I’m looking for a replacement for my trophy 1200/4 and had narrowed in on moto guzzi’s V7 850 stone, trouble is I couldn’t get info on the total weight permissible. I want a bike capable of carrying a decent camping load and pillion. So I took the royal enfield meteor 350 out to a guzzi dealer. It was a fun ride out on the meteor around the back lanes. I’ve been getting used to it again over the last few days as I’d been using the trophy over winter. I know it’s a low powered machine but I do enjoy riding it, a lot more than the trophy.
Anyway, got to the dealer and they looked up the weights in the owners manual, 428Kg total, 233kg wet. So that leaves 195Kg, a bit low but workable. Trouble is they had a couple of black stone V7’s used from 2022 and both of them had the black paint from the rear silencer wearing off. And being all black it really stood out like a sore thumb. So I’m now not sure I could cope with that. They also do a chrome exhaust version but it has wire wheels and tubes whereas the stone has alloys and tubeless. Disappointing but I’m in no rush so I’ll keep looking.
The Street Twin (Speed twin 900) is looking a good 2nd choice as it can take 210Kg payload, which is perfect, but it just hadn’t grabbed me like the guzzi plus every time I ride the meteor I enjoy it so much I wonder about the need for 2 bikes. I could always give up camping… I mean £8,200 for the guzzi could pay for a lot of self catering cabins in the wild…
Plus I had a lot of fun on the meteor last year riding around Spain and France stopping in hotels/B&B’s
I think I need more rideouts to dealers for a browse…
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Don’t know how old you are @wattie, but for me camping is a complete no no. Using hotels and B&B’s is far more acceptable and comfortable way to tour on my bike. 
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Just a youngster in my 60’s 
I know camping isn’t for everyone, thankfully, because if they all camped I’d bloody hate it.
Me too, every time. I’d rather stick needles in my eyes 
Definitely! Been there, done that, been flooded, had ice on tent, sore hips from hard ground. No thanks!
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I like the idea of the sense of freedom camping gives you but I like a hot shower and a beer in the bar after a long ride even more. 
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Bikes and camping are both about freedom and there’s nothing like a fry-up outside the tent. I do get it. 
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Oh, I get it. I just wouldn’t do it.
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@wattie i did test ride the new v7 850 before buying my R9T to discard it. It was a pleasant bike and had real strong soul. If I didn’t like so much the torque of the 9T boxer engine then I think I’d have bought a used V7
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@Tigcraft Thanks for the feedback. I had a BMW R100S in the 80’s that was my sole transport for a while and I started my exploration of mainland Europe on it two up (camping - oops sorry 
). Nostalgia is driving me to have something similar again. From reading reviews it seems that the Guzzi is the closest to the spirit of that. Everything seems so close, air cooled twin, the twisting torque on the chassis, shaft drive, similar power. The guzzi is a bit heavier though and probably handles better but I like the low seat height, it’s just the state of both the 2nd hand v7’s exhausts that is putting me off.
but as I mentioned earlier chrome spec’d ones come with tubed tyres, which I want to avoid for touring due to past bad experiences. The poor finish isn’t a deal breaker if I want to go ahead as I could always have them ceramic coated for a fee, it just brings all my old Italian finish prejudices to the fore 
The 2 bikes were a year old and one with 1500 the other with 800 miles… It’s not like they’d been around the world!
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I fitted my old V50 with Keihan aftermarket stainless steel exhausts. Can you get aftermarket stainless ones for V7s?
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I have had a look but in my quick search the only ones were Italian made and in the region of £800 which seemed a bit rich. I’m sure there will be some solution if I want to go for the guzzi. If I get serious I thought I might give one of the more local ceramic coaters a call and see what they would charge then if I decided to go for the 2nd hand ones I could always try and knock the price down to cover it. But at the moment life is getting in the way 
Mention away…
( What sleeping pad do you use? My last one popped… who said “Bat Fastard”? Some are stupidly expensive)
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I never went down the sleeping pad route for motorcycle camping because they are crazy prices and the ones I’ve tried just don’t give enough comfort or are stupidly bulky. I just use a cheap rubber type lilo, almost exactly like this one lilo. It’s heavier but folds to a seat and I’ve had them for around 30-35 years. I bought a few over the year because I ripped the eyelets out 'cause I’m a ‘sturdy’ fellow!. Two of them fit perfectly in the bottom of my tank bag along with the tent awning plus they are reasonably puncture resistant and easily patched (I know).
The only issue is when its cold you need a light thermorest type insulation pad on top of them.
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I have had a Thermarest for years (3/4 to save space, plus I am short enough that only my feet overhang really 
) and it has done really well for me. Not cheap but I have had it for more years than I care to think about!
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