After what feels like years of teasing, Moto Guzzi finally lets loose of its all-new V85 TT Adventure into the V85 TT stable. This isn't exactly new territory for the manufacturer in Mandello, but the factory has kept its cards close to the vest up 'til now. We know it runs an all-new, purpose-built powerplant with some electronic ride-enhancement features and wireless connectivity so your bike networks through your smartphone. It comes in two varieties; a streetwise version for urban commutes and road trips, and a rally-style package that has more of an off-road bent for adventures off the beaten path along with its own graphics package and palette.

2019 Moto Guzzi V85 TT Adventure Design

The factory originally teased us with a concept that was simply named the “V85,” but it later added the “TT” to the name. Why TT? Well, it stands for tutto terreno, which translates to “all terrain,” and it's a fitting modifier for this machine. Maybe not so much for the base model that is clearly set up to favor adventures on the blacktop, but certainly for this rally bike.

No matter which variant you choose, the platform is the same, and they lead off with a high-mount fender reminiscent of the old NTX 650 line. It shuns the front fairing of the outgoing Stelvio, but instead carries a small flyscreen atop the paired headlights as the only rider protection. Truth be told, it really only protects the 4.3-inch, color TFT screen that contains the entirety of the instrumentation.

Short, standoff-style turn signals join the symmetrical headlight bulbs, and like the rest of the lighting, it uses LED technology. As a little lagniappe, the factory graced the “TT” with a DRL feature that borrows from the iconic “Mandello Eagle” badge for its layout. A short-rise handlebar joins a moderately deep seat and mid-mount foot controls to define a riders triangle that lets you adopt an upright riding posture, and also control the bike from a standing position for technical work.

The six-gallon fuel tank dominates the flyline and leaves the rider with knee pockets behind the shoulders that seek to fair off the jut of the jugs where they poke out on both sides of the engine area. Yeah, that's a lot of pusholine, but it shows the factory means business when it says this new ride is built to strike out into the wild yonder and is not the two-wheel equivalent of a soccer-mom's SUV.

Elaborate standoffs mount the passenger's footpegs and transfer their load directly to the swingarm pivot plates with a generous J.C. handle that turns into a little luggage rack around the back. The taillight rides tucked up out of harm's way with the typical hangy-downy mudguard/plateholder and short-standoff blinkers to complete the gear in the rear. The TT, in profile, blends in nicely with the rest of the adventure-bike field, but head on, there is no missing that distinctive engine layout.

2019 Moto Guzzi V85 TT Adventure Chassis

Sparse body panels leave little to the imagination, and while the steel bones are mostly visible, they're made inconspicuous by blackout treatment over black components. The rally-style bike has red frame members that contrast nicely against the dark innards and go with the Dakar-style palette quite nicely. A 28-degree steering head and five-inch trail make the TT track well with a 19-inch front wheel to help defeat light terrain, and a laced construction that has long-been favored by off-road riders. It's followed by a 17-inch rim, but the tire choice is dependent on the package; Metzeler Tourance on the streetwise base model, or Michelin Anakee Adventure tires on the rally bike, both models in a 110/80 and 150/70 on the front and rear respectively.

The suspension components also reflect a certain amount of capability with 6.7 inches of travel front and rear. A set of 41 mm, usd forks take care of business up front with a coil-over monoshock to dampen the motion of the yoke-style swingarm. Components at both ends rock adjustable rebound damping alongside adjustable spring preload, so you can count on being able to adjust for changes in load and environment.

The brake hardware comes off the top shelf with a pair of four-bore Brembo calipers that bite dual, 320 mm discs up front and a twin-piston anchor and 260 mm disc out back. A two-channel, Continental ABS feature comes stock to help you keep it under control, and it can be configured to monitor and protect the front wheel only or turned off altogether.

2019 Moto Guzzi V85 TT Adventure Drivetrain

Nothing says MG quite like a transverse-mount V-twin, and the V85 obliges with its purpose-built, air-cooled powerplant. The twin-valve heads rock a lightweight titanium intake poppet over an 84 mm bore and 77 mm stroke that add up to 853 cc total with a 10.5-to-1 compression ratio. This year, the engine cases carry more heft since they're used as a stress-bearing member, and they contain a pair of oil pumps to ensure positive delivery from the semi dry sump oil well; one for pressure and one for recovery. Plus, the well itself is set up so as to not diminish delivery in the corners.

