Cheers Nick. I appreciate the comment. I hate editing video and if I have to do it I never end up doing it, so the simple way works best for me

I agree and have something similar before.

@@nathanthepostman Good review. I have ridden one just for an hour or so and you captured what I felt to a tee. Gearbox was nice, engine had that low down pull. Felt it ran out of steam a little and those warning lights as you get higher up the range were irritating. Didn't feel like 80bhp. Comfortable riding position. The front felt a little "dead" but I am not use to a big wheel up front. As you say feels like it wants to be loaded and go on an adventure. Nice finish on it.

Good question. Chalk and cheese in many ways but I guess they share similar values in terms of fairly basic technology, slight underdog status and on paper there being better bikes you could buy. The Guzzi though is obviously smoother, faster and bigger than the Himalayan. It'll be the better bike for long distance road touring but on a muddy back road or for green laning then obviously the Himalayan remains a much more manageable bet. Which is why I've kept it.

@@nathanthepostman cheers for the swift reply! Great to have the option of either bike depending on what you're doing. Plus you've got the posties for nipping to the shops... Or going across the world! 🌍

Odd to me how a bit of mesh makes a seat significantly more comfortable? but I value your opinion :-)

Yes I totally agree with you on that one. Condition is everything with a second hand one.

My thoughts on test riding a second hand bike is simply to make sure everything works as it should, agree with your thoughts about doing your research, commit Financially and learn to love it warts an all.

Cheers Bob. Yes the Caponord Rally mudguard sounds like it does the job with the mud prevention. I might invest in one.

Hi Ian. It's a fair comment but I'm not sure we're coming from the same place with regards a gear indicator. I'm not referring to it as an indicator to tell you when to change - you obviously do that based on everything you mentioned - it's more an indicator of the gear you're in, which sometimes is handy for when, as I say, you approach a roundabout for example, with the clutch pulled in and you just want to be able to glance down to check what gear you're in and therefore know whether you need to knock down or not. I have many bikes without a gear indicator. A bike doesn't need a gear indicator, but if it has one I'm not sure why it has to be as compromised as it is on the Guzzi and some of the other bikes out there.

@@nathanthepostman I was referring to the digital gear display telling you what gear you were in. Approaching a roundabout I'll just close the throttle and change down as speed decreases and accelerate away in whatever gear I'm in. The slower the lower the heat.

@@MillfieldWheels If that works for you and you always know what gear you're in that's great. If the gear indicator is there then sometimes I like to just glance down and check to make sure I'm in second not the third for example. Saves fluffing the pull away.

No still got the mighty Himalayan. It's the dirty work horse of the stable!

www.coolcovers.co.uk

Hi John. I must say that I was impressed by the general low speed behaviour of the bike. The fuelling is good - nice and smooth throttle input, and definitely no snatchiness. I am a clutch featherer though, but I think the bike will work well as a slow speed trail bike.

XLV750? They were Honda's mid-80s attempt at rivaling the R80GS, weren't they?

@@user-sw2lv3zp6o Not sure, but the engine afaik, is similar to the NTV650 which is known to be bullet proof, and it has shaft drive. There's an XLV on ebay with 95,000 miles on it, the prices are mad.

Oyley Hands Agreed - The stock bmw suspension is awful! Easily upgraded, though.

@@ChrisinHove But...when you buy a 12k plus on a bike should one have go and spend a few thousand more,I have had bikes much less expensive and the suspension has felt much better as standard.

Oyley Hands Agreed. I paid “only” 9k for mine, ex bmw staffer with 500 on the clock so felt a bit better about spending up on the suspension

www.coolcovers.co.uk is the name of the seat cover company. As for the sump guard, I've just had a better look at it and I get the feeling that it would take a good wallop but would look pretty battered afterwards. So it'll do the job, but just not as well as a proper aftermarket jobby.

I take your points for certain but ultimately we'll all have different perspectives. I rode the stelvio and it was fine but I didn't personally think it matched the latest GS in any real way. But people love them and if they prefer them then that's all that matters

@@nathanthepostman Yes, I agree with you that it won't match the latest GSes, but when it came out first was brilliant, and you have to consider its price too. Guzzi didn't give you all the gizmos of BMW like tele-lever or electronic suspension, but it gave you CARC and those Marzocchi forks did the job more than good enough in hands of capable riders. Mechanically, Stelvio was excellent, 32L fuel tank, not as massive as GS, most importantly anyone could ride and handle it. I am 182cm 78kg(not the smallest), but I can hardly move 850gs around let alone 1250. Still I believe that Guzzi don't get the credit(hype) they deserve. I particularly appreciate your review of this bike which is identical to what I think about it as an owner of one. People say that 80bhp/80Nm is not enough, but you can use all of the power and torque at will and at all times. For comparison, Honda's new CB650R makes 94bhp which is more, but you have to rev it hard and put yourself at risk just to get anywhere near the max hp.

Yeah I guess I could have looked at a 790 but there's just something about the style and image of ktm that puts me off buying one. Maybe a 1090 adv r but I'm just not keen on all the Ready to Race bollocks

Ha. Because I'm not a big fan of the multi coloured ones and it was a four month wait for the red one.

There is a great website that let's you compare the ergonomics of a lot of bikes. Shame not all bikes are on there though. See www.cycle-ergo.com

Ha. No dramas. The Tracer is still a great bike. I'd say lighter and peppier than the Guzzi. I rode one out to the Stelvio and back when they first come out. The screen gave me tinnitus but I liked the rest of the bike!

@@nathanthepostman Aha! I have a big touring screen so I should be okay!