New 15' V7 Stone Impressions (non-V7II)

[daviscr5]

Hi All,
I took delivery of my 2015 V7 Stone (gloss red/black) about a month ago from Tropic Motorsports in Ft. Myers, FL. I live in Orlando and did the entire transaction over the phone/email. Jim and Lucille were fantastic. Keep in mind, I sold my 2007 Griso about 2 years ago and have had some regret ever since. With that said, the V7 is unmatched in appearance and style. Since I have a Japanese liter bike, I didn't need the extra horsepower. I purchased the V7 to putz around Orlando with my wife riding pillion. I have 700 miles on the odometer and completed the break-in service with fluids/materials from AF1 Racing in Austin, TX - a shop that I highly recommend. I purchased my Griso from them while living in Austin. They must have one of the best Guzzi shops in the country. I'm about 5'-11" and 180 lbs. Thoughts are:

Cons:
1. The footpegs are higher than I expected. Somewhat uncomfortable at first, but I'm getting used to them. Not as comfy as a new Bonneville/Scrambler in terms of geometry.
2. I'll definitely be buying a Dart fly-screen from Todd very shortly. The little V gets a little tiresome riding at highway speeds when you're stuck doing so.
3. Acceleration is well...sluggish. My 4V Griso would smoke this thing, and shifted better. You have to ring it out to tickle those sensory impulses in your brain that speed triggers.
4. Speaking of shifting, this bugger has long throws.
5. The seat sucks after an hour regardless of speed. I'll need to remedy that with an Alaskan sheepskin butted or something.

Pros:
1. IMO, this is one of the most beautiful motorcycles manufactured today. I enjoy sitting on it at night with a beer/glass of wine and just staring at the gas tank. Man it's a sexy bike and my wife agrees.
2. Despite sluggish acceleration, and mediocre shifting, this bike is just plain fun to ride on secondary roads and around town where acceleration isn't really that important. I enjoy planning my passes without complete "loss of license" speeds. I'm less prone to make tight passes because I simply won't make it. I'll wind up as someone's Italian hood ornament.
3. It sounds terrific bone stock. I may even keep the standard exhaust.
4. Maintenance is relatively simple. I did the entire break-in service which included changing all three fluids and adjusting the valves in under 2 hours. It was fairly enjoyable to boot.
5. It's a Moto Guzzi. having owned numerous UJMs and 4 Triumphs, there's just something special about Guzzis. I think I'll always have one. In fact, I may even take an epic adventure on this exact bike...

Despite it's slightly higher cost compared to a Japanese bike (or Triumph), I'm enjoying this little V7 immensely. I'm drawn to it each Sunday morning much more than my Kawi Ninja 1000. With the new line of farkles from Guzzi, I imagine I'll spend an unruly amount of money on accessories. I just wish Orlando had a decent dealer. Glad to be back!

Chris

 

[not-fishing]

If you get a Dart, consider a Marlin. I have both and the Marlin is actually making a difference on my 4+ hour Griso rides.

 

[King of Fleece]

I have the same bike-over 3000 miles on it so far. I like it as much as my Bonneville which is saying a lot.
A few seat ideas for you: 1) contact Spencer at www.greatdaytoride.com. His low cost mods are very well respected and it may be all you need.
2) if you need the full monty call Pat at www.astechseats.com. He's familiar with V7 seats and does a great job.
For the full high end show call Rocky at Bill Mayer Saddles in Calif. It's the most $$$ for sure but it's "one and done".

I got the lower pegs from Todd and it's nice for the extra room. I also built my own seat to add one inch which helps.

 

[daviscr5]

I have the same bike-over 3000 miles on it so far. I like it as much as my Bonneville which is saying a lot.
A few seat ideas for you: 1) contact Spencer at www.greatdaytoride.com. His low cost mods are very well respected and it may be all you need.
2) if you need the full monty call Pat at www.astechseats.com. He's familiar with V7 seats and does a great job.
For the full high end show call Rocky at Bill Mayer Saddles in Calif. It's the most $$$ for sure but it's "one and done".

I got the lower pegs from Todd and it's nice for the extra room. I also built my own seat to add one inch which helps.