Pistons, conrods and the crankshaft lost a combined total of 30-percent of their original weight to help the engine spool up faster, and make it safer to rev into the upper ranges. A single, 52 mm throttle body and ride-by-wire control manage the engine, and that turns loose a whole host of possibilities with a riding mode feature that bundles power delivery, traction control and ABS controls for a one-stop, rider-electronic shop. Oh yeah, and it comes with cruise control to boot, so you can count on your right meathook getting a break once in a while.

The riding modes come with three preset profile -- Road, Rain, and Off-Road -- with appropriate settings for those conditions, though I'm a little disappointed there's no rider-programmable profile. A dry clutch passes power to the six-speed transmission where it then heads to the rear wheel via shaft drive.

Power output measures in with 80 ponies at 7,750 rpm and 59 pounds o' grunt at an even five grand. As for the top speed, the metrics aren't in on that just yet, but at the end of the day, it isn't really a top-speed kind of bike. The V75 has an estimated top speed of 105 mph, so take that for what it's worth.

2019 Moto Guzzi V85 TT Adventure Pricing

We're looking at a Spring 2019 release, though you are welcome to go ahead and preorder one for a $2,000 deposit. The base model is expected to roll for $11,990 in gray and the rally-style Adventure variant will fetch $12,990 in yellow- or red-over-white with black trim.

2019 Moto Guzzi V85 TT Adventure Competitors

Moto Guzzi's entry is a fairly top-shelf ride for its mid-size engine, and I wanted to see how it would stack up against one of the Big Four, so I grabbed a V-Strom from Suzuki for my head-to-head.

The V-Strom carries itself with more of a standard configuration. A bird's beak fairing leads the way with backup from a full-length front fender, and it comes topped with a vented adjustable windshield that delivers more realistic protection for the pilot than the V85. The V-Strom also carries itself with a bit more grace in its lines that contrasts the kinda chunky, industrial look of the V85, but I'll leave it to you to decide which is better since it's entirely subjective at the end of the day.

At 5.3 gallons, the Suzuki falls a skosh short of the V85's camel hump, but that's still a respectable amount of gas by anyone's standards. The rwu stems also fall short with adjustable preload as the single tweak to the front end opposite preload and rebound damping out back, but Suzuki matches the V85's ABS feature even though it seems to be a one-setting-fits-all system with nothing in the way of adjustability.

Rider-aids seem to shake out roughly even since the V-Strom rocks an advanced traction control with a number of subsystems that stabilize the idle and help prevent stalls when you're coming out of the hole. Suzuki surrenders some cubeage to the MG with a total of 645 cc in a fore-and-aft V-twin, and it predictably turns in poorer numbers with 69 ponies and 50.9 pound-feet of torque on tap against 80/59.

Equally unsurprising is the price difference that sees the V-Strom 650XT roll for a base MSRP of $9,299. That's a significant discount in light of the V85TT's 12-to-13 K sticker, but if you're looking for an alternative to Japanese machines, the MG is a good place to start.

He Said

“The V-Strom is a lot of bike for the buck, but the extra power and superior suspension package makes the V85 worth the extra cheddar in my opinion. 'Course, I'm not trying to buy a new bike up against a restrictive budget, so there's that, but if we ignore the pricetag the MotoGuzzi is clearly the superior machine.”

She Said

My wife and fellow motorcycle writer, Allyn Hinton, says, “As the more on-road oriented version, the V85 TT has a larger windshield for long-distance travel in the pavement. The engine has the same displacement as that on the V9, but it's not the same inside. The V85 squeezes out 25 horsepower more than the V9 and styling-wise, the factory did what I think is a good job combining adventure-bike features with the classic look of '80s enduro bikes.”

2019 Moto Guzzi V85 TT Adventure Specifications

Further Reading

Suzuki V-Strom 650 / 650XT

See our review of the Suzuki V-Strom 650 / 650 XT.

Moto Guzzi Stelvio 1200 NTX

See our review of the Moto Guzzi Stelvio 1200 NTX

Moto Guzzi

Read more Moto Guzzi news.