2024 Moto Guzzi V85 TT, TT Travel and Strada Review – First Ride

History and Design

The Moto Guzzi V85 family of bikes is a very unusual collection of motorcycles. Looking at the company from the 5,000-foot-perspective, I almost wonder if there’s some overall genius level of wit that such a unique machine comes from a manufacturer whose first bike was called the “Normal” (Italian: “Normale”, 1921). In the ensuing 103 years, horsepower has gone from eight to 80, but very little of normal has crept into the design philosophy.

Perhaps more than any other bike in the middleweight adventure class, the V85 TT’s aesthetics arguably play a significant role in the bike’s overall appeal. Other than encountering some difference of opinion regarding color choices, the design seems to inspire universal praise from other riders encountered on the road or trail. Front and center is the signature transverse V-Twin, which serves as both the icon and speech pattern of this motorcycle, and the Moto Guzzi brand as a whole.

The 853cc powerplant’s distinctive rumble employs a shaft drive to spin the rear wheel in the double-sided swingarm. No other mid-sized adventure bike uses this setup. Searching for the answer to why both the pipe and rear brake disk are atypically located on the left side of the bike, is perhaps solved by thinking on the nature of Italian design — that 45° single-sided shock mated to the final drive looks damn good when the bike is tilted over on its sidestand.

First glance at the right side of the bike might provide an impression it has a twin shock setup from times past, yet flipping the bike around reveals a perfectly-positioned exhaust where there would normally be another spring. Fuel hides in plain sight in a shapely tank, and beneath a tribute to a fallen friend from the early days of Moto Guzzi, in the form of Guzzi’s winged emblem. With no radiator to hide behind, the transverse V-twin’s cylinders emerge from underneath the blanket of the tank to cool themselves in open air.

Potentially contradictory aesthetics somehow work perfectly with the V85 TT. Rocket booster tail lights portend a bike that wants to blast off like some street fighter, while elegant headers breathe exhaust like someone relaxing along the Amalfi Coast with a cigarette and an espresso.

Closer inspection of the V85 bikes reveals deeper qualities. The smooth texture of the thumb switches is echoed by equally smooth movement, and connected to wiring which travels through dedicated grooves, positioned to create a surprisingly clean under-seat environment. Even details out-of-sight are not left unchecked on the V85s.

Redesigned

For 2024, Moto Guzzi’s V85 lineup has seen significant changes. The V85 family now consists of three bikes: the V85 Strada, the V85 TT, and the V85 TT Travel. While these three bikes all share the same chassis, suspension travel, and engine, what might seem like relatively insignificant differences between them results in very different machines, intended for very different riders.

Before even riding the bikes, a few of the updates stood out. For me, the new switch arrangement and additional ride modes between the three models was a welcome highlight.

I’ve always been a fan of the V85 platform, but previously there were only three ride modes of street, rain, and off-road. And weirdly, accessing the ride modes was done with the starter button. The older bike did have a “mode” button, but it was connected to functions other than ride modes. For 2024, the switches maintain that fine level of feel and design like the old bike, and are a bit more intuitive (for example, the “mode” button now accesses ride modes, and the starter button is now exclusively used to start and stop the engine).

The V85 Strada still only has three ride modes of sport, rain, and road, but we’ll come back to that. The V85 TT has these same three modes plus a dedicated off-road mode, and the V85 TT Travel has the same four modes as the V85 TT, plus a customizable user mode. It’s important to note the Custom mode is available on the other two models as well, but as an optional feature.

All three bikes benefit from an updated Small Block transverse V-Twin. The new engine incorporates variable valve timing which not only increases power and torque numbers, but makes the bikes Euro5+ compliant.

For me, the new engine also greatly improved the riding experience because of a subtle change to the shape of the cylinder heads, and profile of the seat. The rear side of the head is now sloped just a bit more towards the front of the bike, and the saddle shape positions the rider just a bit farther back. On the previous V85, my left knee would sometimes bang into the cylinder on that side, but didn’t hit once through what felt like over 100 tight corners during this test.

I’m primarily an off-road rider and had spent a great deal of time on the previous V85 TT Travel, so that was my first choice to try out for this test. The differences between the bikes can seem subtle (different wheels, adding panniers, etc..), so it was a bit of a surprise for me to experience how much more confident I felt on the V85 Strada in the super aggressive twisty roads around these mountains. Stripping 8.8 pounds of both sprung and unsprung weight from the bike really makes a significant difference.

Transverse

What makes a Moto Guzzi immediately recognizable is the transverse V-Twin engine configuration. For 2024, the iconic air-cooled power plant has been updated with variable valve timing. Horsepower remains the same as the previous V85 with 80 hp at 7,750 rpm, but torque has increased a bit from 59 lb-ft at 5,000 rpm to 61 lb-ft at 5,100 rpm. Aside from being the only shaft-drive arrangement in the mid-size adventure bike category, the unique engine is also the only air-cooled pushrod setup, incorporating a dry clutch in this class.

