Moto Guzzi 1000SP Spada

Let's face it. Nearly every rider likes to travel fast at one time or another, tp really give a bike its head provided road and weather conditions allow it.

Prizing the most out of a superbike, hunched over the 'bars with chin grazing the tank, rekindles the excitement, fun and sheer thrill of motor cycling.

But at times it is also welcome to take a rest from pushing yourself and the bike hard, nice to own a bike which carries more of the strain for you. Especially if you pack much riding into your calendar, with lengthy periods spent straddled across a two-wheeled missile.

Out-and-out speed for its own sake, coupled with hair-raising acceleration which can strain engine, transmission, tyres and, of course, the rider, to the limit, are unnecessary and unwanted - except for the occasional blast to ensure the adrenalin hasn't set like jelly.

A plausible alternative for the mature motor cyclist, window-shopping for that form of fun, is Moto Guzzi's grand turismo 1,000 cc Spada. It makes no pretentions to be amongst the leading road burners - the responsibility for that in the Guzzi factory situated at Mandello del Lario in the beautiful Como area of northern Italy, near the renowned lake, falls to the safe hands of the glamorous, range-topping Le Mans.

The Spada has no such prestige to uphold, nothing to prove - except in its touring role - and that it fulfils very well indeed.

Unlike the majority of top sports-orientated models available, the Spada can be just plain cussed, refusing to be hurried should you want to get a move on. That contempt which the transverse vee-twin mill shows for the instructions flowing from the throttle can be frustrating for the rider but, once accepted, the model in other ways proves to be quite enchanting.

It offers good all-the-year-round weather protection, a magic carpet ride bestowed by the cushy, deeply-padded seat and absorbing suspension, and an indestructible heart which will cruise at up to 100 mph, all day if asked, with nonchalant ease. That more than makes up for the lack of zip through the gears.

Endurance, passed on to the rider, is the model's forte, ensuring that those flash-in-the-pan speedsters will have fizzled out behind the Spada at the end of the day.

So uncannily relaxed and shielded from the elements are you, that it is easy to imagine riding more or less non-stop all the way from the Channel to the Guzzi factory gates, the main priorities on arrival being to have a smoke and stretch your legs.

To a large degree, it is the 90-degree vee-twin mill which hypnotises and lulls your mind to the apparently relaxed, tortoise-like pace . . . coupled to very high gearing (overall ratio in top is 4-366 to 1) driving through an almost maintenance-free shaft to the back wheel.

At 70 mph the mill is wafting the Spada along at a very leisurely 4,000 revs; at a steady ton it is turning at a mere 5,700 rpm. At some 500 rpm above maximum torque revs, it gives a reasonable safety margin for you to sustain 100 mph cruising, up hill and down dale, with relative ease.

The manufacturers make no maximum power claims, but Dave Martin, technical manager for Coburn & Hughes, Britain's importers based at Luton, estimates it must be in the region of 72 bhp at 6,500 rpm. However, Guzzi do give a claimed maximum torque figure in their handbook ... a lip-smacking 62-2 lb-ft produced at a lowly 5,200 rpm. That gives a vast amount of basement tractability.

Up to 3,000 rpm, the power impulses from the two 88 x 78 mm cylinders shudder the whole frame as the vee-twin bellows along, firing at the proverbial every-other-lamp post rate settling down nicely to a leisurely gait until maximum torque revs are scaled and the pushrod twin gives off its best power. Apart from the barely perceptible side-to-side thumping at low revs, as you would anticipate from the cylinder configuration, the motor spins over very smoothly.

Lever-operated cables run from their fixing clamp on the left carburettor to open cold-starting jets in the 30 mm Dell Ortos and the test bike, well run-in with 7,000 miles on the clock, fired up faultlessly every time.

Streamlining on the Spada is a two-piece affair, consisting of a handlebar fairing rigidly attached to the fork yokes, and similarly firmly-held cowling surrounding the cylinder blocks. In concept this streamlining is identical to Lav-erda's 1,116 cc Mirage triple, but it differs from the Spada's closest rivals, BMW's R100RT and R100RS horizontally-opposed twins, whose fairings screw together in one-piece and are supported from the main frame. The streamlining has been designed to improve penetration with the rider seated normally, offering him greater protection and our performance test results also vindicate the Moto Guzzi styling.

