Trading in my V7 III Special for an MGX-21. Thoughts? Now Eldorado!

[Luap McKeever]

My $.02

I loved the MGX that I had. Loved it for 18K miles until the motor blew up. To me the fairing worked quite well with the XL screen. Perfect? No, but "okay". It handled amazing once you got up to speed. It is heavy to steer at slow speeds and may not be for everyone, but I got used to it and could toss it around pretty well. Where the thing actually shined (to me) was at cruising speeds. I had the Corbin on mine with some highway pegs so it was really quite comfortable. I did a 900 mile day on it once and got home and mowed the lawn. Felt like nothing at all.

The motor when it was right was an absolute badass. It pulls hard and smooth.

Rear tire changes are a NIGHTMARE. Changing final drive oil when you change rear tire is recommended as it's reservoir is hidden until you pull the tire off. Pull that centerpiece off the front wheel if you don't want to be tossed around on the interstate like a rag doll on windy days.

The spark plug caps suck. Big time. Valve adjustments are a cinch. Checking the oil is the stupidest method ever and I wish all motorcycle manufacturers would do a simple sight glass. Changing transmission oil is a PITA. The horn is non-existent, so I upgraded to Fiamm highway blasters. You cannot hear the stereo above 50 or so with stock speakers. I upgraded the speakers and was able to hear it up to around 80 after that. There's a group on Facebook and one of the guys upgraded his system so good that he could hear it perfect at half volume, full face helmet at 100MPH. (his words, not mine).

My opinion is its a decent motorcycle that didn't have enough real world testing done and was seemingly rushed to be put together for a first ever appearance from Guzzi at Sturgis.

Would I buy another? Probably not in this lifetime. Mine turned out to be a lemon so I won't bore you with all that, but if it tickles your fancy...

[twowheeladdict]

Weird question.
I've never had a bike with floor boards. Only pegs.

For those of you who went through that transition, how was it? Do you find that the floor boards are better/easier?

Also, has anyone thrown pegs on a Eldorado? Is it even possible? Kinda counter intuitive I know, but just wanted to ask.

-Ricky

With feet forward I will always want floorboards.   Much more relaxing for the legs.

[Mayor_of_BBQ]

Well the Audace has pegs and shares a frame with the other 1400 bikes so it's not impossible. as rare and the Audace is tho, I bet pegs and the associated pieces are scarce and $$$$

AF1 or someone like that could probably source all the bits for you. At a minimum you'll need the pegs and shifter + brake lever... no idea about the rear master cylinder and linkages + hardware. 

I'm willing to bet it's a $600+ proposition 

Try the floorboards, if you hate them, at least you know the peg swap is an option.

[Air-Cooled]

I find the MGX-21 pleasing to the eyes.  I don't like the 21" front wheel or the batwing from a ride standpoint.  Since the OP is considering the switch, he must find the looks appealing. 

Your disdain for the looks of the bike would have no influence on anyone buying the bike or not, except for very insecure individuals.

Well, congrats to the OP for ditching the MGX in favor of the Eldo. Since they share the same engine, I have to believe looks had at least something to do with it. The Audace though looks real nice!

[twowheeladdict]

Well, congrats to the OP for ditching the MGX in favor of the Eldo. Since they share the same engine, I have to believe looks had at least something to do with it. The Audace though looks real nice!

I do find the Eldorado to be the most appealing of the 1400s.  I'm not a fan of fork or handlebar mounted large fairings for windscreens from a ride perspective. 

[Moparnut72]

I had boards on my Harley, I really liked them but scaped them a lot. They allow you to move your feet around on a long ride. I have an Audace which is the basis for the MGX. It doesn't have the fairing and all the stuff that goes with it. It also has an 18" front wheel instead of the 21" that the MGX has. My Audace is pretty heavy handling at parking lot speeds, I can't imagine what the MGX would feel like. I am going to have to sell my Audace as I am getting old and it is getting too heavy for me. I sat on an Eldorado the other day and it felt a lot better, I king of wish I gotten one of those instead. I didn't care for the black but the one I sat on was red, I liked that. One thing with the Eldo is some weak mounting of the rear fender which causes some rattling. There is a fix posted somewhere, I think on Guzzitech. Anyway I am going to make my V7 my main ride. I will look further into the V7 850 but I will most likely just upgrade the suspension on the one I have now, Good luck on what you do, I really like my 1400 though, the power is intoxicating.
kk

[dirtiegirtie]

What they give you for trade in is kinda irrelevant in-and-of-itself.

