Photog credit to Dean DeVito and Josh Hanke

Stelvio Adventure Tourer

Adventure bikes are blank slates capable of almost anything depending on the willingness to compromise a bit here and there, as well your willingness to blow a hole in your Master Card account.  The 2010 Moto Guzzi Stelvio ABS I purchased seemed to fit this mold as it seemed to be a good platform for which to make a bike that would be able to accompany me anywhere on any type of trip.  It is delivered from Italy with adequate wind protection, a luggage rack (no luggage however), solid suspension and a day long comfortable seating position.  Where I took it from here was up to me...

Making her a Road Runner

 As a jack of all trades bikes, the Stelvio can do pretty much anything, and lends itself well to modifications to improve it for however you intend to use it.  If you want to log many high speed miles on the Stelvio, as with most adventure bikes, more than likely you’ll want to improve on the stock wind protection.  For this, I turned to California Scientific, or CalSci as their friends call them (http://www.calsci.com/), and ordered up their medium Stelvio screen.  The cost of additional touring comfort from CalSci is $185, and for that you get 4.5mm DOT certified impact resistant plastic in dimensions that are both wider and taller than the stock screen.

 Upon first inspection you’ll notice that CalSci has cut a vent out at the bottom of the screen that is said to smooth air flow to the rider, reduce back pressure and turbulence, providing a ride with much less buffeting and noise than the stock screen.  Additionally it seems that care was taken to maintain correct optics as there is very little visual distortion with the CalSci Stelvio screen.

 Upon arrival the windscreen took only a few minutes to mount up as the fit of the CalSci screen is excellent.  However, the finish left a little bit to be desired as some of the laser cut edges were left a little rough; especially around the vent.  The outer edges appeared clean and seemed to be polished to improve appearance.

 The stock Stelvio screen is adjustable along a 2 inch track, and this adjustment is still usable with the CalSci screen.  With the screen all of the way down there is a noted improvement in noise and turbulence at all speeds, and at most rural 2 lane speeds I am able to ride comfortably with my helmet’s visor up; which is a welcome exercise in the heat of the summer.  Most of the time on my bike is spent with the shield in this lower position, and the overall improvement when compared to stock is quite noticeable. 

 As speeds increase, or as temperatures drop riders may choose to adjust the screen to the up position as it does improve protection in the saddle.  At a towering 5’8” I can see over the screen in the up position, and it is in the uppermost position here that it does its best job of quieting the ride and smoothing out the cockpit area.  The windscreen’s vent does help, but obviously increased wind protection for the rider comes at the expense of some air flow.  However, it is a trade off worth making as interstate speeds are much calmer behind the CalSci screen. 

 The only issue with the screen in the up position is that it does interfere with the Moto Guzzi branded handguards as the bars near full lock to either the right or left.  In the down position, however, there is no interference between the handguard and the windscreen.  Due to this interference, riders will want to adjust the screen down for in town or adventure riding when a large sweep of the handlebars may be needed; but for higher speed/higher mileage work riders will be pleased with the CalSci screen adjusted up.

 Peruse CalSci’s website and you’ll see that there is some serious science behind their products, and that they are some smart guys that like rolling around on 2 wheels.  They do not simply cut a bigger piece of plastic and slap a price tag on it and send it off to their consumer.

They make windscreens for many different makes and models including Harley, Ducati, KTM, Kawasaki, Buell, Bombardier, Yamaha, Suzuki, BMW, and others… and I can honestly say that having used their screen on 3 different bikes I have been pleased with all of them.  As far as the Stelvio screen is concerned California Scientific has produced a well thought out windscreen that vastly improved the touring ability of this bike.

Pack Mule Duties

One of the issues with owning a Moto Guzzi is that since they are relatively rare out on the road the aftermarket support is not as plentiful as it is for most other manufacturers.  When it came time to outfit my Stelvio with luggage, it seemed that the only options were the Moto Guzzi branded aluminum luggage, or off of the shelf Givi cases.

 For my Stelvio I wanted to do something a bit lighter than aluminum bags and more robust than the typical Givi street cases, and in my search I came across Caribou Cases (http://www.cariboucases.com/).  Caribou makes several complete rack and case kits for more popular adventure bikes, but currently does not offer racks for the Stelvio.  However, Caribou Cases does manufacture an adapter kit that will allow his Pelican based side cases to be mounted to any Givi side case rack. 

 Caribou Cases are modified Pelican/Storm cases, which are side opening “suit case” style case used by the military, photographers, boaters and many others that have expensive equipment they need to keep dry and safe.  Caribou Cases are warranted for life and all of the attached hardware is covered by a 1 year guarantee.  Caribou Cases claims that the “Caribou system is by far the toughest and most waterproof on the market.” 

 The Caribou Cases are easily prepared in a few minutes with basic hand tools as the cases arrived pre-drilled to accept the Caribou hardware.  Once the hardware is installed you simply slide down the case down onto the Givi mounting lugs and secure them to the rack by turning the lockable cam latch.  The cases are easily removed when needed by unlocking the latch, turning it and lifting the case straight up.

Caribou modifies each case with a keyed lock for security and a lid tether keeps the door from falling open when you want to get into you case.  The lid tether cleverly snaps on and off in case you ever need to open the case for full access. 

The cases are waterproof, as advertised, and while I (thankfully) haven’t tested their robustness in a fall on the Stelvio, we used Pelican cases on our TAT trip and they held up very well in all conditions; even with a loaded down DR 650 napping on top of them.  Pelican cases and the Caribou system have earned a reputation for ruggedness among adventure bike enthusiasts.

When mounting them on the Stelvio, however, Roger Pioszak of Caribou Cases noticed that there may be a clearance issue with the non-pipe side assembly interfering with the passenger grab rail.  While the pipe side mounted without any necessary modification, the other side did not have adequate clearance to allow for the cam latch to properly operate.   When I ran into this issue, I called Caribou directly and received immediate feedback and support both via telephone and email.  With Roger’s assistance we were able to come up with a solution for my bike.  It is worth noting that this is a Stelvio specific issue, and that the other Caribou systems do not have this interference issue when used with Givi racks.

 As I have found through using Caribou Cases one of the benefits of the Pelican/Storm case based Caribou system is that the cases have a regular shape and, as a result, are easy to pack with the entire case being usable.  Also, they maintain a narrower profile than most other systems as the total rear width with the 32 liter cases as pictured on the Stelvio measures 39”; which is 3” narrower than the Moto Guzzi branded side bags.  The price for the Caribou Cases and Givi adapter kit range from $485-$495, and the adapter kit can be purchased as a do-it-yourself kit if you already have panniers and are looking for a way to mount them to a Givi rack.

 Caribou Case offers many accessories and mounting kits for their cases to assist with packing and travel, as well as complete rack and case kits for several different adventure bikes.  Got to http://www.cariboucases.com/ or call them at (303)786-8947 to learn more.

 Adventure bikes are among the fastest growing segments in motorcycling and I believe it is because adventure bikes, regardless of make or model offer more versatility than most other motorcycles.  Adventure bikes are unbeatable platforms for riders that want a bike that can do a bit of everything as they can tour, hustle through the twisty bits, eat up bad roads or off road and look at home a bit dirty.  By bolting on the CalSci screen and some side cases from Caribou the Stelvio has become much more capable of big miles while hauling all of the crap we think we need out there.