Triumph Bonneville 865 vs Moto Guzzi V7 750 I, Ultimate Owner’s Review

For the past year I’ve been doing an on-going series comparing my Triumph Bonneville 865 vs Moto Guzzi V7 750 I vs my Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 and today I’m finally going to tell you which one is the best mid-size retro motorcycle (for me).

I’m Adrian from YouMotorcycle. This is the ninth episode in the series. We’ve narrowed it down to either the Triumph Bonneville 865 or the Moto Guzzi V7 750, and today we’ll comparing these two motorcycles:

• In the city
• On the highway
• With reliability and maintenance
• And with dealer support and parts availability after a year of ownership.

How do they compare, and which one of these two retro motorcycles will I be keeping? Let’s find out!

Backstory

First, a quick back story in case you’re new to this series:

About a year ago I wanted to get a mid-size retro motorcycle to add to my garage. Of course, it would have been nice to just buy one of these motorcycles brand new, but that’s a lot of money, so I started thinking about the used market:

• Should I go with the established leader of the pack and get a used Triumph Bonneville 865?
• Should I try something much newer that came with a much cheaper initial price tag, and buy a used Royal Enfield Interceptor 650?
• Or should I embrace tradition and check out the Moto Guzzi V7 I, the only mid-size retro motorcycle still being made in Europe? Hmm.

I became obsessed with trying to get the best bang for my buck, and not wanting to make the wrong decision. So, for the price of buying just one of these motorcycles brand new, I bought all three of them used.

For each motorcycle I gave myself a maximum budget of $3,650 to spend.

That can cover the cost of the motorcycle, repairs, and if there is any money left over, some upgrades and modifications. By keeping all three motorcycles stuck with the same budget, we have a level playing field for comparison. These motorcycles may have all had different MSRPs when they brand new, but with a level price playing field, we can find out what the best we can get for our dollar is today.

At the end of the series, I’ll keep the best one for me, and sell the rest.

The first motorcycle to be sold was the the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650. I’ve already made a video and blog post comparing it to these two motorcycles. See below:

In summary, the Interceptor isn’t a bad motorcycle. It’s actually a pretty good motorcycle. But it falls short in performance, and the fit and finish, versus the V7 and the Bonneville.

Also, the used Interceptor cost me the most of the three used motorcycles. So even though it’s a good motorcycle, the value you get from buying a new or used Interceptor isn’t strong enough compared to the quality of motorcycle that you get when you buy a used Triumph or a used Moto Guzzi.

Enough with the backstory, let’s put the Bonneville 865 and V7 750 head to head, and see how they compare.

City Riding

What have these motorcycles been like to live with as inner-city commuter motorcycles? Let’s compare:

• What these motorcycles do right
• What they do wrong and
• What they do differently from one another.

I live in Toronto, a city of over 3,000,000 people, known for having some of the worst traffic in North America due to terrible infrastructure and even worse city planning.

Both the Moto Guzzi V7 750 I and the Triumph Bonneville 865 have been a little ray of sunshine as inner city commuters. They both offer upright ergonomics that will let you commute comfortably and see traffic ahead and all around you.

Pragmatism aside, let’s be honest, a lot of people are into retro motorcycles for the looks. Both these motorcycles turn heads everywhere they go.

Both Bonnevilles and V7s come in spoked wheel options and alloy wheel options, just like they did half a century ago. I’ve gone with the alloy wheel options because that means I don’t have to mess with tubes when doing my own tire changes, I can also patch any punctures on the side of the road too. There are other reasons too.

For example, the alloy wheel Bonnevilles have superior handling and other benefits over the spoked wheel Triumph Bonnevilles. More on that here:

The Bonneville 865 and V7 750 do the job of city riding well, but they do things differently, and they aren’t without their faults.

Neither motorcycle is liquid cooled. The V7 has jugs that stick out on the side to get some more air flow and the Bonneville has an oil cooler, but if you’re ever stuck in gridlocked bumper to bumper rush hour traffic on the Friday before a long weekend, you’re going to feel the heat coming from either of these motorcycles.

