Breva 850 (MY2006)

The Breva 850 puts Moto Guzzi's big-block 90° V-twin into a friendlier middleweight naked. The air-cooled 877 cc engine is a de-stroked version of the 1100 unit. It makes 71 hp and 49 lb-ft and sends that through a 6-speed gearbox and shaft drive, not a chain. It sits in a steel tube frame with adjustable suspension at both ends, and it's built as an all-rounder rather than a sharp-edged hooligan. The liquid-cooled middleweights of its day make more power, and the Breva doesn't pretend otherwise. What it gives you instead is a distinct mechanical personality, which is exactly why you buy a Guzzi.

On the road it asks very little of you. The handling is undemanding, it stays settled at speed, and it has more lean clearance than the relaxed riding position suggests. Air cooling and shaft drive keep ownership simple and cheap. This bike is for the rider who puts rhythm and character ahead of outright numbers, someone happy to hold a steady pace down a good back road and enjoy the engine doing its thing. The honest caveat is mass. At 547 lb (248 kg) wet it's a lot of motorcycle for a naked bike, and you feel it every time you move it by hand.