Trade in value, selling price, interest rate. If you fixate on just one then they'll screw you on the other two.

But as my father always told me... "If you get the vehicle off the lot, then they got the better of you."

[twowheeladdict]

What they give you for trade in is kinda irrelevant in-and-of-itself.

Trade in value, selling price, interest rate. If you fixate on just one then they'll screw you on the other two.

But as my father always told me... "If you get the vehicle off the lot, then they got the better of you."

Yep, I didn't buy 10 different bikes today, but the dealer didn't get the better of me.  Said no motorcycle rider.   

[Bulldog9]

Thanks all.....and I didn't mean to be rude at all.
I just have a certain perspective on purchasing cars/motorcycles where I try to do something different.
In a sea of Harleys, I just can't bring myself to buying one. I've ridden them before. I have family and friends who own them. For me though, it's just not for me. Also i'm Italian.
I was actually looking at a Sport Glide. Nice looking bike, but I can't justify the almost $20k price tag.

So, i've actually changed my mind. I cancelled the deal with the MGX and will be pursuing a Black 2020 ElDorado with 19 miles today.
It's from the same dealership where I purchased my V7 so I know those guys.

Went and saw it last night. Absolutely beautiful motorcycle. I love the curves and all the little details.
I have a demo ride at 10AM and will get my full impression then.
I started talking to the dealer to run some rough numbers and will be trying to close a deal today.

I will be able to use the current Moto Guzzi promotions (Military) and also have the peace of mind of having a brand new bike.

I will let you guys know how it goes.

-Ricky

Great choice. Had I gone for an Eldo rather than the MGX, I would still have it. A Stunning motorcycle and reportedly the best handler of the 1400 series.

Still, it all worked out well. I bought a Convert and 1200 Sport with the $$ from the sale, and threw the rest into Tesla Stock. Used that windfall to buy a Mustang Bullitt. ;-)

[Bulldog9]

Weird question.
I've never had a bike with floor boards. Only pegs.

For those of you who went through that transition, how was it? Do you find that the floor boards are better/easier?

Also, has anyone thrown pegs on a Eldorado? Is it even possible? Kinda counter intuitive I know, but just wanted to ask.

-Ricky

It really depends on the bike, and how they are engineered. I wouldnt be looking to take them off the Eldo. The only bike I've owned with floorboards is the Convert, and I really like them. Give lots of options for foot position. Can even pull my feet back, put the ball of my foot on the rear edge of the board and feels like I am on rearsets, middle of the boards for a neutral and forward for a bit more relaxed.

Back in the 80's when I was an avid XS1100 owner, I had one set up for sport riding with a 4-1 Kerker header, upgraded shocks and fork, fork brace, rearsets, flat track bar, one that was mostly stock standard, and one that had a windjammer and triple bags taken off a Voyager. I THOUGHT that adding floorboards and forward controls to this setup would be the cat's meow, but it was terrible. Went back to the stock pegs.

I'd be keeping the floorboards on an Eldo or Cali.

[Huzo]

After seeing what Luap went through, I’d be stumping up for a few new sets of underpants as well...
I’ll bet my arse you haven’t got it in two years..

[allmotive]

Update:

I test rode the 2020 eldorado and loved it. unfortunately it wound up being out of my price range of what I was willing to pay when it was all said and done.

I went on a trip out to the flight 93 memorial over the weekend. good weather and good roads.

so now that I'm back I had my eye on a 2016 eldorado in black.
I wound up putting a deposit on it and am getting it for 8k OTD.
it has 1300 original miles and Mistral slipons.

I checked on AF1 and they have a peg conversion kit for the eldorado. 2,000. no thanks. I wound up liking the floor boards a lot.

they gave me 5,500 for the trade on the V7 and I'll be picking up and signing paperwork on Monday. one of the things I'm considering is whether I'll return the V7 to stock or not. the dealer said the parts don't add any value.

here's what I have. maybe if I get some interest I'll pull them off and sell to you guys:

dart pirahna windscreen
rizoma bar end mirrors
Shorty Front Fender
K-Town Rear Fender delete
Mivv Ghibli Slip-on Exhaust
Moto Guzzi Comfort Gel Saddle
Moto Guzzi Black Side Plates
hepco-becker c-bow mounts black (pretty certain these won't fit the eldorado and will have to buy a new mount)

thanks all for your advice.

