Where are all the young guzzi riders?

[bobrebos1]

We are all old!  Any younger guzzi riders out there?  Geeez!!! lol.  This pic is of our lunch today.  All old!  Lol

[Beowulf]

Does 38 count???? My wife is 34 and she rides a v7.

[faffi]

I am only 60

On a serious note, the Guzzi brand has not appealed much to the young during my lifetime. Even the Sport, S3 and Le Mans seemed to attract grownups more than beginner riders. Cost may have had something to do with that as well. However, the introduction of the V7 Classic for 2008 seemed to also appeal to hipsters in their 30's, bringing in some younger blood.

[guzzisteve]

What pic Bob, did you FORGET!!! Sure sign---------------Ha Ha

[bobrebos1]

Does 38 count???? My wife is 34 and she rides a v7.

Cool!  That’s young!

[bobrebos1]

I am only 60

On a serious note, the Guzzi brand has not appealed much to the young during my lifetime. Even the Sport, S3 and Le Mans seemed to attract grownups more than beginner riders. Cost may have had something to do with that as well. However, the introduction of the V7 Classic for 2008 seemed to also appeal to hipsters in their 30's, bringing in some younger blood.

Yeah I guess guzzi doesent appeal to younger people overall!

[bigbikerrick]

Moto Guzzis are a "gentleman's motorcycle" It takes years for riders to mature enough to appreciate the marque. 
Rick.

[jrt]

My daughter (pictured) is 18. So- they are out there!
Even 20 years ago, when my wife and I were going to rallies on a regular basis, most of the riders seemed older than us.  Wife won 'youngest rider' at the first Minnesota rally in Grand Marais (fun rally) and she was mid or late 30's then!

[drdwb]

Saw several at the MO-Kan rally last year. They certainly out numbered the old timers in all the events. It takes great skill to position your rider directly under a mustard soaked hot dog.

[Moparnut72]

I don't remember where I read it but the average age of Harley riders is in the mid 40's. There has been concerns that Harley riders are aging out but the average age has remained the same but that is probably more due to the high cost of Harleys and older people are more likely to be able to buy one. It would be interesting to see similar figures for Guzzis.
kk

[Tkelly]

That’s what all the brands are asking.Our sport is dangerous and takes skill,money,and motivation.My generation had cool movies and older riders and momm and pop dealers and folks who put on rallies.These are the last good old days of motorcycling.

[MerleLowe]

I talked to the Enfield folks when they were at TWOS.  They indicated they had a fair amount of younger buyers. 

With Guzzis you have both  price and name recognition issues.  They're not really that expensive but not cheap either.  I'm not sure if even heard of Moto Guzzi when I was in my early to mid 20s. 

[Trialsman]

Both my sons ( 34 and 37) got the addiction and have V85TTs.   I have no idea where they ever got the crazy notion.

[JJ]

"Young Guzzi Riders...."

(Isn't that an oxymoron?!?)

[Huzo]

They are perceived as a bike that you have to “know too much” to be able to operate properly…(I’m not sure they’re wrong..!).
There’s stuff that you have to “do” with them, jeeez heaven forbid…!

[Kiwi_Roy]

i'm 78, but still young at heart 

[Moparnut72]

Two of my kids ride, my daughter rides a Vulcan and my son has K1600. I am 79 and can almost see a Vespa in my future. When the Mandello gets to be a bit much then the V7 will take over. Then if I am still kicking hopefully a Vespa might work. 
kk

[Frulk]

Young riders I know are numbers driven. 0-60. HP. Torque. Guzzi numbers are the low end of that spectrum for the most part. Where are the young riders? When I see them they’re on Yamahas, Hondas and Suzukis with a smattering of Ducatis tossed in for good measure.

Locally I continue to see a growing contingent of late 20(?) to 30 something riders on Harley Dynas at local non MoCo sponsored bike nights. Bikes are converted to chains drive. Have some type of bullet fairing, mid controls and pseudo cafe seats. Seems to be a sub culture developing.

Next time I see a pack I’ll take some pics and post them up here for FYI.

[Shorty]

As soon as a young person shows an interest in a Guzzi, BMW or Triumph, they get labeled as a hipster.

