One you won't want to pass
Classic Italian Styling
The Stelvio Pass is one of the worlds most iconic mountain pass roads. Located in the southern Tyrol mountains in northern Italy adjacent to the Swiss border, it’s a road that has to be ridden. It winds its way down the mountainside presenting the rider with no fewer than 48 bends. The only issue with riding it on a motorcycle is that you’ll need to stop at some point to refuel.
Now MotoGuzzi, a motorcycle brand long associated with a range of bikes named after the legendary pass, have delivered the first of the new 2024 Stelvio machines to dealers across Europe.
It looks the part, there’s no mistaking a MotoGuzzi for any other brand of bike. The design is classic Italian with its transverse mounted V-Twin engine and a pair of exhaust heads that ‘pour’ from either side of the block rather than from the front.
While the styling is new and sets it apart from the previous model, the shape is unmistakably a Stelvio.
It’s available in Savana Gold or a simple Volcano black. Both colours sound so much better in Italian, ‘Giallo Savana’ and ‘Nero Vulcano’ respectively. Moto Guzzi’s unique logo is proudly announced on the tank. Interestingly, this is located beneath the ‘Stelvio’ splash which follows the tanks lines to perfection.
Named for a brilliant road
The 115 bhp, 1,042cc, engine sits mounted in the tubular steel frame. An effortless line sweeps backwards from the heads down past the clutch leading to the drive shaft, all of which is mirrored by the angle of the adjustable shock and the taper of the rear footpeg hanger.
The pillion seat is followed by a luggage rack at just the perfect height to keep its lines just right as it shades the rear light cluster. Only the Italians could show such attention to detail when it comes to design.
Up the front the forks are fully adjustable giving the bike plenty of travel so that the bike doesn’t fail when getting off the breaks and onto the power as one exits one of those epic Stelvio corners. The adjustability also makes it easier and more comfortable to carry a pillion passenger as you do so.
Ready for the holidays!
The front profile is substantial. There’s a lot going on that looks really good. Those hand guards, a short, yet effective, electronically adjustable screen, a wide headlamp and neat indicators all sit above a broad shouldered radiator cover over the front silhouette of that iconic engine.
Behind the screen there’s a lot to play with. Making any mountain pass error so much more forgivable is the standard cornering ABS as well as traction control. There are no fewer than five riding modes including one for riding off road. All of them are selectable from the left hand switch gear and displayed on a colour TFT display. There is, of course, a USB port for charging the phone that can be connected via Bluetooth to the bike with the info displayed on the afore mentioned display.
All the bikes setup on display
The indicators, tail and head lamps are all LED units with the front one having that cool ‘bending lights’ thing that allows the bike to ‘look’ into the corner that it’s leaning into.
Everything sits on a pair of spoked wheels with their black rims. These have a distinct off road bias and style with the front being a 19” and the rear a 17”. The breaking system from the calipers back to the rider controlled settings are all by Brembo.
Meanwhile with a seat height of 830mm it’s never going to be intimidating to a wide range riders. The tank has a significant range with a 21 litre capacity.
You can confirm all of this by giving any of the team at Megabikes a call on 014784200 where prices start at €18,995 and booking a test ride.