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Moto Guzzi Centauro V 10 Sport test

Fat prey

The Moto Guzzi V 10 Centauro has not yet made the big breakthrough. But the Italians have shod the hooves of the mythical creature. As Centauro Sport, it is preparing to make rich prey in foreign territories.

The lady eagle Noa of the Hohenbeilstein castle falconry is admittedly unimpressed. Understandable, because as queen of the skies, even a Moto Guzzi Centauro Sport cannot dispute her territory.
The otherwise well-known Guzzi Centauro deserves the additional designation sport with a handlebar-fixed fairing and a special paint finish – optionally also in a completely un-Italian metallic British green – which, paired with the white stripes, is intended to underline the sporty line of the V2. A front spoiler and carbon fiber rear silencer exclusively for sports purposes are available as options.
The walls of Hohenbeilstein Castle seem to shake when the air-cooled four-valve engine begins to work. Fascinating how the drive train fed by an injection system sets itself in scene acoustically. The engine pounds, hums, thuds and rattles – it’s alive. In the cold state he still acts a bit reluctantly, but at operating temperature he shows that he has it all behind the two cylinders. As if there was no tomorrow, the mighty block tears from 5000 rpm on the card-driven rear wheel. Under the 4000 mark, the Twin offers wholesome home cooking.
But woe, the tachometer needle moves in the range between 4000 / min and 5000 / min. The engine seems transformed. No trace of outbursts of temperament, the V 10 then creeps through the landscape completely lethargic. The test bench reveals the cause: a slump in the performance curve, as big and deep as many a hole in Bonn’s federal budget. The Guzzi technicians should look deeply into the black box of their injection system and improve in this speed range. The annoying constant travel jerking can certainly be eliminated at the same time.
If you want to make rapid progress, you shouldn’t be at a loss for hard manual work. Pulling the clutch with courageous grasp and skillfully sorting the gear steps separated by long shift paths, the mythical creature from Mandello almost learns to fly.
Guided by the wide, chrome-plated handlebar, the Centauro Sport is downright light-footed even when driving quickly. The seating position far away from the handlebars in combination with the high-hinged footrests is strange, but not uncomfortable despite the hard seat. Thanks to the low center of gravity and the successful chassis geometry, the V 10 reacts spontaneously to every leg pressure and immediately takes the desired course. The only disturbing effects are the stalling moments of the motor that occur during load changes, which repeatedly thwart a clean line. A tribute to the conceptually determined longitudinal crankshaft.
The coordination of the White Power spring elements does not seem to be the final word either. Despite multiple possibilities for change, no optimal setting can be found. If there is still a usable compromise at the fork with the damping completely reduced, the rear shock absorber always remains too tight.
The tuning of the adjustable steering damper is more successful. While other manufacturers are still struggling, Moto Guzzi is setting standards. The inconspicuously acting component nips handlebar slaps in the bud.
This means that even high speeds do not drive the driver behind the well-protective cladding, beads of sweat on the forehead. The Guzzi masters this exercise with stoic calm. This chassis does not have any straight-line stability problems.
But because even the longest has just one end, the Italians rely on a three-disc brake system from Brembo to reduce kinetic energy. Those who can really grab hold of it will be rewarded with a decent delay. Stability is not the strength of these stoppers. When it is hot, the braking effect decreases significantly and the pressure point moves further and further towards the handlebars.
W.as just as annoying as the fundamental weaknesses of a failed engine and chassis set-up. The original fascination of the Moto Guzzi Centauro Sport is unfortunately destroyed.

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