Wildguzzi.com
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: bad Chad on June 22, 2026, 03:28:52 PM
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Guzzi appears to be close to revealing a new smaller cc platform. And a new California may be coming along as well. However, the California, if leaks are correct may cause many an old farts overalls to burst into flames when they learn of the proposed powertrain! I love it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNokmM9x_xs
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Lost me at Hybrid.
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Lost me at Hybrid.
Makes sense, really. Imagine Guzzi being a leader with technology application.
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Makes sense, really. Imagine Guzzi being a leader with technology application.
And who’s gonna fix it when it breaks?
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Exactly, why can’t we have points and carbs?!! Oh shit, my Bibs are starting to spark!!!🔥
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Guzzi (Aprilia, Piaggio) has trouble implementing simple things like hydraulic lifters, roller lifters and (to some extent) water-cooling. What could go wrong with a hybrid drive system. :grin:
As far as the "Trip 500", "I'm getting deja vu all over again." Does DeTomaso's ghost haunt Piaggio HQ giving them ideas? How did it work out for him when he "badge engineered" Benellis and tried to convince buyers they were Guzzis? Maybe modern day buyers are more gullible...
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And who’s gonna fix it when it breaks?
*insert beat dead horse icon here*
Guzzi's support in North America is abysmal, even if all you want is valve clearance set on a V11. This is well established.
Logic dictates then that they simply fold. If they can't support new technology in Oklahoma, per you, why bother.
Piaggio has 28 world titles, 300 Grand Prix titles and currently holds the fastest ever recorded speed on a MotoGP trak. Not BMW. Not Ducati. Aprilia under Piaggio. This has nothing to do with dealer support in NA. The result is that the technology is moving forward.
If they've determined that a cruiser is a good platform to apply PROVEN technology - there are over 35 MILLION gas/elec hybrid vehicles on the planet, the Prius is 30 years old- in a new way, I applaud the attitude. No idea what the manifestation may be. But the concept itself shows some ambition. I like it.
there's has never ever been a success that wasn't preceded by failure.
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I don’t like the hybrid idea BUT I want a Cali back and would consider it. It better have a LONG warranty on the hybrid bits though like the cars have
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https://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle-news/moto-guzzi-the-trip-500-parallel-twin-spy-shots/
Steven Rossi
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At approximately the 4:19 mark it shows where they successfully attached a motorcycle to an exhaust system :thumb:
(https://i.ibb.co/7xY2cpk4/500.png) (https://ibb.co/7xY2cpk4)
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Please excuse the following rant :grin: but it’s been building for quite a while and now is the time. After about 40 continuous years of purchases, ownership, enthusiasm for Moto Guzzi and countless visits to Mandello, I’m done. Piaggio has been a problem for 20 years now, with the ever present possibly that they’d destroy Guzzi as they did Gilera and others. Now its gone too far, I’m not interested at all in badge engineered, Indian made Piaggios, and there is no chance of me buying any more of anything Piaggio makes. I’ve just sold my V85TT and won’t be buying another Piaggio-Guzzi, new or used. I’ll keep my Daytona and Le Mans and enjoy them, continue to include Mandello in my tours for its history and Guzzi culture (and ice cream :wink:) but I’m moving on to other interests with my motorcycle money - there are plenty of other places to spend it (I have ten bikes) and I get a sense of freedom from finally just writing off Piaggio as a dead loss.
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I think there's a big leap between patenting a hybrid powertrain and putting one into production.
Seeing the parallel twin in a masked Guzzi styled bike made me think, why wouldn't they just make a smaller displacement V-twin bike like they had in the past? But then I remembered that Ducati tried that a decade ago with the Ducati Scrambler Sixty2 being half the displacement of the standard Scrambler, and it was a total flop because the price difference between the 400cc bike and the 800cc bike wasn't enough for people to buy the 400cc model. Meanwhile, the 1100cc offering wasn't a great success either due to diminishing returns and increased weight. Hopefully that Aprilia 457cc parallel-twin engine puts the Trip 500 in a sweet spot, especially for whatever market(s) they bring it to, maybe not the USA.
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I'm exactly with Kidsmoke on this...and also love the new twin.
