Piaggio / Moto Guzzi Social Media

[Luap McKeever]

But if they'd make the MGX-21 in a gloss pearl white I'd have a difficult time resisting.

I do wish they offered more colors. I'd love to have it metallic silver. Here's a photo of a white one some guy had painted. Looks wonderful.

[kidsmoke]

If all goes well, I'll be looking at an Eldorado tomorrow. Though the more I see the MGX-21 the more I like it. I believe Moto Guzzi did a great job on it. I also look forward to maybe the second generation of all the current 1400's. But if they'd make the MGX-21 in a gloss pearl white I'd have a difficult time resisting. Until my wife reminded me how much she likes the back seat of the Victory.

Ride well my friend,

Well, if you even pay lip service to 5K in bolt on's to build your dream machine, have I got good news for you! You can buy the Guzzi, get the fork mounted fairing the lighter over all machine the out the door performance the 106 can only dream about, then add a cozy pillion for your bride for only a few Benjamins! Winning!

[SemperVee]

Just to weigh in here referencing my 2 wheel history that includes  05 BMW K1200LT, a smattering of BMW R/75's  3 Honda Goldwings from 1977 to 2010, 14 Harleys which 8 were HD EVO FLHTC/U dressers, 05 FJR1300, 2 DL1000 V-Stroms and other misc Motorcycles including my 07 Norge and have spent time riding friend's 2014 MG 1400 Touring.  I liked the 1400 but it felt small and cramped compared to my Victory as did my Harley's. All those led me to my Victory CCT.  My tuned Victory is quite fast.  None of the aforementioned bikes were as comfortable to me and passenger nor carried as much as the Victory. No bike was perfect but the Vic is more perfect than most in my opinion. The 1400 feels good but more sitting on top then "in" like I feel the Victory provides.   ** As an addendum - Fred and wifey were leading us on a 200 mile ride and 100+ miles into the ride his bride said she was so uncomfortable on the Guzzi 1400 passenger pillion she got off the bike  on the back seat of anoth friend along for the ride on his Kawasaki to ride the rest of the way home.  I had my G/F with me otherwise she would have been totally spoiled on the back of a CCT with adjustable pax floorboards and pillowed backrest tourbox.

[TN Mark]

Well, if you even pay lip service to 5K in bolt on's to build your dream machine, have I got good news for you! You can buy the Guzzi, get the fork mounted fairing the lighter over all machine the out the door performance the 106 can only dream about, then add a cozy pillion for your bride for only a few Benjamins! Winning!

That's funny but I'm not sure you meant it to be. I'm not sure if it's the Guzzi you don't know about or the potential of a 106. The aftermarket for the Victory is still very much alive and doing quite well. That $5K you mentioned is a bolt on super charger that you could install in your garage if you were good with basic hand tools. Then you will have over 200 RWHP and over 245 RW Foot Pounds of Torque. I keep looking but I haven't found such an aftermarket for the 1400. Slip on mufflers, a K&N air filter and a Maxinmus style tune are very nice though. Look friend, they're different motorcycles designed for different markets.

I'm thrilled you love your 1400 if you have one. I love my Victory and I also love the Moto Guzzi brand. It's OK to like them both, it really is. It doesn't have to be a one or the other, anyone not only holding Moto Guzzi on a pedestal should leave now type of thing. Thank God we have so many choices and options available to us. It's a motorcycle after all. Nothing more, it's just a tool to a means.

Please sir, enjoy your ride. And thank you for posting the picture of that seat on the MGX-21. I think it looks wonderful on the bike!

[TN Mark]

I do wish they offered more colors. I'd love to have it metallic silver. Here's a photo of a white one some guy had painted. Looks wonderful.

Thank you for that picture of the white MGX-21. It looks completely different painted.

[TN Mark]

Just to weigh in here referencing my 2 wheel history that includes  05 BMW K1200LT, a smattering of BMW R/75's  3 Honda Goldwings from 1977 to 2010, 14 Harleys which 8 were HD EVO FLHTC/U dressers, 05 FJR1300, 2 DL1000 V-Stroms and other misc Motorcycles including my 07 Norge and have spent time riding friend's 2014 MG 1400 Touring.  I liked the 1400 but it felt small and cramped compared to my Victory as did my Harley's. All those led me to my Victory CCT.  My tuned Victory is quite fast.  None of the aforementioned bikes were as comfortable to me and passenger nor carried as much as the Victory. No bike was perfect but the Vic is more perfect than most in my opinion. The 1400 feels good but more sitting on top then "in" like I feel the Victory provides.