Thanks for the ideas. I will definitely check these guys out-

 

[Cam3512]

Congrats, and welcome to the club.

I disagree about the stock exhaust. Sounds horrible.

First service includes a head re-torque. One time only. Did you do that?

Cam

 

[daviscr5]

Congrats, and welcome to the club.

I disagree about the stock exhaust. Sounds horrible.

First service includes a head re-torque. One time only. Did you do that?

Cam

Sounds tine to me. That said, I've never had the results I wanted swapping exhausts, so I'm somewhat deterred.

If you're talking about the 10mm head bolts, I checked them - all tight.

 

[Mark Junkersfeld]

If you want to feel like it is going faster buy a more throaty exhaust. I have a Super Duke that is a beast and my V7 with Todd's scrambler exhaust is more fun to ride.

Hi All,
I took delivery of my 2015 V7 Stone (gloss red/black) about a month ago from Tropic Motorsports in Ft. Myers, FL. I live in Orlando and did the entire transaction over the phone/email. Jim and Lucille were fantastic. Keep in mind, I sold my 2007 Griso about 2 years ago and have had some regret ever since. With that said, the V7 is unmatched in appearance and style. Since I have a Japanese liter bike, I didn't need the extra horsepower. I purchased the V7 to putz around Orlando with my wife riding pillion. I have 700 miles on the odometer and completed the break-in service with fluids/materials from AF1 Racing in Austin, TX - a shop that I highly recommend. I purchased my Griso from them while living in Austin. They must have one of the best Guzzi shops in the country. I'm about 5'-11" and 180 lbs. Thoughts are:

Cons:
1. The footpegs are higher than I expected. Somewhat uncomfortable at first, but I'm getting used to them. Not as comfy as a new Bonneville/Scrambler in terms of geometry.
2. I'll definitely be buying a Dart fly-screen from Todd very shortly. The little V gets a little tiresome riding at highway speeds when you're stuck doing so.
3. Acceleration is well...sluggish. My 4V Griso would smoke this thing, and shifted better. You have to ring it out to tickle those sensory impulses in your brain that speed triggers.
4. Speaking of shifting, this bugger has long throws.
5. The seat sucks after an hour regardless of speed. I'll need to remedy that with an Alaskan sheepskin butted or something.

Pros:
1. IMO, this is one of the most beautiful motorcycles manufactured today. I enjoy sitting on it at night with a beer/glass of wine and just staring at the gas tank. Man it's a sexy bike and my wife agrees.
2. Despite sluggish acceleration, and mediocre shifting, this bike is just plain fun to ride on secondary roads and around town where acceleration isn't really that important. I enjoy planning my passes without complete "loss of license" speeds. I'm less prone to make tight passes because I simply won't make it. I'll wind up as someone's Italian hood ornament.
3. It sounds terrific bone stock. I may even keep the standard exhaust.
4. Maintenance is relatively simple. I did the entire break-in service which included changing all three fluids and adjusting the valves in under 2 hours. It was fairly enjoyable to boot.
5. It's a Moto Guzzi. having owned numerous UJMs and 4 Triumphs, there's just something special about Guzzis. I think I'll always have one. In fact, I may even take an epic adventure on this exact bike...

Despite it's slightly higher cost compared to a Japanese bike (or Triumph), I'm enjoying this little V7 immensely. I'm drawn to it each Sunday morning much more than my Kawi Ninja 1000. With the new line of farkles from Guzzi, I imagine I'll spend an unruly amount of money on accessories. I just wish Orlando had a decent dealer. Glad to be back!
View attachment 8896
Chris

 

[daviscr5]

The whole scrambler kit looks awesome. I owned a Triumph Scrambler 900, and the Guzzi should be a lot more fun with about 100lbs less to haul around. Wonder what you would spend doing that kit....north of $3k for sure..

 

[Mark Junkersfeld]

Like most scramblers, it's a street bike that looks and sounds cooler if you're into that sort of thing.

 

[elkgrichard]

I love that red with the black. Congrats. These are great little bikes and as far as the power band thing goes, I don't even think about that with this bike because the damn thing is just so much fun to ride. As they say it's better to go fast on a slow bike then slow on a fast bike.

