MGX-21: 15,000 mile review

[Luap McKeever]

The year was 2014 and I started to see photos of the MGX-21 circulating around the web. I knew I had to get one. There wasn’t so much as a moment of hesitation about it. I was going to own one. Period.

Fast forward to August of 2016. Moto Guzzi was debuting this motorcycle for the first time in Sturgis. I had been in communication with my dealer (Brookside Motorcycles) in Tulsa Oklahoma about when they would be getting these things in. We had been working out a deal to trade my 2012 Stelvio NTX for it.  Paul at the dealership gave me the date they would be arriving and told me to give them a couple days to get them put together, then to come over and get it.  I’ll spare a lot of the growing pains here since you can read about them in the article I wrote that appeared in the October 2016 newsletter entitled “Impressions of my 10th Guzzi”. So, let’s get onto the long-term review, which is the purpose of this article.

As I approach the 15,000-mile mark in the next day or so, I thought I’d write and give a “long-term” review. Even though it’s not really long-term, the 15,000-mile mark should serve to be a good indicator of what we have here.
The bike has been a solid performer. It handles great, looks great, runs great and still tickles my fancy in almost every way.  I’ll come back to the “almost”, later.

Modifications

Some of the modifications I have done include the “Comfort Seat”, XL screen, homemade side wings for the fairing, Mistral slip-ons, and daytime running lights. My son gave me some red LED strips for Christmas last year, so I mounted them above the red heads and when I turn them on at night, they are really cool and visible. I’m not a fan of LED strips, but at night, I can use all the help I can get to be seen and these things pop in a cool way. I’ve also added a 12-volt accessory plug that is turned on via a toggle switch. This plug powers my GPS, TPMS, Radar Detector and charges my cell phone. The fairing is really neat as it flips up to allow easy access to running wires, etc.
 
Top down view showing all the farkles that trip my trigger.



 

Tires and wheels

One interesting thing that I’ve noticed about this bike is that the front tires only last about 6,000 miles. The rear however, lasts twice that. This is strange, and backwards to what I’m used to with all the other bikes I’ve owned. I assume the fairing is the culprit for the reason front tires don’t last too awfully long, but if you wanna play, you gotta pay. I’m still running the Pirelli Elite 3 on the front, but have mounted an Elite 4 on the rear this last tire change.  So, to count, I’m on my 3rd front tire and 2nd rear tire. I got a nail in my new rear tire within 5 miles, but love the fact that they’re tubeless. A plug later and I was back in business.

Speaking of the rear tire change on this thing; It’s the worse bike I’ve ever owned as far as rear tire removal. It’s a complete and total nightmare. It’s a definite case of the “first time is the worst time”.  You have to pull both exhausts and saddle bags to remove the rear tire, and that’s the easy part. Now, the rear caliper does not come off on purpose. I pulled mine off, but wish I wouldn’t have. Like a dummy, I didn’t deduce the whole situation. If I had, I’d have realized that I could have simply removed one bolt and then rotated the caliper up and out of the way enough to slide the entire housing away from the swing arm. I’m used to bikes that you completely pull the caliper off of and then get on with it. I’ll know better next time. Now, I have the axle out, which is another PITA but not too bad. So, everything is ready to come off and you tug on the wheel to get it away from the cush drive and the dang cush drive decides to stay with the wheel. This is no easy feat trying to get the cush drive back where it belongs so the wheel can drop down. Several cuss words and a few scratches on my rear wheel later the wheel is finally off. Total time, a good 90 minutes. At this point, I’m really missing the 10-minute rear wheel removal of the Stelvio.  That’s another reason I chose the Elite 4 on the rear. It’s supposed to give 10% more mileage over the Elite 3. With the nightmarish fashion of rear wheel removal on this MGX, the more time between, the better.

The front wheel insert DOES grab some wind and is quite noticeable. So, I removed it. I like the look and handling a lot better with it off. Removal of the insert is straight forward and very easy.
 
Front wheel insert removed.



 

Routine Maintenance

Like all other Guzzi’s, valve adjustments are simple. The biggest hurdle is the dual plugs and getting the correct wrench down there to remove the plugs.  Finding TDC is not too awful hard to do. I do wish Guzzi would have left the “S” and “D” marks on the flywheel, but one you do it, you get the gist. I had an issue with a plug wire coming loose from one of the housings that caused it run rough, but me and a buddy found that issue pretty quick. So be careful with those wires for sure.

