Moto Guzzi V7 Stone | Summer Love Affair

After riding some incredibly powerful and high-tech motorcycles in 2024, I felt I needed a change of pace and a return to back to basics motorcycling. After spotting a Rosso Rovente Moto Guzzi V7 Stone gathering dust in a corner of the Salero Holdings warehouse, a deal was struck and I rode away on the Guzzi for the summer.

Why the Guzzi?

I’ll admit I felt a wee bit sorry for the little Moto Guzzi. Each time I visited the importer, it seemed like it had been somewhat forgotten, having spent the summer of 2023/24 touring the country with a prominent local influencer.

To my eye, it would make the perfect summer fling as I continue to try to work out what bike I will finally purchase to replace Rosie the Rally.

The V7 has a modest power output of 65hp, and after riding the 180hp Triumph Speed Triple RS, I thought stepping astride a more mellow machine for the summer would help keep my licence demerit points free. In retrospect, this was probably a very smart decision, with the Triumph always egging you on to unleash your naughty side, whereas the Guzzi is more than happy to just plod along and enjoy the scenery.

But that’s not the only reason I gravitated towards the Moto Guzzi. Long-time readers will be familiar with my feelings regarding the bikes Moto Guzzi builds, with a constant descriptor being “character”. You simply can’t ride a Guzzi and not think of it as a characterful bike and a true experience to ride. With modern machines becoming ever more refined, the way a Moto Guzzi feels is a curious delight as it rocks to the right on ignition and rumbles away beneath you.

A slight surprise

I had plenty of hopes for what I’d achieve during my time with the V7, with the Coromandel Loop, the often-fantasised moto camping mission, and general quiet rides to blow off steam on the weekends being top of the list. But then my wife came to me and uttered words I’d never really expected to hear: “I wouldn’t mind going on rides with you.” Consider me floored.

After a long drought of having a pillion (as often happens when you get married and have kids), I was quickly off browsing riding kit to sort the Boss out and ensure that if we were going to ride the Guzzi two-up, we’d be doing it as safely as possible.

A quick call to Tal at Motogear.co.nz saw an HJC Helmet and Resurgence Kevlar jeans on the courier, while on a visit to Triumph Motorcycles NZ, a leather jacket and boots caught her eye and found their way into the car. Wallet now sufficiently decimated, we were now ready to ride together for the first time in nearly a decade.

The experience

Now, riding the Guzzi is always an experience, be it cruising back roads or commuting to the office; it makes every ride an occasion, and that is something that is often lacking with modern motorcycles that have been refined almost to the point of being an appliance.

The summer riding season started close to home, with a visit over the hill to Hobbiton kicking off the experience (this may or may not have involved an excursion into a ditch as part of the ride...), which was then followed by filling the optional official panniers with gear and heading to the Coromandel Peninsula for the holiday period.

The bags on the V7 Stone might not be waterproof or rugged like I've come to expect from adventure bikes, but their style and simplicity made them a breeze for both overnight tours and popping down to the shops to gather supplies.

Fun fact: you can fit a 12-pack of beer in each pannier, along with a 10-pack of Coke cans, a punnet of mussels and a couple of bags of potato chips.

The V7 Stone is the base on which the V7 Special I rode a couple of years ago is based, and while I enjoyed the stylish V7 Special, I didn't connect with it like I did with the Stone. As I mentioned in my review, I found it odd that Guzzi opted for a halogen headlight and didn't fit the cool LED unit of the Stone to the higher-priced Special.

The mechanical features are identical between the two models, with the notable differences being the paint finish of the Stone being flat/matte paint, tubeless cast alloy wheels vs the spoked wheels of the Special, and a LCD dash unit instead of the Special's more traditional clocks.

I thought I'd dislike the dash unit, but once I got used to it, I wasn't really phased. A fuel gauge for the massive 21-litre fuel tank would be a welcome addition, though. I believe this has been added to the soon-to-arrive V7 Sport, which shares the same dash unit.

Ticking all the boxes

Being camped out at the base of the Coromandel Peninsula, it would have been criminal not to partake in a ride around the famous "Coro Loop" while I was on holiday. With my brother needing to tick it off his list as well, we saddled up the bikes and headed off.

Now, some bikes are quite an in-depth ride around the 300+ corners of the loop, but I think the V7 Stone offered one of the best experiences of the ride I've had to date.

It's 65hp V-twin has enough grunt to be entertaining, but not so much that you end up worrying about getting pulled over and slapped with a hefty fine. With my brother still getting to grips with riding his Triumph Scrambler 400 X at highway speeds, the mellow Guzzi was a great choice to lead him around the Coromandel.

While the V7 isn't what you'd call a dynamic motorcycle with its pretty basic suspension setup, it keeps pace well and is perfectly capable of providing a grin on your face in the twisties if you don't push it beyond its design limits.

Unfinished business

Unfortunately for me, when it became apparent to Moto Guzzi's NZ importer how many kms this particular V7 had under its wheels, I was asked to cut my planned summer of Guzzi'n short and return it, so I never quite got to fit that long dreamed of moto camping mission to the top of the Coromandel Peninsula.

This leaves the business somewhat unfinished for me with the V7. Not only was it an utter delight to have in the garage with its quintessential Moto Guzzi character, but it also started creating some core memories of time with my wife. With the bike yet to find a forever home, I'm seriously considering putting an offer in and finishing what we started in the summer of 2024.

Watch this space!