A brief ride report:
My first ride on the Eldorado! Second Guzzi ride ever, first cruiser I've ever owned. Unfortunately there was tons of traffic all the way from the Marina to Malibu, over the canyon and down the freeway. So, this is a "riding in traffic" review. I'm still getting used to the size of the bike so I didn't split lanes. I was just another schmuck stuck in traffic.
I have to say I "get" why people like heavy cruisers. Our roads are TERRIBLY maintained these days, full of potholes. Yet, the big Guzzi was unflappable. Pavement horrors that would have had me bouncing two inches off the seat normally were nothing on this majestic beast. The gusting winds in the canyon failed to upset the bike, and overall the cop windshield worked very nicely.
The clutch is perfect on this bike. Not too hard to hold in, smooth travel nice bite. No threat of stalling. Also, the gearbox is amazing. Smooth. Easy to find neutral at lights. Quick shifting at 5,500 RPM it was like any of my Japanese bikes, (precision-wise if a bit more noisy). Really amazing.
Also, the brakes are every bit as good as they look! As good as my FZ1. Just beautiful braking feel and stopping power. Not a lot of initial bite, but I like that on this big bike.
OK, this is a boring review. Hey, I was stuck in traffic! But the big takeaway was that there was no drama. This bike is comfortable and incredibly easy to ride. Town and freeway. Get it rolling and it smoothes right out. I didn't feel much vibration at any speed.
I briefly got up some speed in the twisties. Takes a bit of muscle to flick it side to side -- but you can flick it side to side. Cornered as if on rails. Really likes sweepers. Super smooth. Unflappable, really. On the freeway it was a rock, like sitting in a comfortable chair at 85 mph (briefly, between crawling traffic episodes). I could easily put in some long, long days on this bike, and I intend to.
2nd Ride:
Went out again this morning, empty streets. Now I got to move a bit. Though the bike pulls well from low RPM it's happiest, and I'm happiest, higher in the rev range. The engine comes alive, the whole bike does. Really had some fun riding it. The big bruiser likes to be tossed around a bit. It's still a heavy cruiser, of course, but so well composed it's confidence-inspiring. Rough pavement at speed put me in mind for some better shocks, and maybe some front end work. Nothing horrible was happening, but there's room for improvement.
Could definitely use some more Guzzi music. Wish list: Re-map, full exhaust, better shocks.
My first ride on the Eldorado! Second Guzzi ride ever, first cruiser I've ever owned. Unfortunately there was tons of traffic all the way from the Marina to Malibu, over the canyon and down the freeway. So, this is a "riding in traffic" review. I'm still getting used to the size of the bike so I didn't split lanes. I was just another schmuck stuck in traffic.
I have to say I "get" why people like heavy cruisers. Our roads are TERRIBLY maintained these days, full of potholes. Yet, the big Guzzi was unflappable. Pavement horrors that would have had me bouncing two inches off the seat normally were nothing on this majestic beast. The gusting winds in the canyon failed to upset the bike, and overall the cop windshield worked very nicely.
The clutch is perfect on this bike. Not too hard to hold in, smooth travel nice bite. No threat of stalling. Also, the gearbox is amazing. Smooth. Easy to find neutral at lights. Quick shifting at 5,500 RPM it was like any of my Japanese bikes, (precision-wise if a bit more noisy). Really amazing.
Also, the brakes are every bit as good as they look! As good as my FZ1. Just beautiful braking feel and stopping power. Not a lot of initial bite, but I like that on this big bike.
OK, this is a boring review. Hey, I was stuck in traffic! But the big takeaway was that there was no drama. This bike is comfortable and incredibly easy to ride. Town and freeway. Get it rolling and it smoothes right out. I didn't feel much vibration at any speed.
I briefly got up some speed in the twisties. Takes a bit of muscle to flick it side to side -- but you can flick it side to side. Cornered as if on rails. Really likes sweepers. Super smooth. Unflappable, really. On the freeway it was a rock, like sitting in a comfortable chair at 85 mph (briefly, between crawling traffic episodes). I could easily put in some long, long days on this bike, and I intend to.
2nd Ride:
Went out again this morning, empty streets. Now I got to move a bit. Though the bike pulls well from low RPM it's happiest, and I'm happiest, higher in the rev range. The engine comes alive, the whole bike does. Really had some fun riding it. The big bruiser likes to be tossed around a bit. It's still a heavy cruiser, of course, but so well composed it's confidence-inspiring. Rough pavement at speed put me in mind for some better shocks, and maybe some front end work. Nothing horrible was happening, but there's room for improvement.
Could definitely use some more Guzzi music. Wish list: Re-map, full exhaust, better shocks.
