MOTO GUZZI NORGE GT

STATELY TOURING

by Brother Silverback

The Spawn of Silverback with the Norge on the Wollombi Road

I had a week off work and the daughter was back from New York City for a similar time, so I made plans to ride. The current stable wasn't really suited to two-up touring with luggage for a week away and I have a serious predilection for Guzzis. Brother Boris lined me up with the good people at the John Sample Group -- many thanks to Ezio Forcella, Mark Barnett and Mark Cooper -- who graciously provided me with a demo Norge GT.

There is an up-spec model, the GTL, which comes with colour-matched panniers, electric windscreen and a GPS, but the cooking version suited my favourite pillion and me just fine; and it's a pretty well-equipped sports-touring bike. It has black panniers, no top box, manually adjustable screen with easy to operate knobs, heated grips and a most comprehensive dash.

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
For a big tourer, there is a real absence of weight. When I first looked at it, it looked comparable to a touring BMW -- which is a fair amount of weight. This should stick on the road, but be a bit of a handful when playing through the twisty bits, I thought. Not the case at all. When seated in what has to be one of the most comfortable seats going around both for the rider and the pillion, (when would one ever dream of saying that about a Guzzi!) and taking the bike up off the side-stand, the weight seems to disappear. It feels light and flickable and was exactly the same when on the move. This particular demo had the centre stand removed, but the mountings were there for it. It's a tourer. An owner would have it fitted.

The ergonomics are great. The handlebars-to-pegs-to-seat ratios are excellent for all-round riding. The pillion has plenty of room, and can do many miles without a break. And this is with a pillion who is six-feet tall and weighs 70kg, behind a rider who is six-four and tips the scales at 110kg. Throw in luggage for two in the good-sized panniers and the suspension needs to adjusted to the max. That is simply achieved both front and rear, with the rear pre-load being easily adjustable by hand. The manual screen was set to 'High' and we were off to a petrol station.

The Norge takes a breather on the Putty Road

RIDE ON
The dry clutch makes a distinctive sound, but this one isn't as rattly or as noisy as the one on a Ducati. I only noticed it on engaging first at the lights and it worked very well the entire trip. If one doesn't notice the clutch the entire week, then it's doing it job appropriately.

The next most laudable feature of this new Aprilia-ized Guzzi is the gearbox. What a revelation! No false neutrals, always smooth and without any clunking into the selected gear. I had to use the clutch shifting down, but on the gas, if one didn't want to use the clutch, one didn't have to. I expect these things on modern bikes, especially on the benchmark Suzuki, but having had some considerable experience on Guzzis of old, it wasn't something I initially took for granted. I did by the end of my trip.

She holds some 23 litres in the tank and she's definitely a "she". One could get to love this bike, but like most Italian women, there will be some heated disputes, but more about that after the initial amore faded. Over the week I had the bike, we did about a thousand kays, all two-up with luggage and the info computer on the bike read the fuel consumption at 6.2 litres per 100 kms. Different riders with different weights to carry will probably get considerably better but this trip did include some "sporty" roads where the throttle could be fully opened. The bottom line was that no matter how one rode her, the range was always comfortably over 300km. I have no doubt that others, a little less keen on the throttle, could easily achieve 400km to the tank.

There's plenty to keep the rider amused on the boring stretches...

Brakes by Brembo. The ant's pants, but with ABS.

And speaking of the information/mode setting on the bars, one could pass the time on the road by playing with its numerous settings. It provides a constant fuel consumption read-out, a fuel warning light, two trip meters, temperature reading, clock etc., but for all the information it provides, it does not give the rider a digital gear indicator. I would swap the ever-present fuel consumption readout for a digital gear indicator any day of the week, particularly on a bike with this engine's characteristics. While playing with the buttons on the straight freeway sections, I was seduced by the little touches of inventiveness. First was the high beam flasher unit operated by flicking the fore-finger of the left hand. Exquisite design, as was the kill switch/starter button incorporated into one unit. There is no way with this system one could accidentally leave the kill switch on when trying to start the bike. A most elegant design that should be adopted by others.

The lights on this bike were brilliant. We rode at night for some hours in the country with some vigilance given the potential for wild-life and most rarely, for a motorcycle, actually stood some chance of spotting them before it was too late.

The low beam is good; two lights with a good spread and the high beam, with two extra lights, gave the rider a fighting chance with great throw.

It did, however, light up a difficulty. With two people and luggage, despite the preload being upped to the max, the lights on low beam were just too high. Solo it was perfect, but with the extra weight on the back, the low beams threw too high, inviting regular flashes from oncoming vehicles who assumed incorrectly that the high beams were on. It is or should be a simple matter of adjustment and although the adjustment screws are quasi-accessible, but they should have finger furled knobs instead of small screws that require a screw-driver to operate.

Brembo supplies the brakes and that really is enough said. They really are the ant's pants; the braking feel and strength were well suited to this bike and its intended purpose. That is not to say that because it is a touring bike, the brakes are weak; rather they do not have massive initial bite but are progressive and grab hard enough (even two-up and going for it downhill). It simply needs a harder application, but all is well controllable and easy to operate with winter gloves.