The engine oil/filter change is straight forward and simple. The transmission drain plug is hard to find at first, but once you locate it and remember to remove that plastic cover.

The rear oil is stupidly located inside the wheel hub assembly. I should have done this when I replaced the rear wheel, but thought it could wait until the next time after I looked at the service interval recommendation.

Creature Comforts

Out of the showroom floor, the bike is a 200-mile bike, at best.  I’ll elaborate. The stock windshield sucks. Sucks. The stock seat is “ok” at best. I’ve added the Moto Guzzi Comfort Seat (gel insert), XL screen and homemade fairing side wings to the mix and now I can say the bike is an 800+ mile day bike. I know this for a fact, because early this September, I put 3,151 miles in 7 days. That’s a 450 mile per day average, and I spent at least 36 hours with 3 different sets of family members while on this journey through Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. My longest day was 840 miles from the Route 66 Casino in New Mexico to home in Mountain Missouri. It was this leg of the trip that made me realize I needed crash bars that I could mount some pegs to for additional comfort. I know I could get floor boards, but I’ve never been a fan of those. Those crash bars are on order at the time of writing this article. I’d also like to upgrade to the Corbin seat with back rest if I ever win the lottery.

Long story short, 450 miles per day is nothing on this bike. It’s a mile eater. Coupled with cruise control, the best motor I think you can get and a relatively comfortable seating position, this isn’t your daddies’ bagger. This is a bagger with legitimate function that doubles as a solid touring bike to boot.

One thing that does lack some function though is the saddle bags. They claim to be 33 liters, but the way they open, it’s hard to fit 33 liters of goods in there easily. I wish they’d have made these top opening like the National Cycle bags on my wife’s California Special. You can really stuff things in those.  Top loading and keyless entry would be the best thing going in my opinion.

I have the optional carbon fiber rear rack with the bike and bought a Pelican style 45-liter case that I retrofitted to it. It helped on the trip I mentioned. I was able to carry everything I needed and then some. It doesn’t look like a million bucks, but I’ll take function over style every day of the week.
 
Pelican style bag mounted. Ready for my annual long trip.

Performance

I’ll probably be preaching to the choir with all other 1400 owners, but I must say that the MGX-21 is a true performer.  I’ve had this thing in 124-degree Phoenix heat (special thank you to the designer that included a fan behind the oil cooler), New Mexico sleet, Oklahoma rain and everything in between and it never missed a beat. It did use a quart of oil on that trip, which could be credited with riding it in stop and go traffic at 100+ degrees for over 2 hours. I HATE Phoenix. HATE. I’ll never go back, but that’s another story for another time.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. This is quickly becoming my favorite Guzzi. My all-time favorite was the 1998 EV that I put roughly 90,000 trouble free miles on. I have all the confidence that this bike will do that too. The motor on this thing has to be experienced to be believed. My bike never leaves Veloce mode and I’ve disabled the silly traction control (which keeps an amber light lit up, but I’m used to it now), it corners like a slightly heavier Tonti-framed bike, it gobbles up miles like a vampire in a blood bank and does all this while getting a consistent 40+ MPG. There is nothing more fun to me than setting the cruise control at 90+ MPH while you’re all alone and in perfect harmony with the motorcycle while jamming to your favorite tunes (which cannot be heard by speaker after 80MPH, so you have to switch to earbuds).

Final Thoughts

The first thought that comes to mind when I start discussion final thoughts, is why in the world are these things not flying off the showroom floors? I guess it may be the looks are not for everyone. Maybe the cost? Heck I don’t know. I just know that for me, in 2014 it was love at first sight.  Remember up in the article where I stated that this bike “runs great and still tickles my fancy in almost every way”? Well, I’m hoping that the crash bars I have on order and the Corbin seat with backrest I’m dreaming about will complete the tickling of my fancy. Everything else about this bike is a rock-star in my book.

Bone-stock grade: B-                             
After mods:  A-

That is all,
Luap McKeever

[yogidozer]

MGX-21 sounds like a top secret fighter jet doesn't it? 

[oilhed]

There is a lot of this bike a really really like but a handful of things I don't.  Guzzi should try a second version not so blacked out with maybe a bigger screen (Flat) to test the waters.

