2010 Moto Guzzi V7 Café Classic
First introduced: 2009
Claimed power: 49hp @ 6,800rpm
Top speed: 115mph (as tested)
Engine type: 744cc OHV air-cooled 90-degree V-twin
Weight (dry): 400lb (182kg)
Price: $8,990
MPG: 47mpg (avg.)

Around here, we spend enough time riding, working on and living with old motorcycles that we often forget what it’s like to ride new motorcycles. For the Classic Experience, we normally give readers an inside look at what it’s like to ride and live with old bikes.

But not this time. Instead, we thought it’d be fun to change things up a bit and share what it’s like to ride and live with a new, vintage-styled retro motorcycle, in this case the 2010 Moto Guzzi 7 Café Classic.

Our 2010 Moto Guzzi V7 Café Classic was delivered to the MC offices by John van Dam who operates a motorcycle shipping company called Van Dam Trucking (www.vandamtrucking.com). With fewer than 700 miles showing on the clock, it was definitely one of the newest bikes we’ve ever sampled, and as soon as John got it off the truck, all of the motorcycle-riding staff here took it for a quick spin around the block.

First impressions were highly favorable, and we all agreed the styling of the V7 Café Classic works even better in person than it does in photos. The bike’s balanced proportions and tastefully distributed chrome details work well with its weird/awesome “Solaris Green” paint, a flat-ish hue reminiscent of the green used on the original V7 Sport in 1971.

Chrome clip-ons (faithfully duplicating the original V7 Sport’s “swan neck” handlebars) and mirrors give the bike a low and purposeful look, and the bum-stop café-style seat fits the bill perfectly. Chrome spoked rims and upswept mufflers enforce the bike’s classic presence. It may be a new bike, but its simplicity and retro dressing make it feel familiar in the best possible way.

Remember when 750cc was big?
Getting familiar with our new ride, one of the first things we noticed was how lithe and light the Café seemed.

Though many of us around here get in ample riding time on larger touring bikes, there’s a pretty good collection of old-school standards in the parking lot on any given day, from editor Hall’s 1973 Yamaha TX650 to ad man Bob Legault’s 1984 Honda CB700 Nighthawk. Even so, the Café still felt lighter and shorter than many of them.