We had one bad moment on a downhill twisty section, travelling at about 10km/h. The front slipped out as it had hit a patch of unanticipated gravel (don't you just love the DMR's (ok, the RTA's) efforts to fix pot holes -- just dump some blue metal in it, on it or anywhere in the vicinity -- that'll do). Fortunately, the Guzzi recovered quickly with only the smallest head shake, and I believe that is testimony to the integrity of the frame.

It's not a modern frame, but it works very well and its engineering makes it strong and taunt. When clay turns to shit, it is this "hidden integrity" which still separates European bikes from others. Although I am a renowned hater of dirt roads, the Guzzi handled graded dirt well. It was in this application that the Guzzi felt most like a BM. Solid, sure-footed and with the weight down low, it covered tricky gradients and surfaces well. The suspension was forgiving, cosseting the rider and pillion against bad bumps and drops and a good dirt rider could have quite a good time sliding the Guzzi around the corners. I did not. I plodded along, but for a big road bike, I had some degree of confidence by the end. It even handled the occasional section of sand very well without the front digging in like a BM. Despite the addition of a very good fairing, the Guzzi doesn't seem to over-weight the front-end, which consequently allows for nimble turn-ins and a lightness on the sand which was most appreciated. Conversely, it did not quite have the same feeling of "plantedness" on spirited corning as say a BMW with ESA; feeling a little more like a Yamaha FJR, but that is no criticism, rather a comment, characteristic of the brand. It would also not be that way solo.

Speaking of the fairing, I did not knock my knees against it or the heads. Quite remarkable, given the ergonomics of earlier Guzzis.

And the heart and soul of this bike is the motor. The traditional 90 degree V is still, in my opinion, the best-looking motor in any motorcycle and works to its best in a touring application. It is not over-endowed with power; certainly it has sufficient, but it is the way it delivers that power that makes this bike. Rolling on the throttle aboard a big Guzzi with an open road in front of you is one of the great delights of motorcycling.

Like a V-Rod motor, there seems to be an inexhaustible supply of torque just pulling you into the distance. It seems as though it will just not run out and the sound, feel and the surprising speed one attains, is a genuine highlight of the bike. I just loved it. Yes, it still does rock in neutral on the blipping of the throttle, but is not noticeable once you're rolling. There are some vibrations, but not at all unpleasant and certainly not tiring enough to bring an early conclusion to a session in the saddle. The pillion is just about insulated from all vibes, even through the ample and well placed handrails. Top speed, which is recorded by the information mode, was close enough to 200 kph without wringing it right out, even two-up and luggage. Sure it is not the fastest tourer around but it is sufficiently quick and the acceleration is enough to get one out of trouble without raising a sweat.

Pannier rubber mounting is a curiosity in 2008

Left side fairing must be removed to check oil.

THE OWNER'S PERSPECTIVE
The panniers... a most complicated locking/removal system that was not as intuitive as a BM's system; however, once learnt, seemed to work. They were certainly dustproof but fortunately, I did not test whether or not they were rain proof. They hold an appropriate amount of clobber given their size and I had to laugh at a remaining indication of Guzzi's dark past; the rubber retaining loop over the back end of the pannier to the rear rail (see picture). Deary gracious me, how quaint.

What wasn't funny was the checking-of-engine-oil procedure. First, the oil needs to be checked with the bike upright and it had no centre stand. OK, there's something for the pillion to do. Secondly, there is no visage glass to do a quick check on the level. Alright then, I'll extract the dip stick. Ah, there's the rub. On all other Guzzis, one simply leans down and unscrews the dip stick on the left-hand front of the motor, but on the Norge, there is a fairing. And because there is a fairing, there is absolutely no room to do that. To check the oil, which one must do on a regular basis, especially on big twins, one must remove the left side fairing (see picture). This was just not thought through by Guzzi. Merely slapping a fairing over a naked Breva or Griso without addressing the oil checking and filling procedure just will not do and was enough for me and probably other owners to discount purchasing one.

Such a shame when other "owner conveniences" were good.

Spark plug protection has been addressed so that a fall does not automatically shear the plugs; rear wheel removal (with a centre stand) and a single-sided swing arm should be easy; screw and lock tappets are easy to reach; and the retirement of the special tool for oil changes are all improvements for the better.

It appears as though build quality has greatly improved, especially under the guiding hand of Aprilia. The electrics were excellent and the wiring was well laid out and tidily concealed. Rust was not to be seen on the bike and the paint quality was as good as any. Tyre wear should be better than the latest crop of mega tourers and I'm thinking here of the Kawasaki GTR 1400. However, although the Norge I was provided with had done the rounds and was not the newest version, having some 7500km on it; after a thousand kays it showed some seepage from the CARC, both from the filling plug and the bell-housing. Not as good as it should be. I didn't check the tool kit as I and most other tourers always carry their own and add special tools for the specific bike. I had no need to repair anything or tighten any nuts and bolts. Everything felt as tight and fresh as when I first received the bike.

The bottom line is that the Norge is a fine touring motorcycle. A little more nimble than a R1200RT; a little slower than a FJR; and just a little less all over than a GTR 1400; and distinctively a Guzzi. If you like V-twin shaft-driven motorcycles that you and your partner can ride all day without going to jail or hospital; something you can love for a long time after the first blush has gone, then consider the Norge. It's a damn fine thing, but I wouldn't buy it till I could see how much oil the engine was holding before it blew up.

"The bottom line is that the Norge is a fine touring motorcycle".