But by far one of the best bits about the V85
is its price point. While there are other bikes
in the market that offer a sub-$20k entry,
none you would call a premium European
machine and none even come close to
offering anything like the V85 TT.
Not only do you get most of the modern
amenities we’ve come to expect from an
adventure bike, but there are also those
fantastic looks which are hard not to
appreciate.
After initially thinking the bike was a bit
of a porker – its wet weight is in the region
of 230kg – as our ride around the island of
Phuket wore on the bike’s weight seemed to
disappear. This is, I’m sure, partly due to the
way the 90-degree V-Twin is mounted low in
the frame as a stressed member.
With its combination of a 19-in front wheel
and 17-in rear wheel, the V85 actually
handles quite well on the road. Rumours of
the bike lacking in cornering clearance were
unfounded, and with the lead rider setting a
blistering pace on the road, you’d have to be
riding at 10/10ths (i.e. like an utter loon) to
run out of clearance on the Guzzi.
The V85 TT even impressed off-road where
I’ll freely admit I am no expert. After setting
off away from the sure-footedness of
pavement towards the Plai Phu hot spring,
which not only featured the equivalent of
farm tracks, but also required crossing a river
to reach, I felt incredibly confident with the
big(ish) Guzzi – even with the more road-
oriented Metzeler Tourance Next tyres fitted
to the silver V85 I was riding.
Sure, I did find the limit later in the day once
we hit the beach but that was all rider error,
as Jock proved as he effortlessly powered the
V85 through the thick sand and even rescued
three bogged bikes off the beach (mine
included).
Despite my initial doubts, I came away with
a feeling that the team at Mandello del Lario
really did succeed in creating their Tuto
Terreno machine. While off-road its not going
to win the Dakar, the fact that the V85 TT is
such a well-balanced machine is proof that
you don’t need an ugly utilitarian machine to
be a proper all-terrain motorcycle.
MATHIEU DAY-GILLETT
KIWI RIDER 49