QUIKSPIN: Moto Guzzi Bellagio - Bella Bellagio
Even though the Bellagio has hardly changed since 2009, the 940cc, 55kW, transverse V-twin Guzzi is intriguing. The right hand side of the bike is dominated by the chunky single-sided swingarm, incorporating the shaft-drive, which, finished in the same colour as the equally sizeable engine, gives the bike a solid look.
Although the shape of the tank is a bit feminine for my tastes, styling-wise there’s a nice mix of retro looks and modern engineering, the alloy Behr wirespoked wheels, for example, a quality inclusion. The metallic gunmetal and white paint on ours looked the part: pin striping from tank to tail adding a nice retro detail. The large cream-coloured analogue speedo looks authentic, whereas the crimsonbacklit LCD information panel permanently showing fuel consumption, trip, odometer, time, ambient temperature and battery voltage, is perhaps a juxtaposition of old and new too far.
Firing up the fuel injected, 90? V-twin produced the trademark Guzzi torque-reaction lurch to the right. Sadly, it didn’t elicit anything like the noise I was expecting from the two silencers, with all the savage menace of a sewing machine. Shame, really, as making a massive granny-baiting racket is one of the things that adds to the fun of tooling about on a cruiser. However, if you rev the bugger (I can’t tell you how hard as there’s no tacho), it gets a lot louder and takes on a harder, more metallic edge that certainly gets you noticed.
Pulling away for the first time I was very aware of the late take-up of the clutch and the somewhat narrow bite-point. And the engine needs a good handful of throttle to balance it and launch the bike without stalling. However, the one immediately obvious feature of this bike is its profound smoothness and lightness of operation, the gearbox requiring only the faintest of touches to engage the next ratio. In fact, finding neutral required such a tiny effort I often didn’t believe the little green light. Once moving, the engine smooths out to such a degree, you’re hard pushed to know you’re on a big twin.
This is all slightly let down by the backlash in the drivetrain when being less than smooth with the throttle or trying to hurry the gears through the ’box, which results in a bunch of uncomfortable lurches and clunks. However, once you get the technique down, it’s easy to surf the fat torque curve and blast rapidly up to naughty speeds in a very satisfying manner, using big handfuls of gas and deliberate upshifts. Once wound up though, a word of caution, because despite braided lines, the floating twinpot Brembos front and rear are best described as adequate, requiring quite a lot of pressure to slow the 240kg of Italian metal quickly.
Guzzi believes this bike is in a niche of its own and I’m tempted to agree. If you want something that relishes the city, the motorway and the back-roads, this certainly fits the bill. It also looks great outside the coffee shop and girls seem to love it too…
Oh, and did I mention that at $17,990 it’s a grand cheaper than it was three years ago. Bargain or what?
