Moto Guzzi V7 Sport with real brakes! Test 2025

Meeting the Euro5+ standard has only brought good things to the air-cooled 850 V7 engine. The engine, which has always been a joy thanks to its archaic character, has become noticeably better precisely in the range between 3000 and 4000 rpm. Previously there was a slight torque and power dip there, now it's gone. Moto Guzzi's dyno charts show a plus of up to 20 percent more torque in this range, and the power curve pulls right along with it. In practice, this means the engine, which revs up without a hitch from 2000 rpm, is always fully on the boil across the entire rev range. The gained peak output of two hp, now 67 hp, is nice, but certainly worth less than the reinforcement of the mid-range, where the 2-valve engine is predominantly used anyway. The name "Sport" certainly has its justification, but whoever buys a V7 to smoke everybody hasn't quite grasped the nature of the bike and needs a stable psyche. Cruising through town and country, enjoying the popping, grunty engine, and now and then giving in to sporty greed — that works really well on the V7 with the new engine tuning, but leaving your buddies in the dust on your local track is still tricky.

To briefly touch on the technical changes to the engine: new camshaft timing, revised piston cooling, new airbox, new exhaust, new engine management including electronic throttle. The latter enabled cruise control, which is now standard on all new V7 models. For the Stone and Classic there are two riding modes (Poggia, Strada) and a traction control that can be switched off; the V7 Sport, which has a 6-axis IMU, additionally gets a Sport mode (which, in my opinion, didn't differ in responsiveness from "Strada", but is characterized by a later intervention of the traction control) and cornering ABS. Combined with the new 320mm dual disc brake with radially mounted four-piston Brembo caliper and the 41mm USD fork, one can speak of a massive increase in braking performance. The pressure point at the lever still isn't crystal clear, but bite and modulation of the brakes are now at a sportingly high level, giving the "Sport" the option of a sharper, more combative line at corner entry than the Stone and Special, which still have to make do with the single-disc brake. Personally, the not exactly breathtaking brake performance of the V7 never bothered me in the past (I always got along very well with it), but the dual disc of the Sport is of course a clear improvement and increases riding pleasure, provided one can't quite deny a competitive gene.

All the changes Moto Guzzi has given the V7 for the 2025 model year can be called a great success. There is, however, a small drop of bitterness: the Special has lost its classic clocks and is now also fitted with the round LCD instrument.

Personally, I would have gone the opposite way and given the Sport analog clocks too, or at least a nice big speedometer with real needles. The rev counter isn't quite as important, since the new engine, as described above, works great across the entire range. All in all, one can sincerely congratulate Moto Guzzi on the new V7 lineup. I wouldn't have expected Euro5+ to have such a positive effect.