After market support is getting better with these bikes all the time. You just need to look around a bit more and search online to find stuff. I'm finding more offerings all the time for the V7's, it's improved just in the last year since I've own one.

 

[GerryP]

Hi All,
I took delivery of my 2015 V7 Stone (gloss red/black) about a month ago from Tropic Motorsports in Ft. Myers, FL. I live in Orlando and did the entire transaction over the phone/email. Jim and Lucille were fantastic. Keep in mind, I sold my 2007 Griso about 2 years ago and have had some regret ever since. With that said, the V7 is unmatched in appearance and style. Since I have a Japanese liter bike, I didn't need the extra horsepower. I purchased the V7 to putz around Orlando with my wife riding pillion. I have 700 miles on the odometer and completed the break-in service with fluids/materials from AF1 Racing in Austin, TX - a shop that I highly recommend. I purchased my Griso from them while living in Austin. They must have one of the best Guzzi shops in the country. I'm about 5'-11" and 180 lbs. Thoughts are:

Cons:
1. The footpegs are higher than I expected. Somewhat uncomfortable at first, but I'm getting used to them. Not as comfy as a new Bonneville/Scrambler in terms of geometry.
2. I'll definitely be buying a Dart fly-screen from Todd very shortly. The little V gets a little tiresome riding at highway speeds when you're stuck doing so.
3. Acceleration is well...sluggish. My 4V Griso would smoke this thing, and shifted better. You have to ring it out to tickle those sensory impulses in your brain that speed triggers.
4. Speaking of shifting, this bugger has long throws.
5. The seat sucks after an hour regardless of speed. I'll need to remedy that with an Alaskan sheepskin butted or something.

Pros:
1. IMO, this is one of the most beautiful motorcycles manufactured today. I enjoy sitting on it at night with a beer/glass of wine and just staring at the gas tank. Man it's a sexy bike and my wife agrees.
2. Despite sluggish acceleration, and mediocre shifting, this bike is just plain fun to ride on secondary roads and around town where acceleration isn't really that important. I enjoy planning my passes without complete "loss of license" speeds. I'm less prone to make tight passes because I simply won't make it. I'll wind up as someone's Italian hood ornament.
3. It sounds terrific bone stock. I may even keep the standard exhaust.
4. Maintenance is relatively simple. I did the entire break-in service which included changing all three fluids and adjusting the valves in under 2 hours. It was fairly enjoyable to boot.
5. It's a Moto Guzzi. having owned numerous UJMs and 4 Triumphs, there's just something special about Guzzis. I think I'll always have one. In fact, I may even take an epic adventure on this exact bike...

Despite it's slightly higher cost compared to a Japanese bike (or Triumph), I'm enjoying this little V7 immensely. I'm drawn to it each Sunday morning much more than my Kawi Ninja 1000. With the new line of farkles from Guzzi, I imagine I'll spend an unruly amount of money on accessories. I just wish Orlando had a decent dealer. Glad to be back!
View attachment 8896
Chris

Congratulations on your Stone. They sure are purdy in Red.

Well this is my version of the same Bike after owning two Triumph Sprint ST"s , an '01 955i and an' 09 1050 ABS.

After 3k miles the sluggish acceleration has greatly improved (it will never match the Sprints) as well as the shifting.

She was conceived and equipped to function as a smaller ST bike for my aging 68 yr old body and short legs.

She has the extended sump, arrow exhaust, race tech front, BiTurbos on the rear, racer seat, guzzi semi-rigid sides cases, Givi top case
with lighted running, brake and turn signals, stelvio hand guards, SW Motech mirror extenders, MRW wind screen, AF1 rear sets,
adjustable clutch/break levers, center stand, Euro side stand, Guzzi Engine Guard, KOF seat cover, Garmin 390 LM with TP monitoring and I went and splurged and had the wheels powder coated.

I've ridden it from Guilford, CT up to the the Bennington Triumph Bash in VT and from home up to the Guzzi National rally in Swanzey, NH. All with out any issues.

