It was 1967 when Moto Guzzi first introduced the Stornello scrambler to the US market, and now for 2016 the Stornello scrambler returns.
Using the Moto Guzzi V7II platform for this rebirth, the 48hp 2016 Moto Guzzi V7II Stornello is a fetching motorcycle with dubious off-road ability – not that the latter really matters in this all-show, no-go space.
Honestly, we can’t fault Moto Guzzi for trying, as the Italian brand seems to be gravitating towards the heritage demographic, which is currently inundated with “post-authentic” retro models, and as such the scrambler is the moto du jour in the industry – the 2015 EICMA show is proof of that.
In those terms, the 2016 Moto Guzzi V7II Stornello excels well, even if its 410 lbs mass doesn’t. Looking at the scrambler space as a whole though, very few of these models would be adequate for the described job, but that’s really a red-herring argument.
The real game being played here is which of these “scramblers” can look the part the best. To that end, the Moto Guzzi V7II Stornello gets strong marks.
The lines are classic, typical to the Moto Guzzi name. The high-mount exhaust by Arrow is eye-catching, and the red accents pop against the white & black color scheme. The leather saddle even looks comfortable. The air-cooled transverse 90 v-twin engine certainly gets strong “weird” points, right?
What isn’t to like here, visually?
Hopefully Moto Guzzi prices the V7II Stornello aggressively. It could easily eat up some sales from that other Italian brand…no, this one.
Comments