Moto Guzzi V9 Bobber - first ride and good first impressions

04/09/2026

Moto Guzzi V9 Bobber – first ride and good first impressions

My Moto Guzzi V9 Bobber was delivered to me from Churchill Motorcycles a few days ago. This post is a short ‘first ride’ post following taking the V9 out for its first proper run. It wasn’t a long ride, just about an 80‑mile or so round trip into Cheshire. If you missed the first Guzzi V9 post when I called to Churchill’s check it out at this link.

The route I took was familiar to me. It’s one I have used as a ‘first ride’ on most of the bikes I have had over the years. The route also takes me to a spot near the Jodrell Bank radio telescope where I have often stopped for pictures with bikes over the years.

Through quiet roads to Jodrell Bank

Heading out on a familiar route on a new bike makes sense. I know the roads, know the corners and know where many of the bumps are. Doing this gives me something to make a solid comparison with.

An early part of the route involves a short stretch of motorway, followed by around five or six miles of dual carriageway with a series of roundabouts before reaching decent back roads to Jodrell Bank.

After that it was onto Holmes Chapel and then onto to the J&S store in Northwich, before turning to head for home.

First impressions of the bike – and how does it actually feel?

This isn’t a technical review, at this stage it’s just some general comments about the bike. Once I’ve done more miles I’ll comment in more detail about the engine, gearbox and overall ‘rideabilty’, so for now it’s really just about those first impressions.

But I was a little surprised about how unobtrusive the shaft drive felt once I was on the move. The Bridgestone H50s felt pretty good and gave a reasonably planted feel and at least on this ride didn’t cause any problems when cornering. I think the gearbox will take a little bit of getting used to. It wasn’t always easy to find neutral on the downshifts and there’s an odd delay before the gear indicator changes to show the selected gear. Neither is a major issue – I’ll just keep my eye on them as I put more miles on the bike.

The strange thing about the V9 is that it looks like a cruiser, but it doesn’t actually feel like one. The V9’s torque delivery is effortless, and the riding position suits me pretty well. One of the things I really like about the V9 Bobber is the riding position. On paper it looks like it’s quite a ‘low slung’ cruiser type of set up. But actually when you sit on it, it sort of feels quite different.

The seat is low at around 785mm, which makes getting on and, more importantly (for me), getting both feet down very easy. The low set drag style bars put your hands slightly forward and wide, and seem to come back at you rather than forcing you to reach for them The footrests are mounted in what I would describe as a fairly neutral position. So you don’t sit with your feet stretched out in front of you in traditional cruiser fashion. Instead, there is a slight bend at the knees and a reasonably upright riding position. For me, that makes the V9 feel much smaller and more manageable than its weight might suggest. It is one of those bikes where you sit in it rather than feeling as though you are perched on top of.

It’s a Moto Guzzi so it’s a bit odd…

There is, inevitably, a little bit of the classic Guzzi eccentricity in the design of this bike.

The engine is a 90 degree V twin mounted longitudinally in the frame, which means the cylinders stick out sideways beside your legs. The footrests are wider apart than they would be if it was something with a more conventional parallel-twin or four-cylinder engine. But for me I actually think that adds to the character of the bike. None of it is a problem. In fact, it’s part of the appeal. The cylinders stick out, the shaft drive is doing its thing, the engine has that slightly unusual longitudinal thump and the whole bike feels just a little different from almost everything else in the class. It’s also worth saying though that I’m about 5’7″ and I think a taller rider might find the relationship between the tank, cylinders and knees a little unusual and potentially a little uncomfortable.

For me, though, the really important thing is that the Moto Guzzi V9 gives me a very natural riding position without requiring the deep knee bend that some bikes demand – and that after my June 2025 accident I just can’t do.

The riding position feels relaxed without becoming that feet-forward cruiser position, and I think that makes it appealing for shorter rides, country lanes and just generally heading out to a favourite coffee stop on a Sunday morning.

Three bikes, three very different riding positions

I think having the V9 alongside my V7 Café Classic and the Honda CMX 1100 DCT SE makes the differences even more obvious and I didn’t buy the Moto Guzzi V9 to replace either of them. The V7 is probably much more of a ‘traditional’ motorcycle riding position. The seat is higher, the bars are lower and further forward and, of course, the rear-set foot controls means you adopt that more committed position. The V7 looks fantastic and feels exactly as a Cafe Racer should feel. The downside of that for me, is that it means there is considerably more bend at the knees and more weight through the wrists.

The V9 is pretty much the opposite of that.So you still get that unique Moto Guzzi ‘thing’, that feeling of being connected to the engine, but you get it in a much more upright position and, in turn, the bike feels less physically demanding.

Different again

The Honda is different again. The CMX looks like a cruiser, but because it has mid-mounted footrests it means you are not actually sitting in the classic feet-forward cruiser position.

It’s one of the things that appealed to me about the Honda. The riding position is relaxed, but the legs remain reasonably open and the feet are underneath you rather than stretched out ahead. I would say the V9 sits somewhere between the V7 and the Honda. It’s much more relaxed than the Cafe Classic and much more compact than the Honda, but keeps that real feeling of involvement when riding.

I’m sure it’s going to good for longer days out. The matte black finish on the Moto Guzzi V9 looks superb in natural light, especially against the backdrop of Cheshire’s open countryside.

So maybe that’s the difference

And perhaps that is the biggest difference from a riding perspective. In some ways the Moto Guzzi V9 feels small without feeling cramped, the V7 Cafe feels small and more focused and the CMX 1100 feels substantial and relaxed. None of them are necessarily better; they are just different.

I think the Moto Guzzi V9 strikes an easy balance between accessibility, comfort and involvement. It’s low enough to give me confidence when stopped, upright enough not to put pressure on my wrists and has a conventional enough leg position to still feel like a proper motorcycle. It feels like an ‘easy’ Guzzi, but it’s not dull. It’s accessible without losing the character that makes a Moto Guzzi interesting in the first place. And perhaps that’s the difference and one of the Moto Guzzi V9’s main attractions.