It ain't trad...well Guzzi never was until Tomaso took over. That's when a major reform should have happened but finances, customer pressure and conservative management on his side prevailed.He was never a motorcycle guy and never really spent too much effort on Guzzi either...
Aprillia on the other hand had ambitions but bit off a bit too much and piaggio eat them up...and has been nurturing the marque much better than most of us thought back when the take over happened.
Now work on the dealer network.....
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Maybe the little bike although not a V as it should be is as least made in Italy? Can we get that?? All the chinesium floating around.. I’m not opposed to 500cc as I really enjoyed my Himi 411 and 450. Moto morini for example looks great but is Chinese. Yuk
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It ain't trad...well Guzzi never was until Tomaso took over. That's when a major reform should have happened but finances, customer pressure and conservative management on his side prevailed.He was never a motorcycle guy and never really spent too much effort on Guzzi either...
If DeTomaso had his way, Guzzi would have been selling rebadged Benellis and nothing else. Legend has it that he went though the factory swinging a samurai sword and yelling "no more stupid twins". Guzzi would have died on his watch (or went back into government management).
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Just what the world needs! Another low powered bike. How many of those choices do we need? Guzzi can't sell many bikes and now they want to add another non-seller to the show room floor? I get it for maybe Europe or the Far East. In the Us all the kids (under 30) are going with electric bicycles around here and they fly on them. If they buy a bike, then along comes plates, insurance, etc.
They will not sell enough of those in the US to pay for EPA certification.
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As always there is another side to the story. There are many who are aging to the point where big bikes just aren't safe or comfortable to ride anymore. There are very few bikes currently built that a Guzzi or BMW rider would want. This bike could sell IF they do something different than just re-badge a 457. Like a drive belt. A nice comfortable riders triangle not a Ricky racer like the current 457. Of course a 4.7-5 gallon gas tank. That would get my attention.
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They will not sell enough of those in the US to pay for EPA certification.
The engine is already EPA certified in the US - it's in the Aprilia Tuono 457 and RS 457.
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I suspect if there are changes to the engine, exhaust, or even gearing it will end up with its own certification. If you look at EPA certifications, that's how it tends to go for different model motorcycles with nearly the same engine reused across different models. If it passes Euro tailpipe emissions then it will pass USA tailpipe emissions with flying colors, areas where the USA can be more strict or just different requirements tend to be noise emissions and lighting equipment.
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I still think it would be a non-seller in the US unless it was considerably cheaper than anything in the current line up and got a cult following. A shipment of 25 would keep the dealers well stocked for many years with most of them finally sold from the clearance corner.
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Just read this post on Facebook. Rocco works/worked for Gilardoni.
Rocco Torri
I'm sorry, it's written in Italian but it's too long to translate
1) since many say Guzzi made any kind of engine... Yes, a parallel two-cylinder Guzzi was already made by Guzzi in 1947.
STUDY IT!
2) This bike is not going to replace ANYTHING.
It just sides up, in the range, extending it downwards
3) currently, the entry level is a 850cc with 65HP and 220kg, which costs 9200 euros
Can't drive with an A2 licence.
4) the new motorbike will be driven with an A2 license
5) Being driven with an A2 driving license, it will be mainly dedicated to those who will be the "new Guzzisti" and the "new Gujjiste"
But also to those who want something agile and less challenging
6) yes, the engine will be made in China by Zongshen.
The same company, partner of Piaggio, that has been making changes to V7-V9-V85TT-V100 engines for years
7) the motorcycle will be assembled in the Piaggio plant in Baramati, India.
😎 All this to contain costs and be competitive in the market.
Currently, NO bike of any brand below 500cc is built in Europe.
9) Someone says they had to make a monkey, maybe a Falcone type, or a new V50. Nowadays, designing a new engine from 0 entails an investment of around 20 million euros. Piaggio has not yet recovered from the expenses of the V100 nor, at least, from the expenses of engine 1400 and related models.
457 was already there looking good ready
10) The images circulating are hypotheses made with AI.
The only images circulating (the first ones, from January 2024) are camouflaged prototypes
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Thanks for reposting that Charlie. Good stuff and it makes perfect sense.
