I’m searching for superlatives to use for the Moto Guzzi V100S Mandello. Taut, sharp and precise come readily to mind. For nouns, scalpel, blade, and knife all seem clichéd but do fit the motorcycle.
Evolution, next generation, and perhaps even radical refinement have to be in the article too. They all fit the Moto Guzzi V100S Mandello, and if you are waiting for a “but” to follow that sentence, I haven’t got one.
If only it hadn’t rained.
Moto Guzzi V100S Mandello
I’m at Spyder Motorcycles near Silverstone, talking with the ever-helpful Lizzi and Mark, who run the Piaggio Press Fleet. The Moto Guzzi V100S Mandello looks like it has just come out of the factory. In fact, it looks better than that – It is spotless.
I can’t help but start examining the exquisite overall finish and the delightful design touches that adorn the motorcycle. The end of the brake pedal, for example, is on a concentric cam, so you can position it to meet your exact requirements.
Not that the ergonomics of the Mandello S need much fettling. I easily folded my six-foot frame onto the bike and felt comfortable. The foot pegs are slightly to the rear, and the curve of the bars comes gently towards me.
The seat is almost perfect, and at 815mm seat height and with a sculpted waist (the bike, not me), everything comes together to make this a comfortable place to spend hours on end.
Even the hand grips are a beautiful diameter and help relax your forearms. No need to tighten your hands around narrow spindles. The grips let your hands relax while allowing you accurate control.
2023 Moto Guzzi V100S Mandello
- 1042CC V-Twin – 115 BHP – 104 Nm
- 238 Kg – 815mm Seat Height
- 320mm Twin Disks with 4-Pot Brembo Calipers
- 280mm Disk with 2-Pot Brembo Caliper
- Semi-Active 43mm Öhlins Smart EC2.0 forks
- Semi-Active Öhlins TTX Smart EC2.0 monoshock
- 120/70R17 Front Tyre
- 190/55R17 Rear Tyre
The Engine
The engine in the Moto Guzzi V100S is sideways. Most motorcycles have the crank running across the frame, but Moto Guzzi runs the crank front to rear. Consequently, the V design has the cylinders protruding left and right, rather than tucked away underneath the tank, as they are on my Multistrada or flat and pointing out the side as they are on a BMW GS.
Packaging a V-Twin the Moto Guzzi way makes perfect sense. Neat, compact, and inspired. Checking the valve clearances, for example, doesn’t start with dismantling half the bike to get to the relevant parts of the engine.
The clutch is at the back of the engine block on the Moto Guzzi, in front of the rear shock. The V100S Mandello engine may look like a traditional Moto Guzzi engine, but there are a lot of internal changes.
The fuel injection system now sits under the tank, between the V of the cylinders and the exhausts exit at the bottom of the cylinder heads rather than to the front.
The cylinder head is the first time Moto Guzzi has used four valves per cylinder rather than their traditional two. Many of the engine’s internal components are the same as those found in Aprilia motorcycles.
The result is a Euro 5 compliant, smooth, well-mapped, liquid-cooled 1042cc, four valves per head, 90° V-twin engine, producing 115BHP and 77 ft-lb (104 Nm) of torque.
The gearbox has also improved over some Moto Guzzi models I’ve ridden. Older Guzzi gearboxes could be described as characterful or perhaps agricultural, but the V100S gearbox has evolved.
You still need to be positive with the much-improved gearbox, and the quick shifter is a welcome addition, but the QS has a sweet spot within which it works well. It can be harsh outside of the sweet spot, but it gets the job done.
One thing that hasn’t changed is the Moto Guzzi shimmy when you start the bike. Part of me wants to believe that the engineers at the factory programmed the shimmy into the start-up process, as it only happens once and at the very end of the start-up process.
Press the start button; the motor spins, the fuel flows, and the RPM gauge rises. And then, finally, comes the shimmy to remind you that you haven’t chosen another generic V-twin. You’re riding a Moto Guzzi.
The Chassis
Sadly, thanks to the weather, all I can say about the brakes is that they had a good amount of feel, but given the conditions, I wasn’t going to start testing the outer limits of their performance. They are progressive, and there isn’t a learning curve to using them effectively.
The moveable aero – aka the Wings – didn’t do a lot for me. You can configure the speed at which they deploy, and in rain mode, the V100S I was riding was set to deploy them on start-up. They are designed to push the air outwards and around your waist. I can’t say I noticed any significant difference when I put the V100S in sports mode and the wings retracted.
As they automatically deploy in rain mode, I wonder if part of the concept isn’t that they keep the rain away from the natural pooling area where you, the tank and the seat meet. My Oxford Mondial textiles are so knackered that it is hard to judge if this was the intention, as I was already wet.
The electrically adjustable screen may be small but punches way above its weight for effectiveness. One of the benefits of riding in the rain was the ability to feel the difference the screen made.
As it is relatively short, there isn’t any helmet buffeting, even in its highest position. Lower the screen, and there was a sudden and noticeable increase in the volume of rain hitting my torso.
Thinking more cheerfully, when the temperature rises, you are assured of a cooling airflow hitting your body.
But the most delightful part of the V100S Mandello is the chassis itself. It is a work of absolute genius that exploits the (take a deep breath) semi-active, fully adjustable Ø43 mm USD Öhlins Smart EC2.0 forks and the Öhlins TTX Smart EC2.0 mono-shock rear suspension to the full.
The chassis is wonderfully responsive, adjusting to every hint of a desire to change line or reposition on the road. You don’t so much corner on the V100S as suggest that the motorcycle might want to corner and then relax and enjoy the experience.
The Bloody Weather
The back roads around Towcester aren’t in the best condition. Add in the rain, tractors coming from fields with mud in their tyres and more than a couple of horses, and I wasn’t going to try any B road scratching, which was disappointing.
If possible, the handling of the V100S Mandello was almost too sharp for the conditions. On dry roads and smooth tarmac, the Moto Guzzi V100S Mandello would come alive and deliver every Italian delight imaginable. On a grotty backroad in rain-soaked England … not so much.
If any of the electronics were saving me from an expensive mistake, I never noticed them intruding. An Aprilia-based IMU system gives cornering ABS and Traction Control. As expected with these systems, there is a ride-by-wire throttle and cruise control.
Finishing Touches
Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but the photos don’t do the Mandello justice. It is a beautiful motorcycle.
All the lighting is LED with the IMU enabling cornering lights. There is the usual array of rider modes, a full-colour TFT display, TPMS (Tyre pressure monitoring system), and heated grips on the V100S as it comes out of the factory.
Prices start at £13,500 for the V100, with the V100S coming in at 15,750. In between them is the limited edition V100 Aviazione Navale at £15,750.
The accessories catalogue offers a centre stand and a heated comfort seat, although how Moto Guzzi improves on the standard seat is slightly lost on me; luggage rack, a touring screen, engine bars and side cases (panniers) that blend with the overall design of the V100.
EvoTech makes an array of additional accessories, including a radiator guard, which, given British roads, is the first thing I’d fit.
Bottom Line
The Moto Guzzi V100S Mandello might be £2,250 more expensive than the standard V100, but it is worth every penny. Add on the panniers and the EvoTech radiator guard, and you are good to go.
A sports tourer in the true sense of the words, the V100S is for riders who are making a considered choice rather than just following the crowd. Just ask Ewan.