The engine’s character seems to be the sum of all the things it’s not. Not quite the torquiest, nor the most high-strung power plant for this class, but almost certainly the most idiosyncratic. Not to say by any means the Twin doesn’t perform. Low-end power is readily there just off idle, and this thing likes to rev! Tight pavement curves is where it becomes easy to lose all short-shifting discipline and wind the thing out as deeply into the power band as the rev-limiter will allow.

Electronic Adjustability

Moto Guzzi first introduced a TFT to their line in the 2019 V85 TT. Turning the key initiates a welcome screen where the spread-winged Guzzi logo is revealed in a collection of colors and motion graphics. Both the boot up and shut down screens are the perfect duration to inspire “this bike is cool” thoughts versus “this screen is annoying and I wish it would stop.”

The winged Guzzi logo also appears illuminated as a driving light, further enhancing the look of the dual round headlight arrangement. Between the display and LED light setups, the styling of this bike extends beyond the physical structure to how it lights up the surrounding environment.

As mentioned earlier, the three ride modes of Sport, Road, and Rain are shared by all three versions of the 2024 V85 bikes, the TT adds the dedicated Off-Road mode, and the TT Travel adds Off-Road and Custom modes. Through the TFT’s menu, there are four parameters within each mode that can be fine tuned.

Flipping a V-Twin sideways has the advantage of shortening up the entire motorcycle, and putting it in a realm normally only occupied by Parallel-Twins. The beefy engine case itself is a stressed member which means there’s no cradle hanging from the trellis frame. This both saves weight and allows the Italian engineer/artists to further enhance the bike’s aesthetics.

At 32.6 inches, the low seat height opens this bike up to a wide range of riders. Even given my 32-inch inseam, I generally prefer taller seat heights for adventure motorcycles. While the V85 TT’s numbers and first impression aesthetics might inspire concern of a cramped cockpit, I was pleasantly surprised to find the riding position both seated and standing to be nearly ideal.

A combination of aesthetics and performance could easily render the V85 my go-to commuter bike. An entirely comfortable seating position, windscreen offering good protection without hindering visibility, a user-friendly and appealing TFT interface, and the charm of the transverse V-Twin rumbling along create an overall package that’s extremely functional, with a lot of intangible experiential benefits.

Rather than an annoyance, the smooth vibes from the power plant remind you of the unique machine you’re piloting. Where most bikes are visually appreciated more when looking at them while parked, the V85 TT’s aesthetic is apparent while riding. For my build, the seat was nearly ideal. Caveat: I think saddles like the KTM 950 Adventure S are good, where most find that like sitting on a 2×6 plank. Thus, the V85 TT’s cushion felt like a Barcalounger by comparison. Long road miles are made easier by the comfortable seating position, good wind protection, and cruise control included as a standard feature.

The V85 TT is quite stable at speed, in spite of a wheelbase roughly two inches less than many V-Twin adventure bikes. This reduced length translates into a fun and aggressive feel when the road becomes more twisty. Pushing the Italian steed through the most belligerent corners revealed a surprising balance out of the suspension. Throwing the bike into a turn feeds back a slight, predictable dive, just enough to steepen up the head angle and get through the corner that much quicker. Accelerating out of a turn, the opposite happens, and the subtle slackening of things quickly gets things stable and moving. Bonus, there’s a cool engine pushing everything, and now my left knee no longer has a brawl with one of the cylinders.

Braking performance was largely behind-the-scenes. Smooth lever feel and good modulation were confidence-inspiring when road mode (“Strada”) was called up, and both the pavement bends and the riding became more spirited. Engagement of the clutch has a slight delay to it under hard deceleration, and sometimes you’ll get a chirp, and a brief slide, just enough to be fun, not enough to throw you into the weeds. Disclaimer: Do not try this at home. Even though it is quite fun.

Weaved into the nimble nature of the V85 TT Travel’s chassis is an unusual stability. At first, the feeling is almost a hesitation on the bike’s part to change direction quickly. Once you ride around this characteristic, it proves to be a useful form of balance. The source of this quality is likely the transverse motor. Similar to a tightrope walker holding a balance pole, positioning some of the bike’s cylinder weight further out to the sides inherently creates stability. In the case of the V85 models, this effect occupies the middle ground between a traditional longitudinal V-Twin and a horizontally-opposed Twin.

Conclusions

Deciding if a particular motorcycle is the “right” choice likely comes down to where it falls on a scale with form at one end, and function at the other. A bike’s performance might meet all your needs, but if you find it uninspiring to look at, it’s probably not the one you’ll go to as a first resort. The flip side is true as well. A two-wheeled machine might be so pretty it would make as much sense to hang on a wall as it would to park in a garage, but if it doesn’t rise to a place where it meets your riding needs, it’s most likely not the right choice. Moto Guzzi’s V85 TT Travel occupies a wider space on this scale. Design which pulls it deeply toward the “form” end of a scale is echoed by performance at the far opposite end. Character, it turns out, is a powerful feature, and compromise is a good thing.

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