I teetered on the brink of the ubiquitous BMW 1200GS, the only thing putting me off the BM was really how common they are, on my commute I must see half a dozen. Changing from my Suzuki SV1000S to this has been brilliant, just what I wanted.
The Suzuki was a good bike, versatile, powerful and reliable, but I have become increasingly tired of chain drive. I cover 1400 miles a month and maintaining a chain drive had become a tedious chore, particularly as the SV had no centre stand and I do not have a garage.
The Guzzi has been a delight, softer sprung with a lovely comfy seat to pamper my ageing arse cheeks, easy handling, decent fuel economy and a whacking great tank too. I'm a big fan of v-twins but perhaps one of the few complaints I had was that this one sounded a little asthmatic - a Quill exhaust has remedied that and it now makes a beautiful deep burble.
I did have a couple of oil leaks from the rocker covers, but thanks to the nature of the engine these are supremely easy to fix.
All in all, I believe this is a much overlooked bike. People to often plump for the lumpen (or just plain ugly) GS when there is a svelte Italian just begging to be ridden.
