Whither Guzzi with no Marzocchi?

[ITSec]

Well, Guzzi and Aprilia, along with a number of other manufacturers, should have been working on fall-back plans for a while now given the mumbles since Tenneco bought Marzocchi.

http://blog.motorcycle.com/2015/08/24/motorcycle-news/marzocchi-shutting-down/

I'm rather puzzled by who may be able to step into the role of intermediate performance suspension supplier - there's gonna be a gap between the low end and the high end (especially for OEM sales) that I just don't know will be filled...

[Aaron D.]

I'm sure there will be something. I don't think Marzocchi was all that big lately.

[ITSec]

I'm sure there will be something. I don't think Marzocchi was all that big lately.

They haven't been huge - but they are on the Stelvio and some other motorcycles (and a lot of mountain bikes  ). I don't think there will be a significant aftermarket impact, what with the number of alternatives - but OEM alternatives are less common.

I think part of the issue is that outfits like Sachs have been running ahead of them on things like the active suspension on the Caponord, and I think Tenneco has a very commodity-oriented approach.

[Vasco DG]

Aprilia haven't used 'Zocchis for a long time, if ever. Most of their bikes use Sachs, Showas or Ohlins. As for the demise of Marzocchi? It's been a very long time since they made very good suspension. In the last decade and a half, probably longer, their products have been outclassed to the point of being pedestrian. I always hated their compression damping in one leg and rebound in the other system, it was an engineering brain-fart that should of been binned immediately but they persisted with it, bleargh!

As for who will take their place? Who knows? Whoever will make the cheapest replacement I'd guess. If they stick in Europe that probably means Sachs. Personally I'd prefer Showas to be adopted as they are a great fork.

Pete

[redrider]

I dunno Pete. I have USD 43's on the Benelli and have no issues. They actually feel more supple/compliant than the Ohlins on the V11. Could be the mass. Cheers.

[guzzied]

The only Guzzi I never had to do any suspension up grades to is my 2003 Rosso Corsa with Ohlins. Set the sag, compression and rebound and ride.  I have read somewhere that Guzzi asked for the compression on one side and rebound on the other from Marzocchi, could be wrong?  Yes, I'm not a big fan of their forks either, give me a pair of Showa's in their place!  Still trying to figure out the Zokes on my 2014 Norge!

Mike

[cruzziguzzi]

I wonder if they'll dismantle the shop after the fire-sale and send tooling and patents home to one of their "right to work" state locations. One of the places we can outperform in manufacturing costs is certainly Italy.

Maybe to their toe-hold in China?

Todd.

[Kentktk]

I always hated their compression damping in one leg and rebound in the other system, it was an engineering brain-fart that should of been binned immediately but they persisted with it, bleargh!

Pete

I guess Ohlins had an "engineering brain-fart " also since they use that system. But apparently you know better than Ohlins how forks should be designed. I personally think it`s a great idea.

http://www.ohlins.com/product/fgrt200/

[blakebird]

WP

[Vasco DG]

I guess Ohlins had an "engineering brain-fart " also since they use that system. But apparently you know better than Ohlins how forks should be designed. I personally think it`s a great idea.

http://www.ohlins.com/product/fgrt200/

I care not a jot of Ohlins use the system. I still think it's a crappy idea. You're relying on the rigidity of the front wheel spindle to stop the forks tying themselves in knots as first one leg and then the other tries to slow movement with little or no resistance on the other side. I think that isn't overly bright.

If an Ohlins engineer rather than a bean counter wants to explain otherwise I'll listen. Until then I'll rely on my own judgement rather than just slavishly accepting the orthodoxy.

Pete

[ITSec]

I care not a jot of Ohlins use the system. I still think it's a crappy idea. You're relying on the rigidity of the front wheel spindle to stop the forks tying themselves in knots as first one leg and then the other tries to slow movement with little or no resistance on the other side. I think that isn't overly bright.

If an Ohlins engineer rather than a bean counter wants to explain otherwise I'll listen. Until then I'll rely on my own judgement rather than just slavishly accepting the orthodoxy.

Pete

Actually, on that front I agree with you - the one function per side system is a nonsensical concept ion my mind. I do think Marzocchi may not be as bad as you described in other terms, but that design was silly.

[Vasco DG]

I wasn't trying to imply they were 'Bad' per se, simply that the bar had been raised substantially in terms of suspension performance since the early 1980's when Marzocchis were the hot ticket as far as forks were concerned and the forks used on the Norges and Sports particularly are, in real terms, fairly mediocre. I don't have enough experience with the Stelvio's set up to be able to pass judgement.

Pete

[Aaron D.]

Doesn't take an Ohlins person to see how it needs to work. Besides the importance of bushing design, the offset in loading into the front wheel is pretty limited. If the axle can take regular bumps, it is more than up to its part in keeping the wheel in place.

I can feel the difference in new forks vs. old, but they don't mean much to most riders on the road anyway.

[ruote]

Yamaha uses this system on their MotoGP bikes and some R1's.  This is said to avoid a damping "dead spot" when a 2-direction fork reverses travel.  The modern forks and axles are stiff enough that the unbalanced forces are not considered to be a problem. 

[rocker59]

I sure love the Marzocchi M1 that's on my Sport 1100!  Especially after the WP spring upgrade.

The forks work really well for 41.7mm RSU forks!

But like VDG mentioned, they are 1980s tech...
 

[Scud]

While I prefer the Scura's Ohlins to the LeMans' Marzocchis, the LeMans still works really well.

I LOVE the Marzocchi Shivers on my Husqvarna.

Interesting question (earlier post) about what happens to Marzocchi. Now that the Italian Husqvarna Motorcycle tooling has been acquired by SWM (Chinese owners), would it be a big surprise to see the Marzocchi tools follow them there?  Italian Husky fans are all excited that SWM might produce compatible parts for the "red-head" models.

 http://www.swm-motorcycles.it/en/ 

[Kentktk]

Marzocchi saved
http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/news/vrm-acquires-marzocchi-suspension/#more-100747

[rocker59]

Marzocchi saved
http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/news/vrm-acquires-marzocchi-suspension/#more-100747

Cool!  Good news!

[redrider]

04 Café Sport-Ohlins. 07 Benelli Café Racer-Marzocchi. Both USD and fully adjustable. The  Marzocchi forks feel better. Creamy smoothness without the handlebar bump. No mods just careful setup on both. But hey, I like red heads too.

[WitchCityGuzzi]

Probably heresy to say, but I like the 50mm 'Zocchi's on my Stelvio. I find the rebound and compression adjustment pretty decent.  I'm gonna do a little tweaking on the fork this year and a new rear shock. I'm going to put Racetech gold valves on the forks and an Ohlins rear shock.

The original rear shock "lasted" (sort of) 67,000 miles so no real complaint. I put new cartridges in the forks last year so they're still good to go for a while. The gold valves should make them work that much better.

I think out of the whole suspension, the Sachs shock was the weak link.