Is it a deal breaker, probably not, but it would be nice to have. It’s also worth pointing out that the new generation of Triumph Bonnevilles are now liquid cooled, and Moto Guzzi will likely be going this route in the near future as well. This video outlines the differences between air cooled and liquid cooled motorcycles:

Other than that, for day-to-day city riding, it’s difficult to find faults with either the Triumph or the Moto Guzzi.

It’s important to acknowledge that neither motorcycle comes equipped with the level of tech that newer motorcycles have. ABS would be nice to have on either one, but I’ve been riding for almost twenty years without it. I can wait a little while longer. Other increasingly common motorcycle tech like traction control, ride modes, and slipper clutches aren’t things that I’m interested in for the kind of riding I do in the city.

The real differences I see between these motorcycles aren’t in their capacity to get you around town, through traffic, to work and back and every day. They both do that really well. The difference between them is in how they do the work.

Everything about the Bonneville is very smooth, very linear, and very predictable. Picture a stuffy old British man drinking tea in your mind. It’s the motorcycle he’d prefer.

The V7 on the other hand is rougher, more agricultural, more brutish in it’s power delivery. If the Bonneville is the complacent tag along friend who’s just coming along for the ride, the V7 on the other hand is your bubbly Italian buddy who’s had two cappuchino’s before even leaving for work in the morning, and can’t wait to get into the thick of it.

Remember the stuffy old British man? Picture his son who would rather play rugby in a muddy field than sit at home drinking tea. It’s the motorcycle he’d prefer.

In terms of peak power, the Bonneville is, without a doubt, the more powerful of the two motorcycles, that’ll be important on the highway later, but here in the city, peak numbers don’t tell the story.

In the city, the Moto Guzzi doesn’t feel slow, if anything, because the V7 makes peak torque at just 2,800 rpm, compared to the Bonneville at 5,800 rpm, the V7 feels more perky, more spontaneous, and more caffeinated than the Triumph.

Whether or not it actually is faster, it feels faster, because the torque delivery is so quick.

Of course, we can’t talk about power and riding through a congested city without also mentioning weight. The Triumph Bonneville might make a lot more power, but it also weighs a lot more. It’s 495 lbs wet, compared the Moto Guzzi V7’s 395 wet weight. That makes the Bonneville a full 100 lbs, or 25% heavier than the V7. The Bonneville isn’t heavy, but it isn’t light either. You’ll feel the weight a bit when you’re riding around a parking lot in the city, and you’ll definitely feel it when you’re pushing your motorcycle around the garage.

If you plan on taking your girlfriend for a spin on the back seat often enough, you’ll find the Bonneville the more spacious of the two motorcycles. The Bonneville’s seat is about 2-3” longer than the V7’s. The Bonneville’s seat length, is the same as the length of the seat me and the missus do our two-up touring on. Size does matter, and a couple extra inches can make a huge difference in your relationship, when it comes down to seat size.

I’ll wrap up this section by saying that the V7 750 I just gives you a little bit more than the Bonneville 865 as an inner city warrior. With the V7 you get Brembo brakes, steel braided brake lines, and decent suspension. I didn’t say great suspension… but noticeably better than what the junky shocks and wooden brake feeling that you get from the Bonneville.

Overall, you’ll be happy riding either of these motorcycles in the city. I’d give the Bonneville a B- as an inner-city commuter, and the V7 gets a solid B.

Highway riding & touring

So the Moto Guzzi V7 750 is marginally better than the Triumph Bonneville 865 in the city, big deal. What happens when you take of these two motorcycles on the highway or out touring?

Well, that’s when the Bonneville’s 865cc starts to shine over the V7’s 744cc. The Bonneville makes 67 horsepower at 7,500 RPM, compared to the V7’s more cruiser-like 50 horsepower at 6,200 rpm.

Neither of these motorcycles are particularly fast, and given that they’re “naked” motorcycles, you can expect to get beaten up by the wind a lot on both.

If you did want to do some touring there are fly screens and even hard case mounts available for both motorcycles by companies like SW-Motech, Hepco & Becker, and others. I’d recommend a medium sized windscreen on either if you’re planning on doing frequent highway riding or touring.

