From our Old Bike Archives – Issue 105 – first published in 2023.
Ride impressions: Rennie Scaysbrook • Photos: Moto Guzzi
Moto Guzzi is officially 100 years old, so they’ve thrown a party in the form of the splendid V100 Mandello.
The view is like something from a Sean Connery Bond film. Crystal clear, glass-smooth waters drift by as the road snakes its way along the base of the cliffs overlooking Mandello del Lario, the million dollar houses dotted on the hillsides matched to a billion dollar view. Mandello del Lario is famous for not just breathtaking views but motorcycles with strangely mounted motors. The transverse V-twin is a Moto Guzzi trademark, the epochal engine elevating the niche manufacturer into a realm occupied by no one else.
The V100 Mandello S on which I’m enjoying my northern Italian dream state is significant not just in that it’s new, but because this motorcycle houses Moto Guzzi’s first-ever water-cooled 90° V-twin. Dubbed the “shortblock” with its cylinder heads rotated 90° so now, blissfully, the intake manifold sits in the center of the V rather than near the rider’s knees, the new engine is 103 mm shorter front to back than in the old air-cooled form. This has allowed Moto Guzzi’s engineers to create a motorcycle unlike anything they’ve done for the past, oh, 100 years or so. Producing a claimed 115 hp at 8700 rpm and 77 lb-ft of torque at 6750 rpm, the V100 Mandello isn’t going to pull any arms out of sockets from sheer acceleration but the performance it does have is perfectly adapted to its required task.
Sport touring has tilted significantly more towards sport in recent years. The V100 Mandello is here to change that. Its 115 hp is all one needs in a machine that will play perfectly happily in either the sport or touring segment. Graced with four riding modes of Turismo (Tour), Pioggia (Rain), Strada (Street), and Sport (Sport…), and with traction and engine control maps to suit via a new six-axis Marelli 11MP ECU, there’s plenty of torque for low rpm hairpin exits while still providing the required go to pass the thousands of cars ambling along our coast road in northern Italy.
Matched to an up and down quickshifter, the V100 Mandello’s motor is remarkable in how smooth it is, especially when compared to Guzzi’s of old. You get 82 percent of that 77 lb-ft of torque at 3,500 rpm, so you hardly have to dance on the shift lever to keep the motor in its sweet spot. The new motor’s internals are dramatically lighter than in old air-cooled 1200cc 8V guise, and with its new counter rotating crankshaft there’s nowhere near the same side-to-side rock you get in the chassis when you blip the throttle. Quickshifter or not, the gearbox isn’t as smooth as I’d have liked for a bike of this price. Revving the liquid-cooled motor out and searching for gears can lead to a decent ‘thump’ as the next cog is selected—this is a case of feeling for the motor’s sweet spot and slotting the gear in place at the correct time.
The motor is tilted forward by five degrees and that’s allowed Guzzi’s engineers to produce a chassis long and low with ample room for the rider. A seat height of 813mm should make this an accessible machine for an enormous range of riders. The S model on which I am riding is graced with Ohlins Smart EC 2.0 suspension. Running 43 mm gold-legged forks and shock, the system allows for fully automatic damping front and rear or you can switch it to manual, and adjust the electronic “clickers” yourself—there’s also a handy preload knob on the left side in case you have a passenger and/or luggage.
Inside the suspension’s ECU sits two auto modes—Dynamic and Comfort—then there’s two manual modes of Manual 1 and Manual 2. Seeing as I was riding on my own, switching to the harder auto mode of Dynamic was perfect as it gave the front a little more support under brakes without harming the overall ride quality. Two turns of preload on the shock didn’t hurt, either.
Moto Guzzi hasn’t skimped on brakes. You’ve got Brembo M4.32 calipers up front, nothing overly special there, but they’ve given you a quality Brembo radial 18 mm master-cylinder on which to modulate the power. The result is a lovely, smooth feeling at the lever, even if the ABS kicks in a little earlier than I would have liked. Now for the $17K question: do the adaptive aerodynamics make much of a difference? Yes and no. These are not aerodynamic winglets designed to increase downforce. The adaptive aero flaps sit just under where your wrists fall on the handlebars and are claimed to reduce air pressure on the rider by up to 22 percent and work in conjunction with the electronically adjustable windscreen. Moto Guzzi has spent over 200 hours of wind tunnel testing getting this system right, and at the moderate speeds I tested the V100 Mandello at, I could discern a little less wind buffeting when riding hit above 60 mph. However, the flaps only open in Tour at 70 km/h and always remain open when you ride in Rain mode. In Street and Sport, they remain closed in standard form although you can go into the modes individually and allow them to open at a predetermined speed.
The aero flaps are a nice addition but I didn’t do enough consistent high speed riding to form a proper opinion as we were mainly confined to mountain switchbacks with the occasional freeway jaunt.
What I will say is the ride position is near spot-on for long stints in the saddle. The handlebar height and adjustable screen makes the cockpit a comfortable place to sit for hours at a time, the only addition I would insist on is the 20mm taller seat. Moto Guzzi has done an exceptional job with the V100 Mandello and the model is a genuine alternative to the Kawasaki Ninja 1000SX, Suzuki GSX-S1000GT, or Yamaha Tracer 9 GT. It’s certainly got an overflow of personality; and the green/silver paint scheme, in the true hue of Moto Guzzi’s greatest hits, really hits me in the feels. The price tag for the S is certainly up there, but given the performance on offer in not just ripping through corners but slowing down and enjoying the ride makes for a compelling argument. Here’s to the next 100 years of Moto Guzzi.
Specifications: 2023 Moto Guzzi V100 Mandello S
Engine: Transversal 90° V-Twin, four valves per cylinder, liquid-cooled
Displacement: 1042cc
Bore x stroke: 96 x 72 mm
Compression ratio: 13.3:1
Fuel system: Electronic fuel injection system, 46 mm throttle bodies with ride-by-wire system
Transmission: Six-speed
Electronics: Four Riding Modes, Engine Brake Control, Quick Shift up/down, cruise control, full LED lighting system with Cornering lights, electronically adjustable windscreen, five-inch TFT dash, TPMS, heated hand grips, Moto Guzzi MIA Bluetooth connectivity.
Chassis: Tubular steel
Front suspension: Öhlins NIX Smart EC 2.0 semi-active 43 mm fork, fully adjustable; 130mm travel
Rear suspension: Öhlins TTX Smart EC 2.0 semi-active monoshock, fully adjustable; 130mm travel
Front brake: Dual Brembo four-piston calipers, 320 mm discs, Cornering ABS
Rear brake: Brembo two-piston caliper, 280 mm disc, Cornering ABS
Front tyre: Pirelli Angel GT II, 120/70R17
Rear tyre: Pirelli Angel GT II 190/55R17
Wheelbase: 1475mm
Seat height: 815mm
Fuel capacity: 17.5 litres
Wet weight: 232kg
Color: Verde (green and silver), Grigio Avanguardia (black, grey)
Price (Australia): TBA
