Moto Guzzi V85 Concept

 This is what’s being called the Moto Guzzi V85 concept. It’s a loud enduro model that picks up where the Stelvio left off, and it also boasts a new 850cc engine platform from the Italian brand, which with its 80hp, will sit between the V7/V9 family of bikes, and the big 1400 cruisers

Here is the full press release from Moto Guzzi:

MOTO GUZZI MAKES TRACKS TOWARDS THE FUTURE, A HOMAGE TO THE QUINTESSENCE OF TRAVEL, DEDICATED TO MOTORCYCLISTS WHO DO NOT STOP WHEN THEY REACH THE END OF THE ASPHALTNEW TECHNICAL PLATFORM AROUND WHICH MOTO GUZZI WILL BE DEVELOPING A NEW FAMILY OF MOTORCYCLES

Moto Guzzi has been producing authentically Italian motorcycles since 1921. Nearly a hundred years of tradition and passion; almost a century of magnificent motorcycles all built in Mandello del Lario, combining the best technologies and the most invaluable Italian manufacture. The next goal for the brand is to celebrate its 2021 centenary with an ever-expanding range of motorcycles.

One step into the future has already been taken with MGX-21, a non-conformist and innovative bagger that has shown how Moto Guzzi is capable of interpreting with its own personality the various influences proposed by motorcycle culture without ever betraying itself.

The Concept V85 is another gaze opened towards the future, the next challenge for a brand that aims to offer enthusiasts a wider range that meets every need. The features it has place the Concept V85 between the classic V7 and V9 family and the 1400 large cruisers, covering the gap left by Stelvio. It is a motorcycle that has travel in its blood and the unmistakable spirit of Moto Guzzi.

The Concept V85 comes from the best tradition of Moto Guzzi, built out of authenticity, which is the true fundamental value of the factory in Mandello and has been created around an engine that, with its significant increase in power, guarantees ridability and fun. It is the motorcycle that was needed by an increasingly standardized market dedicated to travelling in its purest form, recalling the epic rally raids of the 1980s, a point of reference from which it inherits style, charm and thus emotion, but which has been designed to take on both everyday routes and long-distance routes, using the most up-to-date requirements.

In its use as a travelling bike, the Concept V85 is a new and original offering combining stylistic ideas from the golden age of the motorcycling adventure with the contents and functionality of a modern Enduro travelling bike and is part of a natural evolution by the Lake Como-based brand and its motorcycles, which is wholly consistent with a range development policy that saw the launch of the V9 a year ago and the third generation of the V7 this year.

Traveling to Live, the Concept V85 is an Adventure Every Day 

Moto Guzzi boasts a solid off-road tradition: the first proof of this arrived at the Six Day Reliability Trial in 1939, which took place in Austria, where Moto Guzzi participated with the GT 20, winning four gold medals. The true season of reliability continued in 1957, with the Lodola Regolarità, and then with the Stornello Regolarità in 1962. With this tradition, Moto Guzzi took on the Paris-Dakar in 1985 with the V65 Baja and the following year with the V75 Baja, strictly based on the standard models, appreciated for their lightness and the characteristics of their engine, which was robust and reliable.

The Concept V85 is dedicated to those who, while never ceasing to dream of Dakar, yearn for a bike that revives the spirit of adventure on their daily journeys. The Concept Moto Guzzi prefigures a modern motorcycle, fully equipped and with a strong character, but also a pure and essential motorcycle with its shapes that originate directly from Moto Guzzi’s own history.

Style: The Concept V85 is the First Classic Enduro 

The design is the meeting point between technology and functionality with a classic Moto Guzzi style, designed to remain timeless as well as defining the first Classic Enduro to be dedicated to tourism.

Designed with proportions that are anything but prohibitive, accessible for riders of all sizes and experience, tight in the waistband to allow freedom of movement, the Concept V85 boasts an optimal ride for rider and passenger. No compromises have been made to the detriment of comfort and usability, resulting in a comfortable bike for two, with bags installed on the chassis frame. The fuel tank design harks back to the tradition of the Moto Guzzi models set up for the African rally raids. In line with the Guzzi story, there is also the high front mudguard and the beautiful double front headlight, stylistic and functional solutions already present on the NTX 650 from 1996 and the Quota 1000 from 1989. Modern technology elements – such as the fully digital instrumentation and the front LED DRL light series on the front headlight – combine classic styling with the off-road world.

Character, Lightness and Ease of Use 

Moto Guzzi’s expertise in the construction of outstanding bicycles is also confirmed on the Concept V85. The frame is completely new; in pursuit of lightness, rationality and accessibility, it is made of steel tubes and exploits the specific anchorage of the engine to create a rigid structure that restores precision and rigor on the road as well as robustness and the right feel for off-road riding. The beautiful asymmetric aluminum swingarm has a curved shape on the left side, useful for designing a highly linear exhaust pipe pattern so as to minimize the lateral dimensions. The right arm on the swingarm houses the new shaft drive transmission. The mono shock absorber directly connects the chassis to the right arm of the swingarm, a solution that facilitates access to the hydraulic and spring preload adjustments, thus allowing free space for the exhaust system layout. The suspension systems offer a very generous wheel travel for an optimal off-road use, thanks to a substantial engine floor clearance, as well as comfort on the most commonly-used roads.

A New Engine, a Classic of the Future 

A new Moto Guzzi engine is launched on the Concept V85. The construction design is proprietary and excludes all current Moto Guzzi production: in fact, it is a two-cylinder 90° transverse air-cooled 850cc which, thanks to its complete redesign, has 80 HP of maximum power. It is an engine that, fully in line with Moto Guzzi philosophy, announces itself as a classic for the near future, providing rewarding performance on every kind of route, as well as guaranteeing great character and the usual spectacular force at lower running speeds.

The technical platform of the Concept V85, including its mechanics – as always leveraged inside the body of the vehicle, with all its beauty being deliberately left in sight – is the technical basis for the development of a series of new motorcycles. It will be a family of medium-sized cylinder bikes, from different intended uses, combined with strong character, generous performance and a style which is typically Moto Guzzi.