Side rant - I don't get all the clamor for a new California. There are plenty of Californias 1987 - 2012 that can be had dirt cheap.
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"that has been making changes to V7-V9-V85TT-V100 engines for years"
First I've heard of that and can't find any supporting info for it. Zongshen are partnered with Piaggio sure, but has that relationship involved Moto Guzzi, or the Aprilia 457 (Italian design, made in India) in any way? Many of Zongshen's partnerships tend to be them getting a license from another manufacturer to build that other brand's bike in China, for sale in China. Similar to how Honda don't wholly own and operate any motorcycle plants in China, but instead partner with companies like Guangzhou (Wuyang) and Sundiro where those companies build the bikes under license from and in partnership with Honda.
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"that has been making changes to V7-V9-V85TT-V100 engines for years"
First I've heard of that and can't find any supporting info for it. Zongshen are partnered with Piaggio sure, but has that relationship involved Moto Guzzi, or the Aprilia 457 (Italian design, made in India) in any way? Many of Zongshen's partnerships tend to be them getting a license from another manufacturer to build that other brand's bike in China, for sale in China. Similar to how Honda don't wholly own and operate any motorcycle plants in China, but instead partner with companies like Guangzhou (Wuyang) and Sundiro where those companies build the bikes under license from and in partnership with Honda.
I think something may have been "lost in translation". Perhaps Rocco meant "parts for" vs. "changes to".
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Guzzi gearboxes are *designed* by Piaggio at their main plant in Pontedera but the word ‘cambio’ in Italian means both gearbox and making a change (also BTW currency exchange). I’d guess from the rough translation that Piaggio contracts either gearbox or gearbox component manufacture to Zongshen in China.
Other parts for existing Piaggio-Guzzis are also Chinese manufactured, for example V85TT wheels. I’d bet it goes a lot further than that. Chipped keys are made in Pakistan. These are not motorcycles carved from billets of steel by elves in Mandello (only 200-300 people work there) they are the products of a mass market scooter company and built to a price by any means possible.
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Honestly I don't give a crap who makes it or where as long as it's a solid quality product that the MFG stands behind with a good parts supply and solid no BS warranty. Woops! That keeps Piaggio out of the market.
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Honestly I don't give a crap who makes it or where as long as it's a solid quality product that the MFG stands behind with a good parts supply and solid no BS warranty. Woops! That keeps Piaggio out of the market.
It takes a lot of effort for a European manufacturer to provide parts availability for say 20 years, when the parts come from sweatshops in Asia. It’s easier for them to take the profit that comes from that sourcing plan and design the bike to be unsupportable in 15 years or less. If you pay real money for an Italian specialist motorcycle, you should at least know that’s what’s going on when you pay for the name.
What Piaggio is selling in 2026 as a Guzzi is the cheapest thing they can build that will still sell, designed for planned obsolescence but earning a higher price in the naive market due to a 100 year old Italian badge on the tank. No different than selling a 2026 Maytag washing machine to a market that thinks it’s a Speed Queen.
BMW does the same thing but they take parts support and maintaining ‘brand value’ seriously, selling the bikes for a higher price than Piaggio then investing some of the money earned in parts logistics.
MV Agusta/Cagiva does the opposite and sells the product based on flash in the here and now, to buyers who accept that a five year old model may be impossible to maintain.
Your choice.
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It takes a lot of effort for a European manufacturer to provide parts availability for say 20 years, when the parts come from sweatshops in Asia. It’s easier for them to take the profit that comes from that sourcing plan and design the bike to be unsupportable in 15 years or less. If you pay real money for an Italian specialist motorcycle, you should at least know that’s what’s going on when you pay for the name.
What Piaggio is selling in 2026 as a Guzzi is the cheapest thing they can build that will still sell, designed for planned obsolescence but earning a higher price in the naive market due to a 100 year old Italian badge on the tank. No different than selling a 2026 Maytag washing machine to a market that thinks it’s a Speed Queen.
BMW does the same thing but they take parts support and maintaining ‘brand value’ seriously, selling the bikes for a higher price than Piaggio then investing some of the money earned in parts logistics.
MV Agusta/Cagiva does the opposite and sells the product based on flash in the here and now, to buyers who accept that a five year old model may be impossible to maintain.
