CarBrandLogos archive · Moto Guzzi · 2019

Moto GuzziMoto Guzzi V85 TT

A shaft-drive adventure bike leaning hard on Guzzi's Paris-Dakar decade.

Photo: Limorias · CC BY-SA 4.0

The story

A defining chapter in Moto Guzzi history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Moto Guzzi V85 TT, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

Guzzi's adventure bike references a specific past. The company ran modified V65 twins in the Paris-Dakar Rally in the mid-1980s, and the V85 TT of 2019 borrows their red, yellow and white livery, their high front mudguard and their general stance without pretending to be a serious off-road machine.

Moto Guzzi V 85 TT engine - PIXNIO · bicanski · CC0

Design and engineering

Mechanically it was the most significant thing Mandello had done in years: an all-new 853cc air-cooled 90-degree V-twin, still two valves per cylinder and still shaft drive, but with a revised head layout and modern electronics. It is lighter and more efficient than the engine it replaced, and it has since gone on to power several other models in the range.

Moto Guzzi V85TT-rosso · Svaynopedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

In production

The appeal is not outright capability. Against a BMW GS or a KTM the V85 TT gives away power and suspension travel. What it offers instead is the character of the engine, a relaxed riding position, and a final drive that needs no attention. It replaced the Stelvio and has been Guzzi's volume model for most of its life.

At a glance