Exactly! It's amazing that with essentially the same wheelbase, the two companies utilized the available real estate so differently. I haven't found a bike that allows for a more relaxed position from the factory than the Victory Cross bikes.

When I test rode a CA Touring it had a Corbin seat. I wasn't sure if the feeling of sitting on the tank was due to the seat or the bikes design. The CA Touring I sat on recently with the oem seat felt a bit more laid out. The Eldorado I sat on felt much better to me. It seems the Eldo seat moves the rider back an inch or so compared to the CA Touring. Of course that means less room for the passenger. It's been a while since I sat on the MGX-21.

And speaking of social media between Polaris and Piaggio, I received a flyer from Polaris today suggesting I take a test ride on a Slingshot at my local Polaris Indian/Slingshot/Victory dealer. Thank you for the ... effort, but no thank you.

[John Croucher]

Building motorcycles to meet the wants and needs of future buyer 5 years into the future is not easy.  3 pages of comments mostly from people that are not going to buy a new bike from any brand.  I have no plans to buy a new motorcycle.  Not because of money, but because of age.  The U.S. motorcycle business has been in a slump since 2008 and shows no sign of recovery any time soon.  It is a world market, not just a U.S. market. The vastness of the U.S., the diverse weather conditions, terrain/roads makes a 1 bike fits all situation impossible.   Manufactures have to take that into account when designing, building and marketing products.  Fortunately, we have more than a couple of choices to pick from.   

My personal survey show plenty of aging riders and a glut of large displacement motorcycle with no buyers.  4 motorcycles in my garage from 4 different manufactures. My first chose, Moto Guzzi followed by 1978 Kawasaki KZ1000 LTD.  1 rider in the household.  I ride for recreation.  No touring, no cross country trips.  Averaging 6,000 mile a year. 

The 4 bike comparison is interesting and has a lot of valid point in favor of Moto Guzzi.

1 question though, do the new engines run a lighter flywheel?  I replaced the stock flywheel with a Ram clutch in my 1100 engine and really like the seat of the pants performance feel I got. 

 

[Litre1000]

I’m a HUGE Victory cycle fan! I even was a dealer back in 1999/2000. I’ve owned 3 of them (still have 2). A 2003 Vegas & a 2010 Arlen Ness Vision. So trouble free. So maintenance free. So unique. And I LOVE the way they make me feel when I ride them. Hell, I even LOVE just looking at them while sitting in the garage, sipping on a beer! And to top it off, I have two great dealerships, if I ever need them! I have been looking into a Moto Guzzi lately because they share some of the same qualities that attracted me to Victory. Problem is...NO GOOD DEALERSHIP anywhere near me! I can’t even fathom the thought of doing business with them! I just don’t like the people. Big Box stores suck, in my opinion. I wish my former Victory dealers would/could pick up Guzzi. I know Guzzis aren’t as reliable as Victory’s are. But that wouldn’t bother so much if I had a dealer I could count on .....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[blu guzz]

Dealers are extremely important.  I would not be riding an MG now if it  were not for the local dealer.  I knew him first as an all brand service shop.  MG is a "boutique" brand much like the exotic Italian sports cars.  You must have an excellent dealer to sell such vehicles.  For the most part, the dealers will be located near major metropolitan areas. 
I had a great Victory and a great dealer close to home, but the recession knocked out that dealer.   They have since reopened with different ownership as an Indian dealer.  Of course, they can take care of Victory too.  My Victory was totally reliable through 25k miles when I traded it.  I enjoyed the bike when I had it.
I enjoy the Blu Guzz now and so far 8300 miles, have had no problems.