Your choice.
What evidence do you have to support such a claim Piaggio has been building Moto Guzzi for almost 20 years now and parts are still readily available for bikes even back in the 90s and some cases far older. Guzzi and every other manufacturer have always built to a price point that’s not something new it’s been around since the dawn of manufacturing. Yes, there are a couple of exceptions here and there throughout time for manufacturers building items that have no connection to cost but for the other 99.9% manufacturing cost is a huge part of it. I feel we’re darn lucky to have Guzzi around in 2026, and attempting to knock them for doing whatever every other manufacturer does, it’s not fair. And to compare them to BMW is not really relevant either as BMWs cost thousands more for a comparably equipped model than a Guzzi is far less money, and that’s OK. Some people wanna pay for that dealer support some don’t.
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I’d suggest you order a wide range of parts from Piaggio for a 20 year old Guzzi and see how long they take to come in.
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Are you saying other mfg have everything on the shelf for a 2006?
Maybe some do, but we are talking about an Italian motorcycle, what’s reasonable?
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Well I for one am happy to see Moto guzzi expanding its offerings, but this would not be something on my future purchase checklist.
Air-Cooled shaft drive has been my preferred motorcycle experience since 1986. I don't see that changing for the rest of my life.
But if this pulls in some of the youth, you know the latte sipping skinny jeans computer nerd kids? Well then I'm all for it.
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Please excuse the following rant :grin: but it’s been building for quite a while and now is the time. After about 40 continuous years of purchases, ownership, enthusiasm for Moto Guzzi and countless visits to Mandello, I’m done. Piaggio has been a problem for 20 years now, with the ever present possibly that they’d destroy Guzzi as they did Gilera and others. Now its gone too far, I’m not interested at all in badge engineered, Indian made Piaggios, and there is no chance of me buying any more of anything Piaggio makes. I’ve just sold my V85TT and won’t be buying another Piaggio-Guzzi, new or used. I’ll keep my Daytona and Le Mans and enjoy them, continue to include Mandello in my tours for its history and Guzzi culture (and ice cream :wink:) but I’m moving on to other interests with my motorcycle money - there are plenty of other places to spend it (I have ten bikes) and I get a sense of freedom from finally just writing off Piaggio as a dead loss.
100% on this. I threw up a bit into my mouth reading about an Indian/Piaggio/Moto Guzzi ‘Trip 500’.
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100% on this. I threw up a bit into my mouth reading about an Indian/Piaggio/Moto Guzzi ‘Trip 500’.
I get what you're saying, and as I said above I have no interest in this model, but manufacturers need to do what they need to do to stay solvent.
I'm more of a Porsche fanatic than I am a Moto guzzi fanatic. The fact is if Portia had not drawn outside the lines and released models like the 944, or their Macon SUV or Cayenne SUV, they wouldn't be in existence today..
And because of those models, We y arguably have the best 911s ever.
So if they sell a bunch of these mongrels, and it keeps the company solvent and allows them to continue to develop and produce the classic V-Twin shaft Drive Moto guzzi, we should all be in favor of it.
In my opinion it's pretty ridiculous to swear off a brand because they draw outside the lines.
The one manufacturer that I will exempt myself from is General motors.
I was a long time Oldsmobile And Saab fan. In fact between my dad and myself and my brother, we had a continuous train of Oldsmobile ownership from 1968 until 2015. General motors killed Pontiac, then they killed Oldsmobile, then they killed Saab, then they killed Saturn,...... Unforgivable and I've written them off. Will never own another GM product the rest of my life.
But I think we should give piaggio and Moto guzzi a chance. If this entry-level model is a sales hit and it pours money into the coffers to keep them developing and keeping air-cooled shaft drive motorcycles alive into the future? I think that's well worth it.
But that's just my two cents from my little corner of the cabbage patch.
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But I think we should give piaggio and Moto guzzi a chance. If this entry-level model is a sales hit and it pours money into the coffers to keep them developing and keeping air-cooled shaft drive motorcycles alive into the future? I think that's wells worth it.
