Roaming for new riders

MOTO GUZZI IS ON A ROLL WITH PLENTY OF STYLISH NEW TWINS HITTING THE ROADS IN THE PAST YEAR, AND WE’VE GOT OUR HANDS ON ONE OF THE LATEST, THE V9 ROAMER

Everybody loves the sight of twins and Moto Guzzi seem to know, having added a new pair to the family with the V9 Roamer and Bobber. The two new bikes are more like fraternal twins rather than identical — while sharing many features, they have their own style.

The Bobber’s personality is distinctly urban cool, with its meaty front tyre and modern custom look. The Roamer is the more traditional twin with a big front wheel and skinnier tyres than its sibling, and I like that. There isn’t a heck of a lot of plastic in use, with both mud- guards being steel. That’s a plus as plastic guards wouldn’t seem right, and using steel adds to the overall sense of quality of the bike.

Although both bikes share the same steel tube frame and 850cc transverse V- Twin, it’s the little touches that set the engines apart, the Bobber scoring a blacked- out exhaust as is the fashion of custom machines these days, while the Roamer continues with its classic cool theme and has a liberal coating of chrome on the exhaust and handlebar.

The engine is a new unit out of the Guzzi factory on Lake Como. And boy, is it a gem, with plenty of air- and oil- cooled character, while also pumping out enough grunt to keep you more than happy on the open road. Being a transverse engine, it does have a bit of that rock to the right when you give it a hearty rev in neutral, though it’s not as pronounced as I was expecting.

Peak power is a claimed 41kW ( 55hp) and backed by 62Nm of torque. That’s 5kW more than the V7, though don’t go thinking that the V9 twins will be replacing the V7 line up anytime soon, as at the New Zealand launch last year it was made clear that the V7s aren’t going anywhere. The V9 ROAMER PRICE: ENGINE: $ 16,990 850cc transverse V- Twin Great style, low price for an Italian, easy going ride Switches are a bit funky looking announcement of the V7 III at EICMA rammed this home.

With an 850cc capacity, I thought the 90- degree V- Twin would physically hang out the sides more, as the big 1400 unit on the California bikes does, but it is compact. Keeping the revs in the mid- range will see it push you back in the seat with the throttle wide open, while it acts like a pussycat when you want it to.

Power is, as always, transferred to the ground via a shaft drive, with a six- speed gearbox doing the business of changing the drive ratio. Sixth is the touring gear and the bike feels in a happier place,