[kidsmoke]

That's funny but I'm not sure you meant it to be. I'm not sure if it's the Guzzi you don't know about or the potential of a 106. The aftermarket for the Victory is still very much alive and doing quite well. That $5K you mentioned is a bolt on super charger that you could install in your garage if you were good with basic hand tools. Then you will have over 200 RWHP and over 245 RW Foot Pounds of Torque. I keep looking but I haven't found such an aftermarket for the 1400. Slip on mufflers, a K&N air filter and a Maxinmus style tune are very nice though. Look friend, they're different motorcycles designed for different markets.

I'm thrilled you love your 1400 if you have one. I love my Victory and I also love the Moto Guzzi brand. It's OK to like them both, it really is. It doesn't have to be a one or the other, anyone not only holding Moto Guzzi on a pedestal should leave now type of thing. Thank God we have so many choices and options available to us. It's a motorcycle after all. Nothing more, it's just a tool to a means.

Please sir, enjoy your ride. And thank you for posting the picture of that seat on the MGX-21. I think it looks wonderful on the bike!

That post was made with my tongue planted firmly in my cheek. And like most such comments, had an air of sincerity to it. You said "most of my miles are on the highway". Clearly we have different goals, so we use different tools. It's all good.  We're blessed to have options. The fact is that off the showroom floor, the Guzzi outperforms the Victory 106. Faster, more horsepower, more torque, better handling geometry. That's data. Not subjective. You may not care for it at all, ( hear you, you dig the Guzzi) but it's a better performing machine by any measure. Not an irrelevant tidbit of info. The fact that it's simple and 'cheap' to profoundly upgrade  the 106 is certainly a HUGE factor for the guy who wants such a machine, and would elevate the Vic over the Guzzi for me, if 200 HP were important to me. The fact, however, is that such upgrades are MANDATORY if your 106 is going to beat the Guzzi on performance (in a straight line).   

You mentioned the appeal of a fork mounted fairing, the growing appeal of the MGX in your view, somewhere in this thread was the mention of getting lighter "at some point", and your brides concern of a pillion. So I thought I'd bring it all together and throw the Corbin at ya, "ticking all the boxes".

In my book, anything with two wheels and a motor is cool. If it meets your 'needs', and your kids aren't going hungry in pursuit of such things, good on ya.

I don't own a 1400. I've ridden one with a pillion on twisty Kentucky roads, a white Touring. Beautiful machine and wonderful motor. As others have mentioned, I found the bike I was on a bit too cramped for me. Like your 106, I imagine I could thoughtfully spend a bit and make it work for me. I found that it felt incredibly light and nimble when underway.

For me though, the numbers just don't make sense. But that's me, as you said in an earlier post, "in my book". Why do I need to drop $30,000.00 to have a 200hp machine that will go like a bat out of hell, when my paltry 1100 carries me and my gear 80 - 90 mph all day long with out breaking a sweat, and will hit the ton and (slightly) beyond when the opportunity presents itself? Add to that the fact that, in the dead cold snowy grey nights of February, when I'm lusting for fairer weather and the rumble of a V, my mind wanders to a freshly paved twisty 2 lane road, and the feel of my <600 lb machine as a I roll the throttle exiting a curve at 50 mph. You can have the 200 hp. I'll take the $27,000.00 more you spent to not have the visceral experience I have on my Tonti. Huckleberry, indeed. 

[Mayor_of_BBQ]

Hi Mark,

I hope you know that in no way was I trying to imply your wife weighs 250# (tho if she does, more power to her)

I simply meant; for ME, I cant imagine why you'd need an 1800cc motorcycle unless you had over 500# of passenger.

But now I'm mostly curious how you live in Chatanooga and do most of your riding on the interstate? Where the heck you going man??

[Toecutter]

Imagine my surprise, entering this thread, expecting it to be about Guzzi/Piaggio's social media presence. Silly me.

[kidsmoke]

Imagine my surprise, entering this thread, expecting it to be about Guzzi/Piaggio's social media presence. Silly me.

Touche.

I really haven't seen it myself. Maybe I'm not on social media enough? Or maybe TN Mark, as a Vic owner is somehow targeted in a way I'm not as a Guzzi owner. It's good to hear though, that folks are seeing the marque.

[Toecutter]

Touche.

I really haven't seen it myself. Maybe I'm not on social media enough? Or maybe TN Mark, as a Vic owner is somehow targeted in a way I'm not as a Guzzi owner. It's good to hear though, that folks are seeing the marque.

