I confess that when the new Guzzi importer, Keith Davies of Three Cross Motorcycles suggested the Italian
state corporation might be buildinig a Spada powered trail bike. I could think
only of jaundice coloured dwarfs in black button tips peddling backWards for all
they were worth on BSA B39 look a likes. Happily, the reality of the TT650
is as far removed from that as Alfa bodywork is from new metal and, rather
ironically, the outstanding impression of Guzzi's first venture into the dual purpose
market is one of comparative modernity.
Still it takes a brave man to import such exotica and as Keith Davies was still
equivocating. South London maverick Vincent Marcello of Motomecca got in the
old Datsun pick-up and headed off for Sicily in search of new specimens. That's
the reason the bike is not cheap (£2800) as Vince has to fork out import duties
and car tax at Dover - but it's still cheaper than BM's R80 and frankly every
bit as competent.
The bike I rode was one Vince picked up only days before and, with the PDI still
to be executed, my test ride was limited to a morning's excursion. Having little
more trail knowledge than that tyres with knobbles on them are called
knobblies did not, however, prevent me from establishing that the bike handled
light and steered very quickly for a comparatively long wheelbase confection.
There is an overriding impression of leanness and compactness about the plot
that makes BMW's 80G/S feel unwieldy by comparison and, with dead neutral
steering and estimably grippy Pirelli trail tyres, it'd take an absolute moron
to fall off of this one.
Basic constituents of such a surprising delicacy are a traditional double cradle
frame (splitting a la Le Mans to allow engine removal) with alloy swingarm
extending straight from the end of the gearbox. This in turn is joined to the
top part of the frame by conventional Marzocchi remote shockers (adjustable for preload) which are matched at the sharp end by the same
manufacturer's enduro forks. Yes, the ride is hard, but never rough. I preferred it 100 per cent to the over-generous compliance of the BOG/S's suspension
The brakes, which are of course Brembo calipers and discs both fore and aft, had
something of a shock in store for me. Lunging for the front disc was rewarded by
trapped fingers and zero effect. Mecca hadn't set the thing up yet. But I
naturally assumed it was the negligible output of a single Guzzi disc and tut-tutted myself for forgetting the foot-operated linked
braking system. I spent the rest of the morning in London traffic placing only
with the fantastically sensitive rear unit only to find that when I returned to
Mecca to extoll it, the brakes were in fact not joined at all. This means the TT
is equipped with the best rear brake I have ever used or my sense of adventure
on trail bikes has degenerated from cautious to cowardly.
Perhaps the finest revelation, however, is the motor. A direct, untampered
liberation from the 650 Spadette in whose clothes it feels positively
agricultural, yet which in the new structure and augmented by its two-into-one
pipe feels so crisp, free and responsive you'd think it'd collected at least
another four
valves. Not so; this is the basic 48bhp two valves per cylinder unit with only
the aforementioned exhaust pipe to distinguish it from its predecessors: same
80X64mm basic architecture, same 10:1 size bang, same tiresome old contact
breaker sparklers and 30mm Dellorto carbs. Even overall gearing remains
unaltered from the tourer though the handbook's quote of 48bhp at 7400 for the
TT seems to make no significant difference over ex-importers Coburn & Hughes'
more optimistic claims of 52 horses at seven thou for the road bike. So why does
it feel like the standard flywheel's been replaced by a Fizzle's? Largely
because of the shrunken all up weight and the improved torque characteristics of
the exhaust which have bequeathed the TT an urge which feels almost Oriental.
It's the best of both worlds - short, laconic, exhaust note and good response
yet that same old loping relaxedness which has made Moto-Guzzis and BMW's the
sanctuary of natural earth bikers for decades. Fact is the factory's claim of a
106mph top speed seems uncharacteristically frank even a little cautious.
And when was the last time you saw a 650 Spada being wheeled?
The clutch, however, gives you little more help in
this respect. It's the same single dry plate arrangement that'd feel more
at home on a circus big dipper. Not in the Jota league or barbarism you
understand, or anything like it. But not for those who find the VF400F's
clutch demanding. Ditto the box, though there is nothing like the kickback
associated with the premature down-change on a big Beemer nor even the
general heavy metal sensation of the standard 650SP. And though metal (or
its heaviness and thickness) is not something the Eyeties are famous for, the finish
on the 650TT is almost good. Switchgear. once again, degenerates into tootie-frootieness, and nothing on the dashboard is exactly to be commended.
The thing that's holding Keith Davies back as a big
time importer is his perception of the market, and in that
sense the TT will always be idiosyncratic. Not even the Ténéré could claim a
large following, even with all the hype and marketing associated with competing
in the Paris Dakar. But if riding across Africa or wheeling into the city
every day are what you're into and, like me, you're neither an afficionado or
single cylinder trail bikes nor a devotee of the flat-twin, the Guzzi honestly
could be the answer. Necessity really is the mother all right......