It's official: I am now the happy owner of a 2011 Guzzi Stelvio 1200 NTX, which will take me wherever I want to go for the next 20 odd years or so. What a bike! Any other stelvisti out there?

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HansP

Minutes of a Motorcycle Addict
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Looks one stunning machine

What a fantastic beautiful bike you got there.
Congratulation mate.

Niklas

A nice looking bike and congratulations for not choosing one of the usual suspects. No reason it should not last you the next 20 years, my R80GS, yes one of the ususal suspects, is 20 this year and has taken me to many places, is still getting me to work every day and I hope will go further still.

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You can be too careful

I've had a 1200 Sport for the last 2 years and love the engine. Mine is the old 2 valve lump. There were issues with the cams on the first of the 4 valve engines but yours should be good as a 2011 bike. Although date of manufacture is a better guide, mine was almost a year old when I registered it. It's worth asking your dealer though.

Modern Guzzis are pretty reliable and beautiful things to ride. The gearbox on mine is the sweetest I've ever had and the CARC shaft drive is perfect. I don't notice it's there, no clunks or snatching at all.

What size tank is on yours? The 2011 model should have a 31 litre tank, the previous model had only 18 litres. My Sport has a very useful 23 litre tank which gives me around 230-250 mile range.

There's lots of good info on Guzzitech.com

Guzzis in general have water ingress issues with the speedo sender. The first thing you should do is pack the rubber boot with silicon grease. I did and haven't had any issues.

One major pain with owning a Guzzi though is the spares availability. It takes at least 2 weeks to get anything that your dealer has not got in stock. You can forget August as well as the factory is closed for the whole month! A guy on 1200sport.com has had his 4v in the dealers for 8 weeks awaiting parts for the cam upgrade. He's ended up buying another bike for the summer!!

Don't let this put you off though as they're a great bikes to own. Lots of noise and smiles

Thanks

I've had Guzzis for several years and have a few of them in my garage, so the 2011 was a natural choice for me, to be honest. This is the newest Quattro Valvole engine and 32 l tank. I just love the pull in that amazing engine. I've never had problems with spares supplies and get my orders instantly or - at the lates - within four days.

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HansP

Minutes of a Motorcycle Addict
Learn how to travel in Norway the inexpensive way!
Your Guide to Winter Motorcycle Riding!

Hi Hans, you obviously know a lot more about Guzzis than me as this is my first. The upgraded Stelvio is the bike the earlier one should have been. It's a good replacement for my Sport when I'm ready to swap. That's if I can reach the ground, how tall is it? The reach often depends on how the seat is shaped and I guess I'll have to go and sit on one to tell.

You're lucky with your spares supply, things don't seem to get here that quick from Italy.

I look forward to seeing some pics of the Stelvio against your lovely scenery.

Not sure about the seat height. I'm not of the tallest, 178, but seat heights have never bothered me. I don't think the Stelvio is particularly high.

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HansP

Minutes of a Motorcycle Addict
Learn how to travel in Norway the inexpensive way!
Your Guide to Winter Motorcycle Riding!

I had a 2007 California Vintage for three years. Bits fell off (an indicator, the panniers locks), bits broke (relays), the dealer's idea of customer service was crap (wouldn't chase Italy for parts delivery)and parts supply from Italy was abysmal (10 months for a mudguard, 6 months for a tacho). Guzzi owners are very loyal to the brand and appear able to put up with this, I couldn't buy into this although when it ran it was a joy.