Am I going to sell my BMW GS motorcycles and start touring on one of these motorcycles? Heck no! BUT, my friend Madeleine MISSRIDER has ridden her Bonneville 865 across North America. My friend Glenda has ridden her V7 750 across much of North America too. So you *can* do it, if you really want to.

The V7 will need to be pushed and it will leave you wanting a little more performance. On the other hand, the Bonneville by comparison is boringly compliant and leaves you wanting more character. At the end of the day, 67 horsepower compared to a 50 horsepower is a noticeable difference on the highway.

The Bonneville has another thing going for it too. If I’m touring far from home and I break down, I’m a lot more likely to find myself close to a Triumph dealer than I am to a Moto Guzzi dealer. Then again, this could be a moot point. We’ll talk about parts availability and wait times in a separate section a little later.

Before I wrap up this section, I just want to point out that the V7 might be down on power, but if you plan on taking a long motorcycle tour, you’ll be happy to know that the V7 uses shaft drive. On the Bonneville you may need to bring chain lube and tools to adjust your chain with your on your road trip. On the V7 you won’t need to worry about your final drive, so that’s something to consider.

For highway and touring, the Bonneville gets a C+. The V7 gets a C.

Reliability and Maintenance

So, what’s reliability like with these things? Once I got both motorcycles set up properly, there were only a couple minor issues to report.

The V7 was purchased as a theft recovery motorcycle so it got a lot of love upfront due to the condition it was in when I got it. Since then though, it’s been great.

I have a few videos showing you guys the work we did to bring this V7 from looking like it was stolen by a crackhead, to actually looking respectable again. Here’s the most recent one:

BUT, Carlo at Moto Motori pointed out that I’m already out of adjustment room on my clutch cable, so I’ll need to order a new one soon. I think Moto Guzzi V7 I’s have a reputation for going through clutch cables, but with only about 9,000 miles or 14,000 km on the motorcycle, it’s still disappointing.

If this motorcycle wins my Best Mid-Size Retro Motorcycle (for me) series, I’ll order a clutch cable for it right away, because, well, we’ll talk about Moto Guzzi parts availability soon enough.

As for the Triumph, there were some minor setup pains to get through:

First, the previous owner had a shop install a very uncomfortable aftermarket handlebar and I needed to try a bunch of different risers until I found something that worked for me.

That’s not the motorcycle’s fault, but I’m pointing this out because swapping handlebars is normally an easy thing. Right? Not so fast! On this generation of Bonneville, the switchgear are designed to fit into pre-made notches on the handlebar. If you want to change the handlebars you’ll either need to buy handlebars specifically made for this motorcycle, or, you’ll have to measure everything out perfectly, and than drill the notches into the handlebar that the switchgear needs to fit into. It’s stupid and overly complicates what’s otherwise an easy job. If you ever meet someone who works at Triumph, ask them why they hate us.

Second, the previous owner was a high school teacher who had his school’s auto shop teacher do the last oil change on the motorcycle. I have a video on how to change oil on a Triumph Bonneville 865 where I show you Triumph’s factory service manual and we follow the steps in the book in the video. Apparently this guy never watched my video. As soon as I took the Bonneville on the highway, I knew right away something was wrong. The bike was lacking power. I rode straight home, checked the oil level, and found 600 ml too much oil in there. I took it out, went back on the highway, and everything was perfect after that. Moral of the story: high school teachers will never stop trying to ruin your life.

Everything was fine… until the Bonneville started to develop this intermittent issue where sometimes it just didn’t want to start. I checked the voltage and load tested my battery. Here’s a video on how to do that:

Everything on the Bonneville tested fine so I bought it to Powersports TO, my local Triumph dealer. Ogi the tech came out and wiggled my clutch safety switch a little bit. He explained that sometimes they get loose, and ever since Ogi’s magic touch that problem has never come back. Thank you, Ogi!

So, now that we’ve addressed any past and upcoming issues, how has maintenance been?

Where maintenance is concerned, both of these motorcycles have been really easy to deal with, but, they each have their quirks.

For example, the Moto Guzzi filler cap is shaped oddly. You can either use a wrench and maybe scratch it, or you can spend $20 for a tool that’s only purpose is to take your oil cap off. Are you kidding me?