I've only seen it on Instagram (it's the only Social media I do)… and it's... well... weak. Maybe it's perfect for today's market, but it's 100% style over substance. "Motorcycle as lifestyle accessory", "buy our bikes, be awesome" kinda stuff.

However... I'm getting old, and that doesn't appeal to me (any longer, if I'm to be honest... I was young once, too), but it may appeal to younger people. And lets be fair... old farts ain't buying new stuff, and if we are, we've got limited years left to do it, so  best appeal to the younger gen, if you want to stay doing what you're doing.

[Mr.Bill]

I will admit. ... As long as extra weight don't come with extra HP its a good thing.

This little V 7 runs along at 80 mph just fine .

I'm more a "sport rider" than a "touring rider". 
I do have some questions:
When does an iPhone become an iPad?
When does a motorcycle become a car?

Bigger is not necessarily better.

[Bulldog9]

Imagine my surprise, entering this thread, expecting it to be about Guzzi/Piaggio's social media presence. Silly me.

Seems to me the OP is full of sheetos and looking for some attention......

[bad Chad]

TN Mark said,
 "  I'm not trying to 'win' anything. I'm just posting facts and my experience as I know it from 50 years of riding. Yes, I did love my Bassa but it was wholly underpowered in way too many riding conditions in my book. The 1200 Griso? A fun and sporty small bike for someone under 5'9" and 160 pounds. Yes, I certainly do think Moto Guzzi is a cool brand. That's why I'm considering buying another one. There are cool emotional factors and there are real world realities. Motorcycles are a series of choices and compromises. "

Sure it all depends on your concept of power and size, but you claim as opinion as "facts".
You felt that your Bassa was "wholly underpowered in way too many riding conditions..."  In 1999, the 1100 was putting out hp numbers to the ground in the low to mid sixties stock.  Cycle World did a review and said, I'm paraphrasing, "that the power comes on in an explosive rush once you hit 5000 rpm..."   I personally road my old bassa for years, loaded up to rallies, and all over, and routinely spun it into the triple digits, I never found it underpowered, yes there were times I wished it had more, but it certainly wasn't underpowered, especially compared to the competition.

And come on man, "the Griso is a fun and sporty small bike for someone under 5'9" and a 160 pounds."  that is just plan not accurate.   At 6'5" I will agree I don't fit well, but I would think anybody under 6'2" and with a 33 or less inseam would have no problem fitting, regardless of weight! The Griso weight is almost 500 pounds with a very long wheel base for a sporting bike, but you call it small???

I'll suggest that your perspective is not one shared by most level headed motorcyclist.  When you come out of the box making claims that can easily be shown to be erroneous, it shoots your credibility to the floor.

[TN Mark]

It's wonderful that people are so happy with the factory power output of their Guzzis. Me, I was never that happy with the power output of mine as many on this forum clearly are. I always added aftermarket pipes and an air filter at the minimum. In my book that doesn't make any one of us right or wrong. People like different things for different reasons.

I also like having options to increase the power if or when I see fit to do so. The aftermarket is better for that with some brands than others. The 'facts' and opinions I post are from my own personal riding experiences, not from a data sheet.

In the end, I love motorcycles in general far above any single brand or model. At one point we had a Honda, a Harley and a Guzzi in the garage. From reading the posts here, I see some are like minded and some only have eyes for a single brand. That's fine, this is after all, a single brand Internet forum.

Enjoy your ride and arrive back home safe and sound to the ones you love.
 

[twowheeladdict]

It's wonderful that people are so happy with the factory power output of their Guzzis. Me, I was never that happy with the power output of mine as many on this forum clearly are. I always added aftermarket pipes and an air filter at the minimum. In my book that doesn't make any one of us right or wrong. People like different things for different reasons.

I also like having options to increase the power if or when I see fit to do so. The aftermarket is better for that with some brands than others. The 'facts' and opinions I post are from my own personal riding experiences, not from a data sheet.

In the end, I love motorcycles in general far above any single brand or model. At one point we had a Honda, a Harley and a Guzzi in the garage. From reading the posts here, I see some are like minded and some only have eyes for a single brand. That's fine, this is after all, a single brand Internet forum.

