Eagle’s Adventures:

GUZZI’S ROUTE TO THE V85 TT

Moto Guzzi can’t claim much off-road tradition, but the V85 TT’s lineage includes participation in the inaugural Paris-Dakar Rally in 1979. A French team entered five modified V50 roadsters, known as V50 TT specials. Four failed to finish, but Bernard Rigoni rode the other to a heroic 48th of 74 finishers in the combined car and bike event.

In the Eighties, Guzzi’s Dakar ace was an architect called Claudio Torri, who entered a big-tanked, factory-built V65 TT in 1985. He didn’t finish, but returned in 1986 with a more powerful, 750cc V75 TT, only to suffer a drive shaft failure.

Guzzi’s dual-purpose production V-twins began in the late Eighties with the NTX650, which was soon enlarged to 750cc. The NTX750 was built until the mid-Nineties, but was best known for its even longer-lasting police bike derivative, complete with big blue flashing lights.

In the early Nineties, Guzzi came up with the Quota 1000, featuring twin headlamps, giraffe-like suspension and mile-high seat. My main memory of testing it is of trying to avoid using the scary front brake, which instantly overwhelmed the soggy forks and skinny, 21in front tyre.

Guzzi made a better effort in 2008 with the Stelvio 1200. It was stylish, handled well and its 105bhp output matched that of BMW’s all-conquering R1200GS. But a small fuel tank, feeble low-rev performance and a price close to the GS’s meant it was largely ignored, and updating it with bigger tank and more grunt did little to help.

The bike that provided a blueprint for the V85 TT was the V7 II Stornello of four years ago. A scrambler-style derivative of the

744cc, entry-level V7 II roadster, it made just 48bhp. But it looked cool and highlighted the potential for a more powerful retro all-rounder.