[Moparnut72]

"Bikes are converted to chains drive."
Why, I converted my T120 to belt drive. The last chain drive bike I had before the Triumph was in 1968. I now know for sure there will never be another except for maybe one that is a collector bike that will only be ridden for a few minutes on a Sunday afternoon.
kk

[bad Chad]

It actually hard to know.  There are probably more young Guzzi ridders than many may realize.   But they are not like most of us, they don't do M/C forums, they don't do rallies.   But like TomK said, M/Cs have a lot more competition than in pervious decades.  There are gobs of ways to spend money, that just didn't exist back when M/C were having heydays in the 70s/80s.

[faffi]

"Bikes are converted to chains drive."
Why, I converted my T120 to belt drive. The last chain drive bike I had before the Triumph was in 1968. I now know for sure there will never be another except for maybe one that is a collector bike that will only be ridden for a few minutes on a Sunday afternoon.
kk

If I should hazard a guess, it is because it is considered more retro and hard-core. Despite belt being the first final drive on motorcycle AFAIK.

[Dr. Enzo Toma]

I am 33 and bought my Moto Guzzi V7 850 two years ago at age 31. A friend who is the same age as me has had three different V7s over the past several years and will likely be hitting 100k miles on her latest one before the end of the year. That was a lot of the appeal to me, a well rounded bike that a friend the same size and age as me has ridden the same way I ride motorcycles, as a daily commuter and long distance touring bike. To me Guzzis have a reputation for actually being ridden rather than just parked outside a bar or at shows. Right now I have ten motorcycles that are tagged and get ridden, the V7 850 is one of two that are not antiques, the other modern bike is also a retro/classic styled bike. If I didn't buy clothes at Costco then maybe I could be a hipster 😂

Those Harleys you are describing sound like "club style" builds. Dynas are abundant in good condition because many people bought them and then just parked them in their garage... that lends to them being a relatively affordable Harley, but with outdated styling that can easily be refreshed with just a few parts. Fortnine even did a video on how to turn a Dyna into a club bike: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=No8JZCdIF3I
The Dynas with the Evo motor are a popular stunt bike which has also added to the appeal. Buell (which Erik Buell is no longer associated with) are even coming out with a "Super Cruiser" in that style, designed by Rolland Sands around Buell's Rotax V-Twin.

[twowheeladdict]

I only looked at bikes in the for sale section of the paper when I was young.  Never walked into a motorcycle shop.  Bought what I could pay for.  It wasn’t until I was in my 50s did I look at anything other than Japanese bikes. 

Since that time I have owned 3 Moto Guzzis, 1 Triumph, 1 Royal Enfield, and 3 Harleys.

The young riders I meet are on whatever used bike they found close by or at a dealer.  Groms. Small Ninjas, Dual Sports are what I mostly see.  Shorter riders are on cruisers. 

[Bulldog9]

They are all on Instagram, TicToc, and hanging in places that serve latte's to people in skinny jeans, NOT at lunches and Wild Goose Chase.............. .....

[midnite]

Great to hear about younger Guzzi riders! I’m 48, and assumed I was among the youngest. I started riding about 10 years ago, and a V7 was my first love (though not my first bike). Like so many of us, I’m a Guzzi rider for life… or at least until it’s time to upgrade to a Vespa. ;)

[michaell32]

I am 38 and I bought my Guzzi last year.  During the Colorado/Utah NAR, I was the youngest rider last year.  I have several co-workers who ride and none of them will leave the big brands.

[Tom H]

I rarely see another Guzzi on the road.

But when I stop at my Guzzi shop, I often see a 30ish bringing in a V7 variant for service while I'm there. The small block seem to be sleeper popular????

Then as mentioned, that age group is more likely to hang out at a big brand coffee shop with their Guzzi buds then an old Greaser get together at the local drive in burger joint.

Tom

[kingoffleece]

I knew a lot of younger Guzzi riders in NY when I lived there.  They had no interest in "owners groups" or breakfast with the old guys.  Busy doing their own thing.

[bobrebos1]

They are all on Instagram, TicToc, and hanging in places that serve latte's to people in skinny jeans, NOT at lunches and Wild Goose Chase.............. .....

Good point.  I need to change the name Tn/Ga/Nc area guzzi meet n greet lunch group to “old farts getting fat Guzzi group”!