Enjoy your ride and arrive back home safe and sound to the ones you love.

Maybe it is just me, but I don't think so.  I've never understood buying an "underpowered" bike and then sinking thousands into it to make it more powerful (and usually less reliable) when you can just walk down to the next dealer and buy a bike off the showroom floor that is already more powerful for less total money invested. 

When the engineers design a bike they generally design it as a balanced system.  The frame, suspension, engine power, brakes, tire size, and final drive all work together as a system.  When you go and throw money at only one part of the system you bring that system out of balance.  Adding more power and using that power (instead of just bragging about it) can lead to situations where you overwhelm other parts of the system.  This can lead to dangerous situations. 

I do accept that there are those who have to have the most powerful miata or S10 pickup out there by shoehorning an LS V8 in them, but then they have to spend 10s of thousands more making the vehicle capable of taking advantage of those extra ponies.

[Bulldog9]

35 years of riding bikes you weren't happy with.... Your'e either a martyr or maroon. And let's be real. People add pipes for sound, not power, as the power increase is negligible beyond the butt dyno and psyche, same with air filters.

Most people on this site love Guzzi's but few are fanboys and brand loyalists and there is a broad cross section of bikes. I think youre full of crap, but hey its a free world!

It's wonderful that people are so happy with the factory power output of their Guzzis. Me, I was never that happy with the power output of mine as many on this forum clearly are. I always added aftermarket pipes and an air filter at the minimum. In my book that doesn't make any one of us right or wrong. People like different things for different reasons.

I also like having options to increase the power if or when I see fit to do so. The aftermarket is better for that with some brands than others. The 'facts' and opinions I post are from my own personal riding experiences, not from a data sheet.

In the end, I love motorcycles in general far above any single brand or model. At one point we had a Honda, a Harley and a Guzzi in the garage. From reading the posts here, I see some are like minded and some only have eyes for a single brand. That's fine, this is after all, a single brand Internet forum.

Enjoy your ride and arrive back home safe and sound to the ones you love.

[TN Mark]

A dyno run addresses the real advantages of what modifications make noise and which ones add performance. Here�s a tip: if it comes from the oem, it typically adds noise at a greater rate than actual useable power.

That�s for the online complimentary physch evaluation. But if an owner of just about any motorcycle is considered by you to be a martyr or a moron, you may be at enmity with nearly the entire motorcycle industry. Though in those 35 years I greatly enjoyed my various Moto Guzzi�s and (most of) the other enthusiastic owners of the brand. Even though I was looking for just a bit more performance on nearly all of them. Though certainly not my 1960 Stornello 125 or the 50cc Trotter moped.

If ultimate performance was an actual goal, I wouldn�t own a Victory and you certainly wouldn�t own a Moto Guzzi. Motorcycles, like many, many manufactured products are simply a series of compromises. From the manufacturer as well as the consumer. 

Enjoy your day sir.

[LowRyter]

It's wonderful that people are so happy with the factory power output of their Guzzis. Me, I was never that happy with the power output of mine as many on this forum clearly are. I always added aftermarket pipes and an air filter at the minimum. In my book that doesn't make any one of us right or wrong. People like different things for different reasons.

I also like having options to increase the power if or when I see fit to do so. The aftermarket is better for that with some brands than others. The 'facts' and opinions I post are from my own personal riding experiences, not from a data sheet.

In the end, I love motorcycles in general far above any single brand or model. At one point we had a Honda, a Harley and a Guzzi in the garage. From reading the posts here, I see some are like minded and some only have eyes for a single brand. That's fine, this is after all, a single brand Internet forum.

Enjoy your ride and arrive back home safe and sound to the ones you love.

Mark,  you started this my saying that you wanted an 1800cc Guzzi when you were comparing the smaller Cal 1400 to larger American Cruisers.

We rightfully pointed out that the Cal 14 has more horsepower and is faster than the bikes you listed.  Luap went on to point out several facts & stats to that effect  Having ridden several of the brands of bikes you listed, I mentioned that my experience was that the Guzzi 1400 was faster and sportier.

The difference is that the Guzzi likes rpms and the bikes you mention are low revving.  Totally different riding styles.  Guzzi riders generally like a sportier (and faster) machine. 

