THE Breva V1100 is Moto Guzzi's latest and probably best big bike to date, but don't take our word for it - the 1100cc Breva sports tourer, was described by Motor Cycle News as "Moto Guzzi's smoothest and best handling bike ever". Although silky smooth, it's still a Guzzi, with the power delivery and sound, that only a big Guzzi air cooled V-twin engine gives you.

This eagerly awaited and much discussed new model, features softly sprung suspension, designed for comfort over long distances as well as in town riding, with lots of ground clearance and excellent handling thrown in as a bonus to facilitate more spirited riding. All made possible by the completely new shaft drive system enclosed within the new cast alloy single sided swing arm.

The big Breva also features a completely new 6-speed gearbox, lighter pistons, twin-spark cylinder heads and a new sump design to allow easier access to the oil filter. Just a few of the many technical improvements on this engine, which has been exhaustively tested on the roads of Europe, run for hundreds of hours on the test bench and has also been subjected to around 15,000 hours of gruelling full throttle testing on a rolling road, equivalent to about 200,000 km of typical engine life.

If long distance riding is your thing and you want to make full use of the Breva V1100's touring capability, Moto Guzzi touring equipment is available. This includes integrated loading system panniers with mounting racks designed to complement the style of the bike and not spoil its looks when the panniers are removed, and a practical, comfort oriented windshield for high speed cruising. Finally, if you hope the road will never end, the capacious 24-litre fuel tank will not disappoint you.

The fact that this is a 21st century bike, is confirmed by a 'communicator' panel with active matrix LCD display designed to accept future optional 'infotainment' packages, controlled by the on-board computer. At £6,999 on the road, MCN said "it's a lot of bike for the money" (for example, more than £500 cheaper than the BMW R1150R).