-ricky

[TN Mark]

Update:

I test rode the 2020 eldorado and loved it. unfortunately it wound up being out of my price range of what I was willing to pay when it was all said and done.

I went on a trip out to the flight 93 memorial over the weekend. good weather and good roads.

so now that I'm back I had my eye on a 2016 eldorado in black.
I wound up putting a deposit on it and am getting it for 8k OTD.
it has 1300 original miles and Mistral slipons.

I checked on AF1 and they have a peg conversion kit for the eldorado. 2,000. no thanks. I wound up liking the floor boards a lot.

they gave me 5,500 for the trade on the V7 and I'll be picking up and signing paperwork on Monday. one of the things I'm considering is whether I'll return the V7 to stock or not. the dealer said the parts don't add any value.

here's what I have. maybe if I get some interest I'll pull them off and sell to you guys:

dart pirahna windscreen
rizoma bar end mirrors
Shorty Front Fender
K-Town Rear Fender delete
Mivv Ghibli Slip-on Exhaust
Moto Guzzi Comfort Gel Saddle
Moto Guzzi Black Side Plates
hepco-becker c-bow mounts black (pretty certain these won't fit the eldorado and will have to buy a new mount)

thanks all for your advice.

-ricky

Fantastic, the Eldorado is, IMHO, by far the best of the entire 1400 line. $8k OTD minus the $5.5 they gave you for the trade? Wonderful, congratulations. Is it the all black or the red and black? Does it have any extras besides the Mistrals? Factory accessories were hard to come by when the 1400's were still being made. Now, good luck finding much for them.

Take everything off the V7 trade in that won't leave a hole. They're right, extras add near $0 value to a trade in. Sell everything you take off here on the forum.

[twowheeladdict]

Take everything off the V7 trade in that won't leave a hole. They're right, extras add near $0 value to a trade in. Sell everything you take off here on the forum.

Yep, the dealer says they add nothing to the trade in, but they do add to them marketing the bike.  Many dealers don't think a person will bother putting everything back to stock. 

When I called the last dealer's bluff and returned the bike completely to bone stock he was not very happy, even though when negotiating I told him I would return it to stock since those parts had a value to me.  He just didn't think I would strip the bodywork and remove the tank in order to remove everything I had added. 

[TN Mark]

When I bought my current bike I traded in 3 bikes. I removed nothing from one (H-D Sporty) because it didn't have anything added to it. On one bike (Cal Vin) I sold parts I bought and hadn't installed yet. Then on one (Valkyrie Interstate) I removed a lot of things. Every accessory I added that didn't leave a mark. Exactly as I discussed and agreed with the Victory dealer. The parts I sold separately brought in over $2500. I got a new bike and with the parts money my wife and I went on a cruise. Win win.

[dave1068]

Good luck with the Eldo, I saw a few of them last week at a MG gathering in CT, I will say the red one caught my eye, never thought the white walls would catch on but I guess so. I have seen a matte red audace and very sharp, dont see too many around, I have v85tt now, but always wondered about a big 1400 in my future, though I have long legs so not sure if the pegged Audace or floorboarded Eldo would be the best option.

Enjoy and be safe!

[allmotive]

Picked up the Eldorado Monday. Man i love that bike. The Mistral exhaust sounds amazing.

One weird thing happened on the 200 mile ride home. I must've hit a bump pretty hard and my rear right tail light must've been loose or hit the tire or something. Well anyway, what happened was the rear tail light broke off and was chillin on my exhaust. I noticed a warning about a light bulb being out on the right side on the dash. So when we parked a few minutes later I saw wires hanging out where the tail light used to be. The tail light housing was lodged on my exhaust and starting to burn.

Now I have to pick up a replacement unit.

I looked on AF1 and found part number 2D000165 Blinker r and 584332 Lamp 12V-10W to complete the replacement. Does this sound right or does anyone else know where to find a replacement unit?

Other than that everything is amazing!

[Kiwi_Roy]

Congratulations on the new bike, the Eldorado is the pick of the bunch IMHO 
The dash passes a tiny current through each lamp, thats how it knew one of the blinkers was missing.

[twowheeladdict]

Personally I would just pick up some aftermarket LED turn signals unless the factory ones are LED.

[Sykestone8886]

Congrats on your new bike from the looks of the pics looks like kissells in Tyrone pa , great bunch of guys, anyone looking for a stornello I just traded mine on a a 1200 GS , great bike but my aging bones just couldn’t take the pounding anymore.