u/vferdman

This thing is absolutely beautiful. Tried frn version and didn't keep that. This one's a keeper!

I am considering a 2016 V7 II Special. I test rode it yesterday and I really liked it. Just for reference. I am not a new rider. I am older (early 60s) and have been continually riding since I was in my 20s. So 40 years of experience and motorcycle ownership. I have owned and still own a 2004 HD Sportster. I love that bike and am a devoted V-twin (V-4 works too as I owned and enjoyed a Honda VF45 Magna) fan. So my Sportster needs some top end work at 83K miles. I do not want to be without a bike while I do the work. I do my own wrenching, so it may not be quick or fast. So to that end I have been checking out what I think of as Italian Harley, Moto Guzzi. I loved riding the V7 Special yesterday. It is about the same power as my Sportster with about 200 lb less weight. It was very refreshing to handle a bike so much lighter. I loved almost everything about the riding experience except for the gear shifter. What I experienced is a mushy no mechanical feel floppy lever. The bike in question is in excellent overall shape, so I am not suspecting a problem, but I want to make sure by asking experienced V7 riders/owners. Does the shifter feel floppy and mushy normally? I did not have problems finding gears or anything like that, just after the Sportster's clunky gear shifter and modt other bikes I rode where the shifter provides very good feedback of going through the gears. This one was so mushy I was not sure if I actually accomplished a shift or not, I just assumed I did and it worked, but I got almost zero feedback like a click or something like that. That was by far the most offending quirk of this bike. Everything else was a delight. It handled great, accelerated fine, stopped fine and was just very easy to like. But shifting gears is one of those things I consider a tactile pleasure of riding a bike. Just like in cars, I want that shifter to feel positive and have plenty of feedback. The Sportster is almost too crude in this, but it is extremely satisfying to shift through gears on it. V7 was very vague in the shifter. Is this something that is normal for this bike or is it just this one and probaly can be adjusted?