The Good, The Bad and The Ugly... GUZZI CONTENT

[HardAspie]

Some time ago on this forum was a thread about - roughly - what kind of bike should Moto Guzzi make. I have an idea that MG can have for free.

1. Pretty much what they already make but save money on yearly changes for the need of new models. Change the paint and use the time and funds to slowly perfect each model; making sure that any critical improvement can be retrofitted to older bikes.

2. Concentrate on serving the dealers and riders. Have a good inventory of parts and the network needed (There is USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL. . .already.) to keep owners; bikes running.

That is to go for a reputation of being absolutely the best motorcycles for serious use and satisfaction. This would seem to go well with their already existing niche, and as for parts production, they already have some degree of experience with this. The final production of the Falcone was on a limited basis to fill orders. A small company ought to be precisely what is needed for this approach.

[Dilliw]

2. Concentrate on serving the dealers and riders. Have a good inventory of parts and the network needed (There is USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL. . .already.) to keep owners; bikes running.

I think they are incompetent to deliver the traditional motorcycle business model through a dealer network.   If they were thinking they would go more to a direct sales approach and arrange for service at dealers local to their customers instead of hoping for customers local to their very few dealers.  For as few a bikes as they are selling they could become cutting edge in the motorcycle world.  Maybe add 4g wireless connections to the bikes so that they can self diagnose issues and send the owner a text saying that the bike needs attention (a modern idiot light!).  Then the service center calls the local dealer, ships the parts, and provides support via Skype for issues specific to Guzzi. 

Of course if they might also dramatically increase the number of dis-satisfied Guzzi owners!   Oh well, it is what it is...

[HardAspie]

I think they are incompetent to deliver the traditional motorcycle business model through a dealer network.   If they were thinking they would go more to a direct sales approach and arrange for service at dealers local to their customers instead of hoping for customers local to their (very few dealers).  For as few a bikes as they are selling they could become cutting edge in the motorcycle world.  Maybe add 4g wireless connections to the bikes so that they can self diagnose issues and send the owner a text saying that the bike needs attention (a modern idiot light!).  Then the service center calls the local dealer, ships the parts, and provides support via Skype for issues specific to Guzzi. 

Of course if they might also dramatically increase the number of dis-satisfied Guzzi owners!   Oh well, it is what it is...

Oh my goodness gosh! Exactly. They could capitalize upon the basic simplicity of the bikes and on their small corporate size. They could do things that larger companies could not. And getting to these goals is within reach. Things that might be seen as problems are actually great advantages to be exploited. The niche appreciating rider is already here, and at MG's sales level even small increases of sales in absolute would be huge in terms of percentage.

[normzone]

Well, when I win the big lottery I'll acquire the company and follow your advices for a hobby.

[HardAspie], I love that tagline at the bottom of your posts regarding the airfish, but I've been unable to trace it to the source ? Your writing, perhaps ?

[HardAspie]

Well, when I win the big lottery I'll acquire the company and follow your advices for a hobby.

[HardAspie], I love that tagline at the bottom of your posts regarding the airfish, but I've been unable to trace it to the source ? Your writing, perhaps ?

I shall eagerly await your winning! Hey, when you've made MG aa wildly successful niche company can I have a deal on one?

I just made that tagline to be a tagline. I have an inner surrealism!

[wymple]

I like different, and Guzzis are.  1/2 the reason why I started up with Moto Guzzi was because I went to the Illinois rally and was amazed to see so many people riding old stuff halfway across the country or better to get there. People with some age on them and a whole lotta miles that were in the latter stages of their riding years, ending up with a Goose, and happy about it. Today, if I were to buy a Roamer or the Eldo I would worry myself into a nut house until I knew whether or not I got a lemon. It wouldn't bother me if I had a ton of coin and could just drag out another nice bike, but no, that never happened. All of my stuff is old, early 80's is the newest of mine, but then that's the stuff I prefer anyway.

[normzone]

Well, maybe somebody here can tell us what Aprilia would see as a reasonable offer for the Guzzi line. It appears that they paid about $450 million to get Piaggio.

Then if we all pooled our laundry quarters...

[HardAspie]

I'll pledge many.

Here is the truncated version of a sad tale. I'm here because I want a motorcycle. I thought initially of MG. I like the essential simplicity and also the weight of the V7. But here are my troubles. Firstly, to get a V7 would severely tax my financial ability. I could do that perhap. But then I thought of a worst case scenario. . .