I’m not particularly attached to air-cooled shaft drive motorcycles, although I’ll admit that four of mine are that, and two of those are Guzzis. What I was interested in when buying a Moto Guzzi is firstly that it was designed with knowledge and appreciation of Guzzi’s philosophy, which historically includes a lot of innovation, applied in a practical way. Also important was the old world longevity and maintainability that Guzzi came to represent in the decades before the company and its design capability was dissolved. And some style and taste contributed by designers who have it. I don’t want to buy an Indian made Piaggio with a Chinese engine designed and built by people who have no idea what Moto Guzzi is all about, looking ugly as a KTM, and only a Guzzi by virtue of having that badge on the tank to help it sell to people who may recognize the name more than some other name.
I had hoped that my V85TT would be a real Guzzi for me, combining Guzzi values with modernity, but I found it too generic and I never really connected with it. I replaced it with a clean, low mileage ‘92 BMW R100GS that’s better. Meanwhile I have the opportunity to buy a V100 Mandello S with less than 1000 miles on it, at a very low price, but will stick with my Le Mans and Daytona RS. I’m tired of being disappointed by Piaggio, and won’t buy more from them. I also have an ‘86 Laverda SFC 1000 that I’m recommissioning, so I’m not bored. Laverda is BTW another name that Piaggio owns and has wasted, like Gilera.
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If DeTomaso had his way, Guzzi would have been selling rebadged Benellis and nothing else. Legend has it that he went though the factory swinging a samurai sword and yelling "no more stupid twins". Guzzi would have died on his watch (or went back into government management).
Some how Guzzi survived his tenure though...even the horrid 80's slab plastics and 16 " wheels !!!!! Benelli did not....camshafts made out of playdough didn't help for sure !
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I’m not particularly attached to air-cooled shaft drive motorcycles, although I’ll admit that four of mine are that, and two of those are Guzzis. What I was interested in when buying a Moto Guzzi is firstly that it was designed with knowledge and appreciation of Guzzi’s philosophy, which historically includes a lot of innovation, applied in a practical way. Also important was the old world longevity and maintainability that Guzzi came to represent in the decades before the company and its design capability was dissolved. And some style and taste contributed by designers who have it. I don’t want to buy an Indian made Piaggio with a Chinese engine designed and built by people who have no idea what Moto Guzzi is all about, looking ugly as a KTM, and only a Guzzi by virtue of having that badge on the tank to help it sell to people who may recognize the name more than some other name.
I had hoped that my V85TT would be a real Guzzi for me, combining Guzzi values with modernity, but I found it too generic and I never really connected with it. I replaced it with a clean, low mileage ‘92 BMW R100GS that’s better. Meanwhile I have the opportunity to buy a V100 Mandello S with less than 1000 miles on it, at a very low price, but will stick with my Le Mans and Daytona RS. I’m tired of being disappointed by Piaggio, and won’t buy more from them. I also have an ‘86 Laverda SFC 1000 that I’m recommissioning, so I’m not bored. Laverda is BTW another name that Piaggio owns and has wasted, like Gilera.
Sorry but all these arguments have a bit of a tired sound to them : The British bikers have been singing that song since BSA crashed and triumph mutated.
Now the French have a deep nostalgic fondness for the Citroen DS or 2cv's but honestly I do not see anyone screaming for their continued manufacture...plent y of the nostalgics rebuild and maintain the originals but have as daily drivers something much more modern.
As for parts availability, under EU provisions a manufacturer is bound to supply spares for 10 years...after that it's up to the aftermarket or a particularly well stocked and beneficent manufacturer. As far as I know this applies to the japanese manufacturers and spares availability is not any better for those either.
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Now the French have a deep nostalgic fondness for the Citroen DS or 2cv's but honestly I do not see anyone screaming for their continued manufacture...plent y of the nostalgics rebuild and maintain the originals but have as daily drivers something much more modern.
One of the machine designers I used to work with was a former auto mechanic. He had a saying: "The French copy no one, and no one copies The French!"
Bad designs are universal. Pride and economics prevents some from correcting their mistakes.
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Sorry but all these arguments have a bit of a tired sound to them : The British bikers have been singing that song since BSA crashed and triumph mutated.