All of this was known before you wrote your post.  Now we've gone full circle and you're complaining about the faster Guzzi being too slow.   

Finally, you mention that your Victory is faster because of the many dollars you spent on modifications (which ironically raise the redline on your previously corked up Victory).  You might know that Guzzitech has all kinds of parts to make the 1400 even faster.

[TN Mark]

I was wondering how long it would take someone to mention GuzziTech. I’ve been admiring Todd and his team since they started. Nothing but respect and admiration for them from me. But it does kind of prove my point about not everyone is happy as can be with their factory Guzzi power and many often want more. That’s my point, i want more power than what most bikes offer. Some brands have an easy and a relatively inexpensive path to get their. Victory, Indian and H-D for example. Whatever your wallet can bear can very likely be done. Guzzi makes different sized engines of a relatively similar design because people want differing levels of performance. That’s also why Yamaha makes an R6 and an R1.

You attributed claims to me which I didn’t make. But I think this horse has been beaten enough.

I did enjoy my test ride on the MGX-21 today though. But that’s for another thread altogether.

[LowRyter]

..........none of what you said Mark has anything to do with wanting Guzzi sell an 1800 slow revving cruiser

[twowheeladdict]

I was wondering how long it would take someone to mention GuzziTech. I�ve been admiring Todd and his team since they started. Nothing but respect and admiration for them from me. But it does kind of prove my point about not everyone is happy as can be with their factory Guzzi power and many often want more. That�s my point, i want more power than what most bikes offer. Some brands have an easy and a relatively inexpensive path to get their. Victory, Indian and H-D for example. Whatever your wallet can bear can very likely be done. Guzzi makes different sized engines of a relatively similar design because people want differing levels of performance. That�s also why Yamaha makes an R6 and an R1.

You attributed claims to me which I didn�t make. But I think this horse has been beaten enough.

I did enjoy my test ride on the MGX-21 today though. But that�s for another thread altogether.

There are always guys who want more power, no matter what they own.  Some crave the power, some crave the bragging rights.  If you don't know they did it then you know which reason they chose.

I know guys who had to have the fastest Concours 14 or the fastest ZX10R.  Two bikes that you can't even exploit the power available unless you are on the track or don't really need your license.

[TN Mark]

..........none of what you said Mark has anything to do with wanting Guzzi sell and 1800 slow revving cruiser

If it would spin to 6K that wouldn’t be slow reving V Twin in my book. The Victory 106 built up to a 129 by Lloyd’s Motorworx would spin all day over 7000. I met with and talked to the builder of that particular motor earlier this week. I think my 106 cuts off at 6250 but I very rarely take it past 5000.  I don’t consider that a ‘slow’ revving engine for a big twin. But it certainly is compared to an I4. The overhead cam, four valve per cylinder design allows the 106 to be a spinner compared to the 108 from H-D or the 111 from Polaris Indian.

I don’t expect Piaggio to build an 1800. But I’d like to see it none the less. Others may not and it’s likely they’ll get that desire. I’m not sure what, if any room is even left on the current block for a larger bore or a longer stroke.

The social media aspect of this is to see if the Moto Guzzi demo form gets turned into Piaggio and if/when either the dealer or Piaggio follows up from my MGX-21 demo today.

[oldbike54]

 Let's not turn this into an ad for Guzzitech . They have their own website , please feel free to visit it .

 Thanks

 Dusty

[bad Chad]

Oh goodness,  must really be some bad blood here for "the name that shall not be mentioned".

Seems we can talk tell the cows come home about Harpers, MG Cycle and most any other, but the thought police come out swinging fast for GT. 

I don't have a horse in this race, but I'm assuming we are not supposed to mention the "evil one" because they too have a forum?   Seems a bit of an over reach.

[oldbike54]

 Here is the deal , GT sanctions any discussion mentioning products produced by the folks who so generously provide services here , they have locked threads that were discussing products that are not produced by GT , and continually denigrated certain people who contribute goods and services not specifically sanctioned by GT . If you wish to discuss this any farther please do so by PM . Understand?

 Dusty

[TN Mark]

My sincere apologies, I didn't know there was still unpleasantness between the two groups. If need be, please lock down or close this thread.