impressed by the power and torque offered by the engine compared to the V85TT , but not so much with the riding position which did not suit my ageing rugby-damaged knees and Carolyn much preferred the more upright pillion seating position of the adventure bike than the leaning forward ‘ sporty ’ position of the Mandello . So , we decided for the time being that we were more than happy with our V85TT and we would wait to hear more about the proposed new design of the Stelvio .
MEETING THE STELVIO Moto Guzzi says ‘ the name of this motorcycle is a homage to the mighty Stelvio , the highest mountain pass in Italy ’. And as our 2023 European Alps Tour was nearing completion , the tour company owner , our friend and colleague , Laurent Dozias from ‘ Ride-in-Tours ’ asked , “ What bike do you want to ride next year ?”. My flippant reply was “ The new Stelvio , of course ” and the conversation was left there . Fast forward almost a year on and I was to be riding the new 2024 Moto Guzzi V100 Stelvio on a two-up ride covering 5700km over 30 days . My first observation was the raw beauty of the machine sitting there waiting for me . A lovely yellow , grey and black colour scheme enhanced by the sheer magnificence of the 1042cc- 115hp transverse V-Twin engine ; simply oozing character and charm . I was to finally swing my leg over the new bike .
RIDING THE V100 STELVIO In addition to the V85TT ’ s three riding modes of Road , Rain and Off-road , the Stelvio also has Sport and Tour modes . Carolyn was able to notice the softer throttle response offered by the Touring mode , which became her favourite . We had to use Rain mode on more than one occasion in the first few days , which made the ABS and traction control more responsive , which was quite noticeable . This was especially noticeable when comparing to Off-road which dispenses with traction control and ABS on the back wheel . We had one unplanned 40km section of stoney , gravel forestry road where the difference between Road and Off-road
60 KIWI RIDER