Moto Guzzi Sport 1200

The 1151cc V-twin is genuinely addictive — that 90-degree transverse layout sends a rhythmic shake through the bars and pegs that no Japanese twin can fake, and the torque surge between 3,500 and 6,000 rpm is muscular enough to make you grin on a B-road even on a bad day. The Öhlins rear shock transformed what the older Sport 1100 was trying to be, and the Brembo radial setup bites hard with real feel — this is the first Guzzi Sport that actually stops as well as it goes. What it won't do is let you forget you're riding an Italian bike from 2006: the gearbox is notchy and stubborn cold, fueling from the ride-by-wire can surge annoyingly at parking-lot speeds, and at 229 kg that engine heat in summer traffic is genuinely punishing. I kept mine for two years and loved it three days a week, tolerated it on the fourth.

The revised fuel mapping on the Gen 2 genuinely cleaned up that notorious low-throttle snatch from the first iteration — it's not perfect, but town riding no longer feels like you're negotiating with a stubborn mule. Once you're past 4,000 rpm the big V-twin pulls with this chest-deep, mechanical honesty that no Japanese inline-four can replicate; it doesn't rev to the moon, it just torques you out of corners with authority. The suspension update softened the front end slightly, which suits the bike's sport-touring reality better than the razor-stiff first gen pretended to be — 229 kg wet means this is never flickable, and you'll feel every kilo in slow car park manoeuvres. Living with it means accepting the heat on your right leg in summer traffic, a gearbox that rewards patience over aggression, and a dealer network thin enough to make you nervous on long trips.