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https://www.rideapart.com/news/656712/spec-showdown-motoguzziv100mandello-vs-hondant1100/Steven Rossi
Who turns off the service reminder light after you finish adjusting your own bikes valves etc? Or just checking them if no adjustment is needed.I am sure there are dealers reading this who could answer now.
More V100 porn...https://youtu.be/vhEmq2IpT_4
I like that guy’s style. He packs a lot into his presentation and talks like a biker. I really hope all the new tech type stuff hangs together over the journey and have no reason to think it won’t.I can see how archaic my Norge is starting to seem, but I do not see that as a negative.If I did though…..
I can see how archaic my Norge is starting to seem, but I do not see that as a negative.
AF1 was great, got the bike after an early morning drive to Austin (500 mile round trip) now have 300 miles on it, and still learning the steep curve. Taking it on a 700 mile trip in the morning. Will give a report when I get back.
I think I've read all 45 pages, not 100% sure ... so, not sure if this topic has been covered ... When I read about this new engine, my thoughts have been "Oh, so Aprilia designed the motor for Moto Guzzi". And wondered how the folks in Mandello Del Lario felt about that. Like 100 years of making bikes and Piaggio (the scooter company) tells you Aprilia will make your new future motor for ya. Anyone know how that came about? Maybe it really is one happy family. Maybe it was a great coordinated effort between Moto Guzzi and Aprilia, with Piaggio funding and supporting it. I guess as the buying/riding public we shouldn't care what goes on in the kitchen.
I was thinking the same thing about my Norge....
At least they aren’t Chinese owned.There is really no Guzzi and no Aprilia, that was gone over 20 years ago. Piaggio was before that time looking around for a way to move up in size from scooters, having taken note of the resurgence of larger Italian motorcycle sales in the 90s. After their attempted purchase of Cagiva failed, they gave up on the idea of making Piaggio engined nuovo-Gileras at the Cagiva plant and instead bought Aprilia. This was a good match because as well as them buying a successful competitor in a contracting scooter market, Aprilia was also a motorcycle manufacturer with little powertrain engineering experience - their production motorcycle engines were mostly designed and built by Rotax or Suzuki instead. Meanwhile Piaggio as a relatively huge engineering company had lots of relevant experience in engines but little in full size motorcycle chassis engineering. Guzzi came along for the ride in this purchase, more by chance than intent, having been an Aprilia subsidiary for a few years. Guzzi had some remaining powertrain engineering capability that Aprilia had never shut down but Umberto Todero the long time chief engineer died in 2005 and that provided a turning point. Guzzis engineering and management was then shut down by Piaggio and their staff in Mandello became a couple of hundred assembly line workers.Nowadays Aprilia and Guzzi are divisions and brands of Piaggio that share engineering staff and take direction from the same senior and mid-level management. Powertrain engineering is mostly done at the Piaggio main plant in Pontedera and Aprilia does the chassis engineering. The V100 engine was designed by Federico Martini (RIP) several years ago - he is known for having led Bimota engineering for a period after their peak, before taking over Piaggio powertrain engineering and designing for example the Dorsoduro V-twin. The bikes are still assembled at the legacy plants that were associated with the two companies before they were acquired, this is essential for marketing purposes where a perception of brand ‘authenticity’ supports higher retail prices.My own feeling is that Piaggio’s management of Guzzi was not that great initially (being charitable) but slowly, slowly they have figured out roughly what to do with a product that has a lot of potential. This is much better than VW’s direction with Ducati which has lost the plot in terms of Ducati’s brand value.
Tusayan - thanks for the excellent history and info! I assume the V7 III engines were made in Madello? Like you could see pistons and valves and crankshafts being put together. Is that the situation with the V100 engine? Or do crates of motors show up on the loading dock?
To those who don't think HP sells.......HP sells.