. . . involving some sort of bike halting mechanical or electronic problem in the middle of BFE. How far am I from a dealer? Can a usual Japanese bike shop do anything significant or warranty on the broken MG? How many shops are there to choose from, and how nearby and do they have parts and is MG a real seller at that shop and do they care about me and my bike and will I have to pay for a long distance tow and nights at a hotel and food and other unexpected purchases to support the repair on the road?

And I would be extending my finances in the purchase of one. I determined that just the logistics involved could easily hit me for well over a thousand dollars, at which point I see  if the dealer will buy it cheap and take the bus home. People have several bikes; my bike will be my only motor vehicle. No reason MG could not nail that to the wall.

[Tom]

The used Guzzi approach works great except you are relying on new Guzzi buyers to buy the bikes in the first place.  It's sad that they keep pissing them and their dealers off.   

Doesn't seem to be a shortage of people who want to buy new.  I don't

[canuguzzi]

The incremental changes thing has been suggested before. The problem though isn't improving the models through addressing common problems and fixing them, it is knowing what you don't know.

For example: take most car dealer service centers. The service personnel there don't spend their time scouring the Internet to see what problems exist for models of cars the dealer sells. It really isn't their job and they can't just implement fixes on their own unless they are paying for them out of pocket. There might be a new fandangled 3rd part item that fixes a known problem but unless the owner of the car wants to pay for it, the factory sure isn't. I wouldn't either were I making that decision at the factory or the dealership.

If we as a group of owners (not WG, but in general) expect Moto Guzzi to read forums to find out what common problems exist and then acknowledge that, good luck. They aren't going to acknowledge that information because it is all just anonymous people posting and the manufactures has spelled out specific procedures to communicate problems. The question becomes, who does it?

If 100 owners all post that their bikes won't start and then someone comes along with a few pieces of wire and a relay and goes around the factory wiring, think Moto Guzzi is going to acknowledge there is a problem and fix it? Good luck with that too because they haven't fixed it yet.

How could that be with so many threads about the problem and all the posts about the easy fix? Simple, how many of the owners actually experiencing the problem bothered to inform the company of the problem, either directly or by complaining to a dealer? I bet fewer than you could count using fingers. It is far easier to just make up the kit or buy it from someone and be done with it.

So the problem continues and another year goes by and it remains. Who is at fault? Why us of course. Sure Moto Guzzi might have questionable wiring but past that, who did more than run to some forum to talk about it?

Forums are a great place to get help for older bikes and even new models. They are not a replacement for taking the responsibility of informing dealers and/or the factory that a problem exists. Of course, that is often seen as something counter to good practice because it can be construed not to being self sufficient; after all, owning a Moto Guzzi means maintaining, fixing and all that yourself.

If you never or rarely go to a dealer but then expect them to be around when you need them, how does that work? When a dealer sends info about a problem to Moto Guzzi does that carry more weight than if 100 owners all reported the same problem?

Mention a problem with a MG bike of recent manufacture and there will be numerous posts coming from the "me too" crowd. How many of them do more than that? I bet very few. Not enough to make a difference or it would have accomplished something.

When it comes to getting MG to change something or fix it what is the most common retort?

They won't, can't, will not, ... Wasting your time, Guido doesn't care and on and on. Yeah, how many of those bothered to do more than that? Complaining on some forum for years means diddly squat.

If most owners of bikes affected by "startus interruptus" actually complained to Moto Guzzi and nothing happened that would be one thing, but how many can honestly say they did? Maybe a very few. It isn't Moto Guzzi's job to read this or any other forum.

Moto Guzzi has the means to improve it's models, it has done so in the past. I believe that Moto Guzzi wants to improve it's bikes and also wants to sell a lot more of them. Its a business no matter how much emotion is in the company, it is still a business.

Its a simple thing. If your Moto Guzzi of current vintage has a problem, report it. Send the email, it takes seconds. Notify a dealer, in writing if they are far away and even if you fix the problem yourself.

That might not do anything, what is guaranteed 100% is that doing nothing gets nothing. Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki, HD, BMW didn't fix things because no one reported the problems, they fixed them because owners did report them and the consequence to not fixing them was lost sales. With Moto Guzzi, there is no consequence to not fixing things because it's almost a badge of honor to fix it yourself. Its called the hero syndrome and if you've ever worked in larger organizations, its taught in management training and other disciplines. The hero fixes it and therefore is necessary. The more they fix, the more they are needed. Then one day someone asks why the problem isn't fixed where it starts from and then all hell breaks loose.

[wymple]

Do think bike manufacturers don't have people checking out the bigger forums on their brands for feedback? If not, then they are truly marketing stupid. I am certain people from the makers are watching.

[HardAspie]

I would be.

And I would know the maxim that your most valuable customers are already customers.