P.S.  Bring back silver motor/trannys

[Tennmoto]

Great review, sometimes the good things in life are missed by the masses

[Luap McKeever]

There is a lot of this bike a really really like but a handful of things I don't.  Guzzi should try a second version not so blacked out with maybe a bigger screen (Flat) to test the waters.

P.S.  Bring back silver motor/trannys

Agree. I'd love a silver carbon fiber option. That would put this thing over the top for me in appearance. I bet if they made 50,000 of these a year, they'd offer different variations. Since they made only a couple hundred of them, I'm betting they couldn't due to budget constraints.

Either way, I love it.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Great review, generally the good things in life are missed by the masses

FIFY

[Wes Stephens]

Hi Luap,  very good and interesting writeup.   Your horn beep sounded better when you went flying past our house last Sat.  You didn't mention an upgrade there so maybe my hearing is getting better, NOT.   and btw when are you going to have time to stop and say "howdy"???

[leroysch]

Thanks for the write-up. The front/rear tire wear relationship is interesting.

The rear tire change sounds like a real PIA. Was the aftermarket exhaust (which sounds great, BTW) screw-up access because of a larger diameter? I have to jack up my HD to get enough clearance to allow the axle to slide out under the exhaust (Ok, there might HAVE been an interference but being that it's on a non-visible surface......).

Even on my V11 convincing the rear wheel to fully separate from the hub still involves incantations I've yet to fully master so I'm sympathetic with your experience.

Other than that, sounds like a real gem!

[arveno]

wow finally a very honest review . Thank you.

Do you have any experience riding it two up ?

[kingoffleece]

FWIW my Triumph America 865 would also use fronts 2 to 1.

[Kiwi Dave]

The year was 2014 and I started to see photos of the MGX-21 circulating around the web. I knew I
Speaking of the rear tire change on this thing; It’s the worse bike I’ve ever owned as far as rear tire removal.

I posted my experiences with the Cali 1400 Custom rear wheel removal on the site over a year ago.  There is a definite sequence to be followed to avoid damaging the paint on the rear wheel.  I still stand by this procedure.

https://wildguzzi.com/forum/index.php?topic=90937.0

[kingoffleece]

And what do you know?  ZERO mention of "herculean" effort to get the bike off the center stand like the dips@@t review in Motorcycle Consumer News!

[elvisboy77]

Thanks for the review, that is a really great bike.  I like the mods you did, too.

[Cruzerdog]

Very well written... as a new 1400 touring owner that was VERY helpful....  

and I agree I can't understand why they are not selling so great

 

[rocker59]

Dang Luap.  I want one.  In blue carbon/kevlar, please!

 

[janguzzi]

Maybe a bit off topic but this guy is creating some real good videos (in German):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18oFyu5wyZY (Tire change California 1400, Part 1)

[Luap McKeever]

Hi Luap,  very good and interesting writeup.   Your horn beep sounded better when you went flying past our house last Sat.  You didn't mention an upgrade there so maybe my hearing is getting better, NOT.   and btw when are you going to have time to stop and say "howdy"???

Yeah, I upgraded the horns to Hella Supertones. They're loud for sure and they match the other splashes of red on the bike. I was planning on stopping on my way home, but had a phone call from my brother and had to go help him before 4:00 and the time was getting away from me.

And what do you know?  ZERO mention of "herculean" effort to get the bike off the center stand like the dips@@t review in Motorcycle Consumer News!

I've never had a problem with that. You know you're doing it, but it's not that big of a deal.

Very well written... as a new 1400 touring owner that was VERY helpful....  

and I agree I can't understand why they are not selling so great

Glad to hear it.

wow finally a very honest review . Thank you.

Do you have any experience riding it two up ?

Yes. As far as the rider goes, it's no big deal. Passengers hate the little pillion though and they complain about having too much of a workout. The fix would be the Corbin and the backrest for them too.

Dang Luap.  I want one.  In blue carbon/kevlar, please!

 

Get one and have it painted :-). Heck, I seen one on eBay for less than 14K. Throw another $1500 in painting your choice and still have a great deal. This guy had his painted white. I think silver in place of the white would look awesome.

[Zoom Zoom]

And what do you know?  ZERO mention of "herculean" effort to get the bike off the center stand like the dips@@t review in Motorcycle Consumer News!

Center stand?

ZZ

[Toecutter]

The first thought that comes to mind when I start discussion final thoughts, is why in the world are these things not flying off the showroom floors?