For, sitting-up in a bulky two-piece nylon suit, irony of ironies, the Guzzi actually went faster than with the rider prone on the tank, tucked-in wearing leathers. Standing an average 5 ft 8 in and weighing 11-5 stone, I achieved an aggregate of each-way runs, in very strong wind conditions, of 104-92 mph sitting-up and fractionally slower, 104-49 mph in the leather skin.

Perhaps that is why the manufacturers have chosen to call the model the Spada, for translated from Italian it means 'sword'. It certainly showed a sharp cutting edge on the test track.

Best one-way speeds confirmed the results, the fastest attained of 113-69 mph being recorded sitting up. That is 2 mph quicker than holding a racing crouch!

The rider obviously plays his part in the shape of the streamlining, and you realise this in practice by the back-draught which pushes you into the screen, thrusting you onto the handlebar from speeds of 80 mph upwards.

To avoid the unpleasant and tiring turbulence when cruising fast, the solution is to slide further back on the seat - one of the plushest and most deeply padded cushion we have encountered on a road test bike, and settle your knees into the padded fairing recesses while crouching slightly forward.

If you normally ride with a regimentally upright back, you'll find the screen an inch or two too low and suffer the back-draught. Resting forward offers a clear, unbuffeted view over the raised trailing edge of the smoke-tinted screen.

The indicators are housed in the top half and wiring neatly sheathed at the back of the fairing. Knees and hands are also protected from the wind-stream and lighting power is good, provided by a Stanley 6-5-in headlamp and 60/55-watt quartz halogen main bulb which displays a sharp cut-off on dip.

As on a trials mud-plugger, the rear brake is the more powerful of the two because of Guzzi's linked braking system, whereby applying the rear brake (a single 9-5-in plain disc) also brings the front, left disc into operation. This provides very effective and controlled stopping, and could be used on its own with the right hand covering the handlebar lever and the other front brake disc for use in the event of an emergency.

The system is made by Brembo, is hydraulic-ally operated all-round, powerful but understated, for it will take a very clumsy boot to lock the wheels.

The front brake, which binds on the right 11-8-in disc, really needs to be more powerful, though, to really put some bite through the front tyre. Our 128 ft stopping distance from 60 mph is a little under par, to confirm this. It is especially needed considering that a Spada owner may well be hauling extra luggage, possibly as well as a pillion.

The frame is similar to the other big, well-known Moto Guzzi vee-twins and the Spada handles and steers well with the windcheaters fitted, bearing in mind the suspension has been set up for comfort, not necessarily hairline handling. An adjustable steering damper is an added bonus. The soft movement can provoke wallowing on bumpy bends and Guzzi's own front fork springs need stiffening to prevent the handlebar fairing clouting the mudguard under heavy braking. But it should not be made too stiff, or touring comfort could be sacrificed.

Pirelli Phantoms, V-rated tyres, were fitted to our test bike, replacing the H-rated Gordons fitted as standard.

Over 600 miles, the Spada returned an average 43-3 mpg and as that figure includes performance testing an owner could expect a slightly higher return. Even using our figures, and ridden hard, the 5-3 gallon tank still offers a range of 229 miles before refuelling.

Engine oil level is easy to check, utilising the dipstick nicely half-hidden away behind the left-hand engine cowling, and consumption proved negligible.

How nice it is to read reasonably accurate Italian Veglia instruments at last. Their speedos have proved wildly optimistic in the past, but those on the test Spada were almost spot on at 30 mph, erring to an acceptable four per cent fast at 100 mph.

The speedo and the matching rev-counter are surrounded by a comprehensive bank of eight warning lights (two of them for the indicators), central ignition switch and, of far more use, a quartz clock and voltmeter, all wrapped up behind a soft plastic facia moulding that also covers the steering head. Below the clock is the switch for the hazard warning lights which function by bypassing the ignition circuit. Mirrors are adjustable and remain vibration-free up to maximum speed.

The tool kit is of good quality containing 15 pieces and includes such niceties as an adjustable wrench and feeler gauges.

A thoroughly amenable tourer, with its own distinctive charisma, all the Spada needs is your tank top bag and saddle bags slung over the seat. And at one time it cost considerably less than its closest rival, the BMW R100RT. It is best remembered for its effortless capacity for highspeed cruising, in comfort behind a very effective streamlining, and the luxurious ride.