Place a FREE Video Ad Watch FREE Video Clips Reviews with Video
Bike dealers... www.bikepromotor.co.uk
Motorcycle Events
<December 2008>
MTWTFSS
24252627282930
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930311234

Add an Event

View Latest Events
Today
Listed events
Date selected
Guide to Buying & Selling a Bike
Brightona
UKBike on Facebook

Motorcycle Reviews

Motorcycles, motorbikes and scooters for sale. Find your next used bike Search for motorcycle reviews, read news and blog plus monthly columns, visit our forum, enter competitions, watch video clips, place a free advertisement

Back to models

All Moto Guzzi V50 Reviews
Moto Guzzi V50 500cc 80 (V)
Overall Rating:
Review
I would never be without a V50, even though I have other bikes. It combines classic style and sound with reliability, excellent handling and all round riding pleasure. Great for round town, it will also cover long distances quite adequately and if you change the oil every 1500 miles it will happily go round the clock as mine has. Unpretentious and not too tall and heavy either.
Submitted by
tigercub on 21/10/2008
This review has been shown 5485 times
Write a Review for Moto Guzzi V50
See ads for Moto Guzzi V50 for sale
Comfort

Handling

Braking

MPG

Running Costs

Reliability

Performance

Dream Appeal
Moto Guzzi V50 500cc 79 (T)
Overall Rating:
Review
Stunning bike, wish I'd never sold it! These are classics now, and there aren't many left around, especially in good nick, but they are worth seeking out. This bike is extremely good in some areas and extremely annoying in others, which makes a mix that you either love or hate - I loved mine.

Good - handling is superb. Never had a better-handling bike. The great thing is that the bike is fairly low-powered, so you aren't travelling at silly speeds, but the handling is so good that you can make really rapid progress, whatever the road. Just wind up to a decent cruising speed, then attack all the corners on the throttle. It's got a lot of low-down torque, so you can exit from a steeply-banked corner with just a twist of the right wrist, and it slingshots you off to the next bend. Brakes are phenomenal. They are linked in the standard set-up (right pedal operates rear brake and right front disc, right hand lever operates left front disc) and this provides powerful and very controlled braking. In normal circumstances, you only ever need to use the footbrake, which brings you up to a rapid halt. In an emergency, add the right lever and it stands on its nose. No good for a track bike, of course, but for a daily bike it's ideal. Some people seem to de-couple them, but I can't think why. Noise is beautiful, especially with aftermarket silencers - its a 90-deg twin, so the rumble is steady and deep. Riding position is fairly upright, but comfortable for a day's ride. Shaft drive too: no more sloppy gearchanges from a slack chain, all that messy chain-lube and stuff. The engine is put together with allen bolts (unlike most Jap bikes of the time, which used x-head screws made of recycled milk-bottle tops).

Bad - finish needs constant attention. Leave it unwashed for a week in winter and you can watch the rust spread. Carbs go out of adjustment very quickly and really need balancing every 1000 miles - a carb balancer is a worthwhile investment for V50 owners. As with all Italian bikes of the era, electrics are diabolical and need a lot of TLC if they are to function reliably.

I've never ridden one of the bigger Guzzis, but I imagine they will be a similar experience, only more so. However, they won't have one other advantage of the V50 - its size. Easily straddled by shortish people, very popular with women riders for that reason, very easy to get both feet firmly on the ground, small enough to sling around like a moped - it's the same physical size as the Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha 250s of the same period.

Just writing this has made me want to own and ride another. I've seen nothing but dogs on eBay, but when the right one comes along ...
Submitted by
Black Dog in Haverfordwest, Sir Benfro on 14/11/2006
This review has been shown 10852 times
Write a Review for Moto Guzzi V50
See ads for Moto Guzzi V50 for sale
Comfort

Handling

Braking

MPG

Running Costs

Reliability

Performance

Dream Appeal