Now the French have a deep nostalgic fondness for the Citroen DS or 2cv's but honestly I do not see anyone screaming for their continued manufacture...plent y of the nostalgics rebuild and maintain the originals but have as daily drivers something much more modern.
As for parts availability, under EU provisions a manufacturer is bound to supply spares for 10 years...after that it's up to the aftermarket or a particularly well stocked and beneficent manufacturer. As far as I know this applies to the japanese manufacturers and spares availability is not any better for those either.
I have little appreciation for the products or fate of the 70s UK motorcycle industry, nor am I great fan of the current Triumphs. What I’m talking about is something completely different, understanding who you are and building on it using current non-retro, non-copy-cat technology, and selling to a market that can see who you are through your products. I’m afraid the Europeans, manufacturers and buyers both, are a bit lost in doing this. Enfield does it better than Triumph and sells a lot more bikes. The best Piaggio has come up with in that regard is the V100, but stuff like dealer only service light reset turns me away - mandatory dealer service by a Piaggio dealer (God help us) is exactly the opposite of what I want in a Guzzi.
Government legal requirements for parts supply have little to do with motorcycles or the real world. Nobody in their right mind buys an expensive motorcycle thinking it will be maintainable for only 10 years. The law is also lost and inapplicable.
Honda and BMW are best for parts availability.
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"I don't like xxxx that they make so…….
Sounds patently ridiculous to me.
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I've always wanted one of those citroen s with the air suspension where you could literally drive it with one tire off the ground. One day I'll find one.
When it comes to the v85, it's definitely not the same as a pre CARC Guzzi, but I've been pleasantly surprised to find it is stuffed with small block character. I've been very happy with it. I was concerned it was going to be bland like the V7III, But I find the motor has a lot of character and that nice thump thump thump feel to it. The balance between character, refinement, and power is just about perfect. But it is tall, intended to be ADV, So I understand how some people might not like it. Handling however and the suspension is probably the best out of the box of any motorcycle I've owned.
I'm still not a fan of the dual headlights and Woody woodpecker front fender but it's growing on me. One day when I have the time and resources, I'm going to look real hard at mounting a V7 850 headlight and standard front fender. But for now I'll take it for what it is.
It's probably going to be the last new motorcycle I will ever buy, but it probably also will not be the last motorcycle I'll ride. That will probably be the Stornello.
Even though I would not be buying this new 500cc water-cooled chain driven twin, Moto Guzzi definitely needed an entry-level model in the $4 to $5,000 range new. If it's a gateway drug to real Moto guzzi's then I'm in favor of it.
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I don't think it's going to be quite that inexpensive. With discounts a new 457 Tuono is in the upper $5000 range, before taxes. But if Guzzi can come in around the same cost, I think it might help them sell quite a few more motorcycles.
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I predict $7995. Then three years later closed out for $4995 when they don't sell.
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I've always wanted one of those citroen s with the air suspension where you could literally drive it with one tire off the ground. One day I'll find one.
When it comes to the v85, it's definitely not the same as a pre CARC Guzzi, but I've been pleasantly surprised to find it is stuffed with small block character. I've been very happy with it. I was concerned it was going to be bland like the V7III, But I find the motor has a lot of character and that nice thump thump thump feel to it. The balance between character, refinement, and power is just about perfect. But it is tall, intended to be ADV, So I understand how some people might not like it. Handling however and the suspension is probably the best out of the box of any motorcycle I've owned.
I'm still not a fan of the dual headlights and Woody woodpecker front fender but it's growing on me. One day when I have the time and resources, I'm going to look real hard at mounting a V7 850 headlight and standard front fender. But for now I'll take it for what it is.
It's probably going to be the last new motorcycle I will ever buy, but it probably also will not be the last motorcycle I'll ride. That will probably be the Stornello.
Even though I would not be buying this new 500cc water-cooled chain driven twin, Moto Guzzi definitely needed an entry-level model in the $4 to $5,000 range new. If it's a gateway drug to real Moto guzzi's then I'm in favor of it.
I have a feeling with the computer control and can-bus you might not be able to do a different head light.
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I have a feeling with the computer control and can-bus you might not be able to do a different head light.
If I do it it would be with the headlight from the most recent V7850 with the DRL eagle, etc.