2016–2020 · Retro Classic · Buyer's Guide
Pure Style, Italian Soul
The V9 Bobber is built around an 853 cc air-cooled 90° V-twin sitting across the frame, 55 hp and 46 lb-ft, six speeds and shaft drive. Nothing in that layout is chasing numbers. It gives the bike its own rhythm, and Moto Guzzi wrapped it in the most style-led package in the V9 family: fat 16-inch rubber front and rear, thick fork legs, a low 30.9 in seat, dark surfaces almost everywhere. The modern part stays out of sight. ABS and traction control are standard, there's a USB port, and none of it shouts for attention. Design leads here, and it leads convincingly.
It ages the way simple machinery does. Air cooling, shaft final drive, and a chassis with very little to fiddle with mean fewer things asking for money over a decade, and running costs stay modest. This is a bike for the rider who wants to own the object as much as ride it, someone who picks routes by scenery rather than by miles per day. The honest caveat is that 55 hp and a 4.0 gal tank set the terms. Long interstate stints and loaded two-up touring are not what this one was drawn for, and no amount of goodwill changes that.
Spec sheets don't ride bikes, but they set the baseline.
| Power | 55 hp (40 kW) |
|---|---|
| Torque | 46 lb-ft (62 Nm) |
| Displacement | 853 cc |
| Engine | 90° V-twin |
| Cooling | Air-cooled |
| Gearbox | 6-speed |
| Final drive | Shaft |
| Fork | Telescopic |
| Front brake | 320 mm |
| Front tire | 130/90-16 |
| Rear tire | 150/80-16 |
| Wheelbase | 58.5 in (1485 mm) |
| Seat height | 30.9 in (785 mm) |
| Wet weight | 439 lb (199 kg) |
| Fuel capacity | 4.0 gal (15 L) |
Equipment check
Chassis
Connectivity
Safety
Hit the starter and the whole bike leans against your hands for a second, the way a transverse V-twin does, then settles into a beat you feel through the pegs before you really hear it. Sit down and your feet go flat on the ground without any thought about it. The seat is genuinely low, and the bike feels lighter than its 439 lb until you push it around a garage. At town speeds everything has a mechanical texture, a light shake at the bars that comes and goes with revs and smooths off once you are rolling. Shaft drive takes the snatch out of pulling away, so stop-and-go traffic stays tidy. The sound is what stays with you afterward, low and unhurried, and it never once feels borrowed from another kind of motorcycle.
Everything below comes from riders, not from my seat time. Years of paddock talk, club-night conversations, and the messages owners send me directly. On the V9 Bobber the pattern is consistent: the motor leads every conversation, and the complaints are small and practical.
The engine dominates. Riders describe strong pull from just off idle, a rustic thump, and an exhaust note they keep coming back to. Nearly as many talk about how light it feels: it flicks through turns in a way they did not expect from a cruiser, and it is easy to shuffle around at walking pace. A steady group adds that it is easy to read, low and planted, and that newer riders settle in fast. The styling gets its share of mentions too.
The gripes come up less often and land in the details. Owners bring up the missing fuel gauge, with no low-fuel light either, so range gets tracked on the trip meter. Some riders find the pegs touch down early once the pace rises. A few report top gear feeling short and the engine buzzing on long highway runs, and a handful mention clutch lever play that needs regular attention.
ABS brake hose chafing and fluid leak
The front ABS brake hose may rub against the engine secondary air system connection, potentially causing a fluid leak and reduced braking performance. Piaggio issued a recall to secure the hose and replace any damaged ones.
Weak battery from new
Some bikes left the factory with a battery that failed prematurely, often within the first year. Replacement under warranty was typically straightforward.
Final drive oil leak
A small number of owners have noted oil weeping from the final drive vent, which may require replacement of the vent cap to resolve.
Where this Moto Guzzi V9 Bobber pulls ahead of — or falls behind — its rivals on the numbers, and the typical bike in its class on character.
Power
Torque
Displacement
Wet weight
Seat height
Forget spec-sheet bragging. Here's who the V9 Bobber is actually built for.
Small towns, old routes, no hurry: this bike is aimed straight at you. Plan around the 4.0 gal tank and pack light, because nothing for luggage comes from the factory.
Made for Acadia National Park · Austin / Handbuilt Motorcycle Show · Blue Ridge Parkway
You get the sound, the looks and the individuality at Sturgis or Daytona, and you will not be riding what everyone else rode in on. What you don't get is bulk or long-haul kit.
Made for A1A — Florida Atlantic Coast · Black Hills / Sturgis Rally Hub · Daytona Main Street / Bike Week
Hill Country works on this bike if the point is the roll and the stop at the end of it. With 55 hp and a style-first chassis, it will not chase friends riding for pace.
Made for Austin / Texas Hill Country · Twisted Sisters · Austin / Handbuilt Motorcycle Show
If this one isn't quite the fit, these are the bikes worth riding back-to-back against it.
Any price note compares both bikes at the same age — the youngest age both have on the used market — against this Moto Guzzi V9 Bobber. “cheaper/pricier” is what that bike costs second-hand, not how worn it is.
Successor · 2019–2020
Italian Attitude, Factory Trim
Roughly $1,500 pricier used than this bike at 6 yr
Successor · 2021
A Centennial Worth The Wait
Competitor · 2019–2020
Factory Custom, Built Right
Roughly $2,900 pricier used than this bike at 8 yr
Same Platform · 2022–2025
Italian Soul, Low Slung
Similar Character · 2021–2024
Purist Retro, Italian Soul