Triumph saw that stupid design, and said “I can do you one better, hold my beer, mate!” And that’s the day they invented these screws that go under your seat, way deep under your seat, so that you need to carry an allen key with you everywhere you go, just in case you need to remove your seat to access your battery on the side of the road one day.

Now, there’s supposed to be an allen key under this side cover, so, you would need to have a coin in your pocket, to take out this screw, to take off your side cover, to take out your allen key, to take out two screws, to take off your seat, to access your battery.

Again, if you ever meet someone who works at Triumph, please ask them why they hate us.

Also, please leave me a comment and let me know why you think both Triumph and Moto Guzzi have overcomplicated really simple things like oil filler caps, needing to pre-drill new handlebars, and making accessing your motorcycle battery a six step process. I have my own crazy conspiracy theories for why they do this (cough, cough, money), but I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Anyway, to the V7’s credit, you get shaft drive, as previously mentioned, so you only need to service it once every two years. That’s a lot better than having to clean, lubricate, and adjust a chain like you do on the Bonneville.

For the people who want to do their valves themselves, the Bonneville isn’t tricky or anything, except for maybe getting the gasket in place when you’re done. On the V7, you don’t even need to lift the tank, everything just sticks and is easily accessible.

Other than that, both motorcycles are easy to work on. What you see is what you get. Both can be equipped with an optional OEM or aftermarket center stand.

The Bonneville gets a B+ in reliability and maintenance, V7 gets an A- because like the Bonnie it’s simple, straightforward, and mostly just works, but you also get the added benefit of low maintenance shaft drive. The V7 is overall easier to work with… You just might have to replace a clutch cable sooner than you’d hope.

Dealer support and parts availability

Two of the thing motorcyclists worry most about with non-Japanese brands are dealer support and parts availability. Where are you going to get this thing serviced, and how long will it take to get parts for it?

I’m super lucky. I can drive to either my Triumph dealer or my Moto Guzzi dealer within 15 minutes, and if either were to close, my next nearest Triumph and Moto Guzzi dealers are within a 45 minute drive. However, many readers and viewers have left me comments telling me that your nearest dealerships for either brand are in the next state over. It’s important to look around and see what dealer support is like where you live.

Now let’s deep dive into parts, parts pricing, and parts wait times.

I had to wait months, to get certain parts for my Moto Guzzi, but these were things that typically are never replaced over the life of a motorcycle. They needed to be replaced due to the fact that my Moto Guzzi may have been a theft recovery, and not parts that needed replacing due to normal use.

Rather than focus on that, I made a list of 5 of the most commonly replaced OEM motorcycle parts. If you’ve been riding motorcycles for a while, odds are you’ve had to replace a handlebar, a brake lever, a clutch lever, a clutch cable, or a shift lever at some point.

I looked up the part numbers for all five of these, for both Triumph and Moto Guzzi, and then called my dealers and asked them about their availability and prices, here’s what I found:

The Bonneville handlebar is $171 US, compared to the V7 at $83 US. That’s insane. But the Triumph one comes pre-drilled with those holes I mentioned earlier, whereas the Moto Guzzi bar needs none. I can get my Triumph handlebar in one week, versus about 10 days from Moto Guzzi.

The Triumph brake lever is $63 US, compared to the V7’s $20, because again, Triumph has made it more complicated. The Triumph brake lever, is adjustable, the Moto Guzzi leaver isn’t. I have big hands so I really like adjustable levers, but I’m not crazy about having to pay three times more for a lever. The Triumph part is available in one week, the Guzzi lever is in stock at my dealership, and I could buy it today.

Similarly, the adjustable Triumph clutch lever, $67 US compared to the non-adjustable Guzzi at $54. I have no idea why the Guzzi clutch lever is more than twice the price of the Guzzi brake lever, but sure, whatever. Looking at 7 days for the Triumph part and 10 days for the Moto Guzzi equivalent.

The Triumph clutch cable is once again more expensive, $43 US vs $20 for the Moto Guzzi part. I don’t know what you’re getting extra for twice the price, other than the bag the cable comes in has a Triumph logo on it. Wait times are pretty similar. Maybe the Guzzi part is too cheap and that’s why mine is wearing out after 9,000 miles.