So far this has been the most fun bike I've owned.

 

[andyb]

Nice to see someone painting parts of their bike with a different colour to black!
Those rear sets look neat and should give a comfortable ride position - what are your thoughts on them?
Just wondering - should the panniers be the other way around???
AndyB

 

[GerryP]

Nice to see someone painting parts of their bike with a different colour to black!
Those rear sets look neat and should give a comfortable ride position - what are your thoughts on them?
Just wondering - should the panniers be the other way around???
AndyB

Andy,

Yes, For my taste I felt that there was too much black. I wanted to try and go red like the tank but we couldn't get a good colour match and I did not want different shades of red so we went with gold.

I like the rear sets. I got to test ride a V7II at the New Hampshire rally and I don't regret the decission.

Of course I have a 29" inseam so it works for me.

I have switched the panniers around.

Regards.

Gerry

 

[King of Fleece]

Gerry's wheels look FANTASTIC in person.

 

[elkgrichard]

Gerry..... be aware that I ran into trouble with those crash bars, they were giving me a strange vibration into the frame? I end up removing them. I guess I'll sell em someday if somebody is interested.

 

[King of Fleece]

I rode Gerry's bike. No excess vibs were felt.

 

[GerryP]

Gerry..... be aware that I ran into trouble with those crash bars, they were giving me a strange vibration into the frame? I end up removing them. I guess I'll sell em someday if somebody is interested.

I remember you posting the issue, so far I have not experienced that problem.

 

[sib]

Likewise no problems. I put an OEM Guzzi crash bar on my '13 Stone and an Agostini bar on my '16 Stone. Neither had/has excessive vibrations. Both bars came as part of kits, which include appropriate spacers for the top mounting points, and the Ago kit also has an adaptor plate, necessary for the '16 Stone. The bars themselves are so close to being identical that I suspect Agostini made the OEM Guzzi bar, or vice versa.

 

[daviscr5]

Congratulations on your Stone. They sure are purdy in Red.

Well this is my version of the same Bike after owning two Triumph Sprint ST"s , an '01 955i and an' 09 1050 ABS.

After 3k miles the sluggish acceleration has greatly improved (it will never match the Sprints) as well as the shifting.

She was conceived and equipped to function as a smaller ST bike for my aging 68 yr old body and short legs.

She has the extended sump, arrow exhaust, race tech front, BiTurbos on the rear, racer seat, guzzi semi-rigid sides cases, Givi top case
with lighted running, brake and turn signals, stelvio hand guards, SW Motech mirror extenders, MRW wind screen, AF1 rear sets,
adjustable clutch/break levers, center stand, Euro side stand, Guzzi Engine Guard, KOF seat cover, Garmin 390 LM with TP monitoring and I went and splurged and had the wheels powder coated.

I've ridden it from Guilford, CT up to the the Bennington Triumph Bash in VT and from home up to the Guzzi National rally in Swanzey, NH. All with out any issues.

So far this has been the most fun bike I've owned.

View attachment 8929

View attachment 8930

Your bike looks terrific, thanks for sharing. I'll surely blow plenty of cash on farkles in the coming months. Similar to you, I've owned a number of much faster bikes (including a Tiger 1050, FZ1, Griso 1100, etc...) as well as currently owning a 13' Ninja 1000 as the V7's stable mate. I'm having a blast on the V7 and have gravitated towards the Guzzi for my weekend rides. Not ready to part with my Ninja yet though. Just too damn practical.

The only gripe I have so far with the V7 is that the paint is fairly soft. I recently purchased a Cortech magnetic tank bag ("non-scratch) which is of high quality. Despite it's claims, it has put 4 light imprints on the paint where the magnets make contact with the tank. I even tried cutting up an old white t-shirt as a buffer which didn't help. Bummer, but oh well, adds character. Just be aware.

Off to ride, I"ll try to post some more pics soon!
Chris

 

[pokeyjoe]

If you're talking about the 10mm head bolts, I checked them - all tight.

I believe you're referring to the exhaust bolts here. No. You need to re-torque the head bolts (only accessible when the valve cover is off). Then you will need to check your valve clearance again.