Who got Guzzi?

[Garandman]

May shuffle my bikes when I can ride again. Never owned a Moto Guzzi. What's a good choice for back road riding and modest commutes?

[Chippertheripper]

Sup sav...???

Griso man. Errrbody know that. Stelvio if you wanna look boss.

[xxaarraa]

I didn't know anything about Guzzis so I looked them up after I saw this thread.

They look cool. But why are the engines SO BIG? I mean, do they really need to be that big?

[Chippertheripper]

Of course they need to be that big. How else are they gonna cook your legs?

[theducman]

Making riders into mechanics since 1921

[nhbubba]

Making riders into mechanics since 1921

Don't you own a Ducati?!

[theducman]

Don't you own a Ducati?!

Two

[backinthesaddle]

Razees. V7 are cool looking but low power. Older V11 are nice. Griso for speed. Norge for touring.

[Garandman]

Making riders into mechanics since 1921

Which one did you own?

[theducman]

Which one did you own?

I personally did not have one, but my dad had a California. Worse than a Ducati to get parts. Granted this was some years back.

[whynot]

I owned a 2007 Griso 1100 for a few years, great bike, the 1200 is even better. No mechanical issues whatsoever with the bike, Seacoast for a dealer, no others compare! No problem with parts supply. The forum I like is GuzziTech.com and excellent on-line supplies from MG Cycle, Moto Guzzi Parts and Accessories available online at MGCycle.com. Easy maintenance, adjust the valves yourself, change oils easily.

The Griso ergos didn't quite work for me in the long run, long reach to the bars, short distance to the pegs, but if you have long arms and short legs, should be perfect. I did fit a different ProTaper bar, that helped. Kinda miss it.

I like the Norge and the Stelvio, and would probable get a California 1400 but for the [expletive deleted] forward controls and footboards.

BTW, the national Guzzi meet was a couple of weeks ago at Keene. Go to Tutto Italiano at Larz in August, and IMOC in Sturbidge in September. Pretty sure Seacoast has demos.

My '07:

Photo by Mark Wilson Images:


... Hollis NH:


Posing ... Mark Wilson Images:


... Barre MA:


That's right, chicks dig Guzzis.


... damn, now I have to get me another Guzzi ...

[Garandman]

I owned a 2007 Griso 1100 for a few years, great bike, the 1200 is even better. No mechanical issues whatsoever with the bike, Seacoast for a dealer, no others compare! No problem with parts supply. The forum I like is GuzziTech.com and excellent on-line supplies from MG Cycle, Moto Guzzi Parts and Accessories available online at MGCycle.com. Easy maintenance, adjust the valves yourself, change oils easily.

The Griso ergos didn't quite work for me in the long run, long reach to the bars, short distance to the pegs, but if you have long arms and short legs, should be perfect. I did fit a different ProTaper bar, that helped. Kinda miss it.

... damn, now I have to get me another Guzzi ...

Ironically, I got a test ride, circa 2008. A co-worker bought an early Ducati 848 which had a lot of engine problems: it was in the shop for 32 of the first 35 days he owned it and he wound up going to Lemon Law arbitration with Ducati (and took a beating). Seacoast was the dealer and they provided him a series of loaner bikes during the period, including this one which I rode for a few miles.



I was thinking more of a classic bike. But if their reliability and parts are even worse than Ducati, I may go back to plan A which was a BMW Airhead.

[Chippertheripper]

Classic airhead, or something more modern??

[whynot]

That looks like a Breva, maybe a 750. I tried the Breva 1100, didn't like it all that much. For sure, BMW has more dealers everywhere, a recent thread here sends people to Second Wind and Max.

No problems with my Guzzi, no problems with the recent Ducatis I've owned, Monster S4 and Hyper. BMWs don't do much for me, but that's just me.

[Garandman]

Classic. Bid on this on eBay last year before I bought the TW200. Then the brain trust at Yankee Beemers started pointing out all sorts of inconsistances between model year, fuel tank, and paint code which pointed to the bike being a Frankenbike crash reconstruction. The seller was trying to flip it and hadn't researched it before buying. He wound up cancelling the eBay listing.



It was like the one Airhead I had, only betterer.

[TheIglu]

My Dads V10 Centuaro has been very reliable for 40k.

[whynot]

IMOC 2009 -- lots of Guzzis:

http://www.nestreetriders.com/galler...3-2c-2009.html

Another dealer to check is AJ Cycles BMW MOTOGUZZI

[Garandman]

I'm thinking an older, carbed twin has to be pretty reliable.

[nhbubba]

Really, are modern Guzzi's all that modern?

I've ridden Ken's (YB Ken, G-man knows of him) ~85 R80 /whatever RT. I can totally see you on one of those. Nice compliment to the stable you already have. The bike is slow. It sounds like half a VW bug. The brakes are comical. He describes the experience as "agricultural". That fits. Ken rides the piss out of it. I lost him in the twists, but it wasn't because he wasn't trying. And I've seen him beat it like I beat the 'strom. He calls it his "adventure" bike. He swears parts are just now becoming problematic.

Not quite my bag. But I get it.

IMO I wouldn't be held up on aesthetics and paint codes and such. I'd find one that ran, was road worthy, and presentable. Then spend my days keeping it running. Keep it as a cruiser. But that's me.



Honestly, I think the relatively lower performance, older air cooled offerings from BMW are the most appealing. Same for Ducati. An air cooled 2V is about the only duc I'd really consider owning.

I'm sorry to thread crap. I know virtually nothing about guzzis. But based on the "or an airhead" comment, I figured these thoughts were worth adding.

[PhilB]

Guzzis are durable and basically reliable. The drivetrain is well-developed and solid, and parts aren't a huge deal. Italian electrics are always a challenge.

With regard to the older bikes, the sum-up for Guzzis was that they were "a BMW that handled better". Old airhead BMWs handle funny (the German nickname is gummikuh -- rubber cow); I wasn't enamored of the one I had (a 1979 R65); it didn't do anything very well, and it started to fall apart and get really expensive at about 80K.

Old Guzzis are cool. New Guzzis are sort of old-fashioned, but are well made and good bikes. I've testridden a Griso 1200, which I liked a lot, and would be on my shortlist if/when I need a new bike. I testrode a California 1400, and was very impressed with it for a cruiser.

Having Seacoast for your dealer is a plus.

PhilB

[nhbubba]

...it didn't do anything very well...

Ah, my favorite kind of motorcycle!

[Garandman]

The guy who bought my V-Strom is trading it for a Guzzi.

[nhbubba]

And I occasionally think about trading mine for a Harley. What's your point here?

[xxaarraa]

Garandman, is this to be your primary bike or a 2nd/3rd/etc?

If not primary, who cares if parts are not plentiful. A 3rd or 4th bike gets ridden sparingly anyway so best to evaluate it on the fun potential and how 'special' it is to you.

BTW, since when did ducati parts become hard to get? Over priced, yes, but they are pretty easily available everywhere including eBay.

Also, if your considering bmws why not the 800/650 gs? Chain gang is a SOLID online forum and parts are plentiful. I took a trip to India on my 650 BMW with the guy who runs chain gang and listening to him go on about the 650s makes you appreciate the appeal. Chain gang is a tight forum.

[Garandman]

It would be bike 3, most likely. I'll just wait for my buddy to let me ride his. Keep in mind I can't ride at all for at least six weeks. All for fun.