Lastly the Triumph shift lever, is finally the first part Triumph wins at. $119 US for the Triumph part vs $164 for the Guzzi part, and a one week wait for the Triumph part vs almost a month wait for the Guzzi.

In total we’re looking at about $462 for all five of these parts from Triumph, vs about $341 for the same parts from Moto Guzzi. On average, Triumph parts are 35% more expensive. In wait time we’re looking at a 7 day wait for every single Triumph part, versus a 10 or 11 day wait for the average Guzzi part.

I’m going to give both of these motorcycles a B- for dealer support and parts availability and pricing. Remember that this is a really subjective grade because I happen to have two great dealers closeby. You should check around and see what the dealers are like near you before you buy either motorcycle.

What is the best mid-size retro motorcycle?

Ok, this is what we’ve been waiting almost a year to figure out. What is the best mid-size retro motorcycle, that we can get, for $3,650 US?

It’s the Triumph Bonneville 865.

It looks great, the finish quality is top notch, it’s great in the city, it makes enough power on the highway, it’s very versatile, there’s a ton of aftermarket parts you can get for it, it gets looks everywhere it goes, and it’s the fastest of the trio. Sure, it has absolutely no personality compared to the V7, and the rear suspension feels like it was made from melted down bobby pins, but it’s fuel injected, simple, reliable, with no unnecessary tech, and most importantly, it does pretty much whatever you ask it to…

It is the best mid-size motorcycle in the series, but I’m getting rid of it. I don’t want it. I’m not keeping it.

Because from the very first episode of the series, almost a year ago, I said I wanted the best mid-size retro motorcycle, for me. The Triumph Bonneville might be the best mid-size retro motorcycle of the three, but the best one for me is the Moto Guzzi V7 750.

The Bonneville is a better motorcycle in a lot of ways that matter to me. Like, I do a lot of riding with a passenger, so I’ll miss the longer seat. Your passenger will have a better experience on the Bonneville than the V7.

The Bonneville is the better highway motorcycle too. But if I’m thinking about what’s best for me, I don’t need my retro motorcycle for two-up duties, highway duties, or touring duties. I have my BMW GS motorcycles which are way better at all of those.

But the V7 in the city, compared to the Bonneville, is more fun by leaps and bounds.

The suspension is already better to start, and we can make it even more better considering I spent so little on the used V7, I still have money left to spend.

The Bonneville looks like a classic, but compared to my V7, the Bonneville is a classic that everyone’s already seen a thousand times.

The Bonneville leans heavily on it’s heritage while quietly ignoring that it’s made in Thailand.

The V7 is still made in Italy in the same factory that it was made in half a century ago, and if you want to tour that factory, my next series will be my ride across Italy where I visit the factory and I’ll take you through the Moto Guzzi museum.

My goal with the series was never to tell you what you should or shouldn’t buy. My goal with the series was to show you the reality of being an owner of all three motorcycles. Because I think when people just review one motorcycle without owning it they don’t get the full picture. But I also think that when people own a motorcycle and review it, they tend to have a really biased view in favor of what they’re financially, emotionally, and ego invested in.

So my goal with this series was to try to share the reality of owning all three motorcycles: the good and the bad. I wanted to keep it as real with you guys as absolutely possible. I know that my honesty and directness can rub some people the wrong way. I hope you guys understand that it was never about saying that your motorcycle is bad or your motorcycle is good, it’s about providing as many observations and insights as I can to the world, to try to help people make whatever informed decision is right for them.

Because at the end of the day the V7 750 might not be the best mid-size retro motorcycle for you, it’s just the best mid-size retro motorcycle, for me.

I’m Adrian from YouMotorcycle, I make videos that help motorcyclists. My sincerest thank you to everyone who watched this series and came along this adventure with me, thank you for coming along for this ride. You guys left me over 1,100 comments, where you shared your opinions, your feedback, and you taught me things. I’ve read all of your comments and I’m still working through replying to everyone. You hit that Like button over 5,500 times which I really appreciate that feedback and support from you guys.

I’ve been making motorcycle content online since 2009, you guys’ support has  made this probably the coolest thing I’ve ever done online with motorcycles in these 15 years. Thank you so much.

As always, ride safe, but have fun! PEACE!