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2016 v7 ABS - is it worth it?

metalman54

metalman54

Tuned and Synch'ed
Joined
Sep 28, 2016
Messages
29
Location
Stockton, New Jersey
I'm looking for my entry level bike and I'm looking at the v7 Special. The 2013 to 2016 v7's seem to be the same except for paint scheme and the ABS on the 2016.
My question is if it is worth the extra $3000 or so to get the new bike with ABS or just get a nice 2013 or 2014 for much less money.
Thanks.
 
Thanks. I was also hoping for a reason for getting the ABS.
With my cars I have never needed it. 51 years driving with no accidents. Does ABS work well with bikes? What does traction control do? Is it like positraction?
 
Vagrant's point I believe is if you are inexperienced the ABS can save your butt in a panic situation. I have 45 years and probably an inexperienced rider on this group with maybe 200,000+ miles riding experience and 2 out of 3 of my street bikes have ABS. I like it. I got caught going from paved to gravel road suddenly the other day and had to remind myself to brake carefully as I was on the non ABS bike.
Traction control just helps prevent the back tire spinning out from under you on slippery surfaces.
The ABS models have the 6 speed gearbox also but the weaker alternator. I would prefer the newer model myself but if you are pinching the dollars and you have past riding experience the non ABS will suit you fine. There is another thread on here with this same discussion containing numerous opinions. Do a search and it should come up. In the end the only opinion that counts is yours.
 
It's good to have ABS for that occasion when you need it. It does no harm to have it there when you don't. And from all accounts on this and a UK Guzzi forum, the Vll is a better bike than its predecessor, with some problems sorted.
But I could do without that extra gear. I've come to Guzzi from old British four speed jobs, and a six speed box is unnecessary for the way I ride.
 
Metal, am I reading correctly that basically you are new to riding?

Your questions certainly make it sound so, which is perfectly fine but it explains the questions.

Riding a bike is something like 7 times more complicated than driving a car. Only the basic rules of the road and a few concepts of throttle or brake control apply to both.

Bikes have separate brakes front and rear, Bikes require traction to keep from falling over, and lean in order to turn. These are all huge differences between them and cars.

In my more than two decades and many hundreds of thousands of miles of riding I have had a couple of minor crashes (the last more than a decade ago) BUT ALL OF THEM involved situations of compromised traction (rain or gravel) and too much brake application for conditions.

I've only had a few bikes with ABS and I'm not sure it would have prevented all of my get offs, but it may well have.

At this point in my riding career i wouldn't require a bike to have ABS, but I wouldn't turn it down either.

Of course if I was a new rider just learning then it would probably many the most sense to buy one with ABS. Then again I didn't all those years ago and I'm still here, so in the end it's a risk/reward analysis.

I was riding home from southern Maryland yesterday on a weekend with lots of rain and wet roads. I specifically remember passing a fire station with a sign that said "safety isn't expensive, it's priceless". Of course take that as you will because riding motorcycles is certainly not as safe as driving a car, but to me it's worth it.
 
Some of that $3000 will come back to you when you sell the bike, because ABS will become increasingly common (I believe it's mandatory on all new European bikes sold beginning 2017) and buyers of used bikes will increasingly expect it.
 
I have only activated the ABS on my Norge once, riding across a wet grass field used as a car park, when a car pulled out. I stopped by grabbing the brake, if I hadn't had the ABS, it would have been down to picking the bike up off the floor.

I do like that slogan - safety isn't expensive, it's priceless.
 
Here is a photo of a 2016 v7 that a dealer is selling with 980 miles on it.
My question is why the exhaust is blued so far down the pipes. Most bikes I have seen only blue the first foot or so. Is this engine running too hot?
 

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Headers blue is pretty normal. Discoloration that far down may be an indication it is running too lean. If you get it, Todd's reflash would correct that issue.
 
As it is most likely a demo bike it may have been left idling a lot sitting still. That will blue the pipes as there is no air going over them.
 
Go for it , 54. The blue Special is the fastest and best handling V7, and makes you irresistible to the opposite sex.
 
My wife will be thrilled to hear it will make me irresistible to the opposite sex.
Would I be foolish to save $1300 from the cost of a new bike by getting a demo with 1000 miles. I'm sure the test riders were not doing a gentle break in with the bike.
 
metalman54 said:
My wife will be thrilled to hear it will make me irresistible to the opposite sex.
Would I be foolish to save $1300 from the cost of a new bike by getting a demo with 1000 miles. I'm sure the test riders were not doing a gentle break in with the bike.
Click to expand...
How long is left on the Moto Guzzi warranty? If not very much, what warranty is the dealer giving? And how far is the dealer from your home? A dealer's warranty is not a lot of use if the dealer's several hundred miles away.
 
Header bluing is typical on a stock bike. It would need the fueling modified to correct, which dealers can't do. The headers can be hand polished back to nearly chrome. No need to replace.
No reason not to buy the demo as long as the clutch has been properly adjusted out of the crate (which seems rare depending on the dealer). Otherwise, it has 1k of shaking the bugs out. You can't abuse the motor on break in unless they were doing top speed runs on it.
 
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