2010 Moto Guzzi V7 Café Classic

By Motorcycle Classics Editors
Published on August 20, 2010
1 / 8
We love the Guzzi’s Solaris Green paint, which reminds us of the original 1971 V7 Sport.
We love the Guzzi’s Solaris Green paint, which reminds us of the original 1971 V7 Sport.
2 / 8
We found the little Guzzi a lovely tool for town and city riding and roads where you rarely get about 45mph anyway.
We found the little Guzzi a lovely tool for town and city riding and roads where you rarely get about 45mph anyway.
3 / 8
A bevy of stickers adorn the lovely fuel tank (one each at the front and rear and another above each cylinder head), just begging to be removed. The engine is much quieter than Guzzis of yore, but like all transverse-mounted Guzzi V-twins it displays a decided left-to-right twist when revving it at a stop.
A bevy of stickers adorn the lovely fuel tank (one each at the front and rear and another above each cylinder head), just begging to be removed. The engine is much quieter than Guzzis of yore, but like all transverse-mounted Guzzi V-twins it displays a decided left-to-right twist when revving it at a stop.
4 / 8
The V7 Café Classic impressed us with its broad power band and precise handling.
The V7 Café Classic impressed us with its broad power band and precise handling.
5 / 8
6 / 8
7 / 8
Two-lane back country roads are the Guzzi’s favorite, where it’s easy to get the most out of its torquey V-twin and short chassis.
Two-lane back country roads are the Guzzi’s favorite, where it’s easy to get the most out of its torquey V-twin and short chassis.
8 / 8
The engine is much quieter than Guzzis of yore, but like all transverse-mounted Guzzi V-twins it displays a decided left-to-right twist when revving it at a stop.
The engine is much quieter than Guzzis of yore, but like all transverse-mounted Guzzi V-twins it displays a decided left-to-right twist when revving it at a stop.

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.

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