In short... because they don't look like a Road King.

[rocker59]

I think it's a name recognition thing.  No one knows what a Guzzi is...

The MGX-21 is a "Bagger", just like the others in the niche...


Street Glide


Chieftan


MGX-21

[Toecutter]

Sure, to you and me, absolutely.

To the buyer at large?

The engine looks funky, there's no Screamin' Eagle aftermarket, it sounds different, wut's a gootsee?

[Chuck in Indiana]

Around here, it's pronounced to rhyme with scuzzi. "One of them Guzzys, huh? I didn't know they still made them."

[kidsmoke]

Around here, it's pronounced to rhyme with scuzzi. "One of them Guzzys, huh? I didn't know they still made them."

Yup that's how they roll here on the streets of Versailles (ver-sales) and Russiaville (roosh-ville)

[twowheeladdict]

And what do you know?  ZERO mention of "herculean" effort to get the bike off the center stand like the dips@@t review in Motorcycle Consumer News!

I guess that guy doesn't know about turning the bars to the right before lifting it off the side stand.   

[kingoffleece]

Correct.  Not to be (too) mean but the new editor and review team at MCN is REALLY poor.
Those guys aren't fit to shine Dave Serles' shoes.

[oilhed]

Get one and have it painted :-). Heck, I seen one on eBay for less than 14K. Throw another $1500 in painting your choice and still have a great deal. This guy had his painted white. I think silver in place of the white would look awesome.

OMG that is beautiful.  I would buy that, maybe add the floorboards.  What screen is that?

[Luap McKeever]

OMG that is beautiful.  I would buy that, maybe add the floorboards.  What screen is that?

I think this screen is from Isotta. Sucks because there's a lot of things I'd like to get from them but they don't ship to USA.
http://shop.isotta-srl.com/moto/moto-guzzi/mgx-21-1400-2016/sc85.html

[JohninVT]

Is the gearing the same on the MGX-21 as the Touring and Custom?  What impresses me the most about my Touring is how ideally the gear ratios are matched to the engine.  It's not that the amount of power is amazing(because it's pretty good but not mind blowing) it's that the quality of how it's delivered to the rear wheel and how a rider can access it is fantastic.  It's flexible and torque-y enough to make it docile around town but you can also ride it very aggressively...unti l hard parts drag, sparks fly and you're bouncing off the rev limiter.  The entire powertrain has been balanced perfectly. 

What are your thoughts on the Mistral's?  I have them and to be honest, they're beginning to annoy me.  When you shut the throttle at about 3,000rpm the exhibit a coarse note that sounds like the jake brake on a truck.  Beetle says it's from the mapping going lean but I wonder if the Mistral's exacerbate the issue.   

[Toecutter]

I swore I'd never ride a Geezer-glide... but I have to say, that thing's growing on me. WTF?

[Luap McKeever]

Is the gearing the same on the MGX-21 as the Touring and Custom?  What impresses me the most about my Touring is how ideally the gear ratios are matched to the engine.  It's not that the amount of power is amazing(because it's pretty good but not mind blowing) it's that the quality of how it's delivered to the rear wheel and how a rider can access it is fantastic.  It's flexible and torque-y enough to make it docile around town but you can also ride it very aggressively...unti l hard parts drag, sparks fly and you're bouncing off the rev limiter.  The entire powertrain has been balanced perfectly. 

What are your thoughts on the Mistral's?  I have them and to be honest, they're beginning to annoy me.  When you shut the throttle at about 3,000rpm the exhibit a coarse note that sounds like the jake brake on a truck.  Beetle says it's from the mapping going lean but I wonder if the Mistral's exacerbate the issue.

I've only ridden a 2014 Custom one time for about 15 miles so I can't say if the gearing is the same. I assume they are since they're on the same platform.  FWIW, I've never dragged pegs on this bike and I ride pretty hard. Some would say suicidal, but I never ride out of my comfort zone. Heck, I learned and grew up in the twistiest of roads in the country so it's like second nature to me.

The Mistrals are awesome. I did have a little popping but a quick install of a Beetle map cured 90% of that. If you're running Mistrals without the baffles, you need that map. Heck, if you're running anything virtually straight through you should do the map.

I swore I'd never ride a Geezer-glide... but I have to say, that thing's growing on me. WTF?

What's not to love about this thing? It's an instant collectible in my book and has all the bells and whistles that I've been crying for since forever.