]

Well my opening comment would be, that “winding the shock” up and down would do nothing to alter the perceived abruptness in the suspension.
That will be a function of damping and spring rate. Notwithstanding that though, the shock will doubtless take some time to become supple anyway.

[blu guzz]

Different bike, V85 but as relates to the suspension, mine took about 5,000 miles to settle and be comfortable for me. I was a little under 200 lbs at the time. Rider weight has a lot to do with it as from the factory, bikes are set up for what the designers guess is the majority of riders.

[Clifton]

I owned a Stelvio for two years but traded it this spring. The ride was punishing harsh when new with the preload and damping set by the book for a solo rider. Backing the damping out 1/3 turn more helped. After a few thousand miles it improved a little more to the point it was tolerable but not really compliant on rough roads like I want on a bike like this. The other two slight complaints I had were the jarring clunk from neutral to first and engine/radiator heat was pretty noticeable when 90* and up. I ended up trading it on a 1300GS.

[PeteS]

I too can’t help too much with the Stelvio. A couple of years ago I was looking to trade my Triumph Tiger 800 because I found it top heavy and went to our new Guzzi dealer to just compare the Stelvio and the V85. I dismissed the Stelvio immediately after finding it even more top heavy than my Triumph but the V85 was near perfect feeling almost as light as my KLR.
A test ride on the V85 convinced me this was the bike. Being the new variable valve version I thought power was more than adequate especially after hearing complaints that the earlier ones were under powered.
Suspension was harsh and I ended up putting an Ohlins on the back. Huge difference there and thankfully the front has started to loosen up.
I since added a V100 to the stable and love the power. A Stelvio would be ideal if it was as nimble as the V85 and had the V100S suspension.

Pete

[Clifton]

Pete I also found the Stelvio to be pretty top heavy, a too short side stand didn't help either. My V85's suspension that I felt was pretty good when new has further improved with miles. I do like the Stelvio engine's power and sound, I wish my R1300 sounded as nice.

[Trialsman]

I had one of the first ones and had/have the same complaints as Clifton.  As for the spring rate, I removed the spring and made a jig for turning in the lathe.  I  did a cylindrical grind on the spring the entire length to reduce the tensile strength.  It took three tries to get it compliant with my weight (150#).  I then powder coated it and moved to the  next item.  Reducing compression damping helps but I am currently looking at an Ohlins which I have on my V85 and it is superb.  Enzo is checking fitment with them now.

The heat was easy.  I got rid of the cat and it is much better.  On other bikes I have wired in a computer fan and some aluminum shielding.

The "clunk" is the thing I would think of trading the bike if the new ones were any different, I don't know.  What I did to mitigate the clunk, was to change the geometry of the lever. by pushing the rod further in you should be able to pick up a little more slip between the plates.  It has made the lever a little harder to pull in, but it has helped a little - NOT enough.

I originally bought it to pick which bike was better, the V85 or the Stelvio.  I was going to sell the lesser of the two.  I still have both and I  had a '13 Stelvio and I loved it, but it was too top heavy.  This new Stelvio is much better and once you weld an inch extension onto the kickstand foot it is very nice. I like the Stelvio better.........mayb e.  I have 40k mi on V85s and only 8k on the V100 Stelvio.  I might just be keeping both.

[ridingron]

I just bought a V100 last Monday. I haven't been able to ride it much though. The Stelvio didn't appeal to me, at all. Don't know why, it just didn't.

[neekofab]

A. I took the backroads home from the KY rally to OH and there were multiple uninterrupted sections with miles and miles of hills and curves where I did nothing but ride up and down the rev range in 3rd, it was pure joy!

B. I wish it had a compression adjustment because IMO its fixed on sport touring with a rider and luggage or rider and pillion; new the rear can be particularly jarring unless you back the rebound off almost all the way. I keep a screwdriver and a socket under the seat and tend to make large changes just to see what happens then fine tune; I will say it's mellowed a bit with age but still prefers weight for that compliant/sporty balance.

[DaddyRabbit]

Thanks for the replies, gents.  I appreciate the comparo using other Guzzis as well...very helpful.  It's been a few years since i demo'ed the V85TT so I've not considered it as a solution.  I found it underpowered for my taste.  From these posts, am i to understand that there is a revamped V85 series that may prove to be a decent contender? 

There's a small amount of dirt and gravel in my travels as most of the road going is on the typical windy mountain roads.  However, the roads do often give way to a couple of miles of twisty gravel and then back to tarmac.  I prefer to stay in the fairly upright position.  Opinions on whether the v85 will be a reasonable consideration?

And, if so, is there a particular variant i should consider? 

DR

[PeteS]

I have never ridden the pre 2025 V85s so can’t tell you what the difference in power is but the 2025 while it has no problem keeping up with traffic is still no match for the bigger motor. I find the V85 can cruise comfortably at 80 and easily capable of triple digit speeds, the V100 can cruise at 100 not that I am interested in doing that all day. No idea what max speed is yet.

Pete

[DonT]

I'm up to 9600 miles on 2024 Stelvio 00044.  I completely enjoy the bike, but all I can compare it to is my 2007 Norge and the earlier 2003 California EV and a friend's 2005 BMW GS.  It's way better than those.  Suspension is stock but all the settings were adjusted by Jim Hamlin at the first service.  I imagine upgrades would make it better, but I am content with it as is; maybe I don't know any better.  It clunks into first gear, and is top heavy and a little bit tall, but the engine, comfort, and ride quality more than offset those "issues" which aren't really issues to me.

[DaddyRabbit]

I'm up to 9600 miles on 2024 Stelvio 00044.  I completely enjoy the bike, but all I can compare it to is my 2007 Norge and the earlier 2003 California EV and a friend's 2005 BMW GS.  It's way better than those.  Suspension is stock but all the settings were adjusted by Jim Hamlin at the first service.  I imagine upgrades would make it better, but I am content with it as is; maybe I don't know any better.  It clunks into first gear, and is top heavy and a little bit tall, but the engine, comfort, and ride quality more than offset those "issues" which aren't really issues to me.

How do you ride?  are you more straight line onroad? Lots of quick twisties?  any gravel?

[DonT]

I am about 15 - 20 miles form the Mass line, and I go into the Berkshires and Litchfield Hills in CT. and NY state; almost all back roads, up and down and twisty.  About 1 ride in 10 I'll spend some time on gravel. 

[YellowDuck]

I wish it had a compression adjustment because IMO its fixed on sport touring with a rider and luggage or rider and pillion; new the rear can be particularly jarring unless you back the rebound off almost all the way. I keep a screwdriver and a socket under the seat and tend to make large changes just to see what happens then fine tune; I will say it's mellowed a bit with age but still prefers weight for that compliant/sporty balance.

Honestly I think this is the problem with so many bikes in OEM form, but I think it's often more about the spring rate than the lack of compression adjustment.  Preload can only do so much, so if you have to spring a bike to accommodate a passenger and luggage, then it is always going to be over sprung for solo riding.  The only bike I ever bought that wasn't over sprung from the factory was a Ducati Sport 1000 - which is a monoposto.  Even aftermarket shock suppliers universally spec too high of a spring rate, no matter what you tell them about the fact that you will never ride with a passenger. The best improvements I have ever made to my bikes' suspensions was figuring out for myself what spring rate would work, and then getting the spring made custom if it wasn't available off the shelf.  Some suppliers like Shock Factory will send you whatever you ask for, but others like YSS just have certain ones available, take it or leave it, and they are usually all too stiff.