Moto Guzzi among the 10 worst handling motorcycles of all time (article)

[elvisboy77]

http://classicmotorcycles.about.com/od/historicaldevelopment/tp/The-10-Worst-Handling-Motorcycles-Of-All-Time.htm?utm_source=zergnet&utm_medium=tcg&utm_campaign=zergnet-test-559393

The list includes Kawasaki H1's, etc and then there's "Moto Guzzi" on the list, no model given.  I guess this classic motorcycle expert thinks they all handle poorly.  What a joke!

[fotoguzzi]

what complete bunk!

[LowRyter]

which Guzzi models had rubber mounted bars?  I am drawn the my two Guzzis because I like the way the ride and handle.  Certainly not because of horsepower.

[akcapwild]

     Clickbait      

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clickbait

[F-Man]

Yes, it is click bait.  These "top 10" articles usually seem to be.  I have read this one before. 

I just read a similar one this morning, which someone sent me a link to, called the "Ten Poorest Cities in (State)".  Having grown up in this particular state, it includes some of the nicest small towns you'd ever want visit or live in.  Such articles, even if factually true, give a very one-sided impression and ignore other factors.

This article on handling was particularly unfair as it doesn't reference a particular Moto Guzzi model, as in most of the other references.  It just titles the section "Moto Guzzi", as if all models handle poorly.

Anyway, I spent more time typing this than the article warranted.

[John Ulrich]

which Guzzi models had rubber mounted bars?  I am drawn the my two Guzzis because I like the way the ride and handle.  Certainly not because of horsepower.

The EV's/Bassa are.

[Orange Guzzi]

which Guzzi models had rubber mounted bars?  I am drawn the my two Guzzis because I like the way the ride and handle.  Certainly not because of horsepower.

My 2003 Aluminium "had" rubber mounted bars.  I removed the rubber mounting because I could push on one of the ends of the bar and twist it over 1 inch forward and 1 inch back.  I could not tighten the screws enough to get rid of the twist. 

 

[blackcat]

"To stop this transmission of vibration, Moto Guzzi incorporated a rubber mounting for the handlebars on some of their earlier models."

The writer should have been more specific about which bikes but it does sound like a valid complaint about handling though easily resolved. Failing to note the cure is also a problem in research.

[Triple Jim]

This list and others like it make the rounds on the triples boards occasionally, for obvious reasons.  You can tell that the writer of this one hasn't ridden any of the motorcycles in the list, and is going by folklore.  The Kawasaki H2 always gets listed, along with the term "widowmaker", even though it was successfully raced in many production stock class road races and won many titles in its day.  We should feel proud that Guzzi is well known enough to be in the folklore.  For what it's worth, any motorcycle can handle badly if it's poorly maintained and gets slop in the head bearings, swing arm bearings, wheel bearings, etc..

[F-Man]

Despite it being "#1", owning a blue Kawasaki 750 H2 Mach IV is on my bucket list.  It is one of the "unobtainable" bikes from my younger riding days in the early '70's  that has always had a place in my heart.  I was riding a Kawasaki 100 at the time.  That triple 750 just seemed awesome (and was, at the time).

[Rough Edge racing]

 Jim,as I remember back when they were new, the H2 poor handling was the swing arm bearings allowing too much movement and piss poor rear shocks .This was common with many or all Japanese bikes in the 60-70's. The H2 had more power so more problem. I'm sure the H2's used in production racing had "solid" swingarm bushings and high quality shocks.
   
 

[Rough Edge racing]

 And this story from the words of Cook Neilson on the H2 handling. Cook was the respected editor of Cycle magazine and racer, best remembered for his winning 750 Ducati...He was pushing the bike beyond the limits of many street riders....

        ." I remember one time, after we'd published a particularly scathing road test of an H2 Kawasaki 750, I decided that I'd show the Kawasaki people exactly what I was talking about with regard to handling instability. There was this one corner on Mulholland Highway that was perfect for testing: fast and bumpy (it was on a section of that highway that became known as Racer Road). The Kawasaki guys showed up; I showed up.  So I was whistling this 750 through this one very high-speed turn when it started to wobble. When that happened, the suspension started to oscillate, then the muffler on the left side started banging off the ground, then it high-sided me through a barbed wire fence and I ended up in the hospital ("Charge it!") for a little while.  I certainly hadn't intended to be that dramatic, but the point was, as far as I was concerned, Kawasaki was selling a bike to the public that was fundamentally unsound, and we wanted them to either fix it, or get rid of it.

Over time the dynamic between Cycle and the industry changed. It wasn't that Kawasaki/USA didn't know the H2, for example, was dangerous; their problem was trying to convince the manufacturer that changes had to be made. I was told by several Americans working for different Japanese companies that seeing certain deficiencies discussed in print had a way of focusing the minds of the manufacturers in a way that was quite useful to everybody, especially the buyers. And it was the buyers I always felt we were working for. I know that sounds self-serving, trite, obvious, banal, pious.  So be it."

[F-Man]

I remember riding a 750 H2, maybe 30 years ago, that some fool had put chopper-type bars on it (not exactly ape hangers, but the same effect).  I doubt that bike (or for that matter, the owner) survived this modification.  I was probably a fool for riding it to begin with, but that's what young, foolish people do.   

[nunzio]

WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!   

 I own #5 AND #7 

[MGPilot]

Not the same, but you see this kind of article about some small airplanes.

Every vehicle has operating limits & ranges within which it will perform ok (predictably) and outside of which, it can get exciting fast.

Problem is that some of these ranges can be pretty narrow, the range has never been documented all that well and/or the vehicle has the hp (etc.) to exceed the range (sometimes pretty easily).

Was reading an airplane operating handbook one time that simply said, if you exceed these recommendations, you have now become a test pilot. Let us know how it worked out.

[Daniel Kalal]

To give the admin a hand when combining these identical threads (likely there are others):

2/25/2012
http://wildguzzi.com/forum/index.php?topic=52218

6/2/2014
http://wildguzzi.com/forum/index.php?topic=69986

[kidsmoke]

but...he's a expert!?
It must be true. Dismiss the whole brand.

http://classicmotorcycles.about.com/bio/John-Glimmerveen-72965.htm

[steven c]

 I did own a GT380 and it did have ground clearance issues, but I wouldn't say it handle bad. 

[Chuck in Indiana]

I rode an H2 back when it was new, and I'd say it handled bad. 
then again, I rode a Honda 6 when it was new, too. Plastic swing arm bushings.. lots of horsepower.. not a good idea.
Of course Moto Guzzi is among the worst handling motorcycles of all time, so what would I know? 

[Daleroso]

Push a '79 CBX with 35 mm forks through the Dragon & then try to explain your emotions to your waiting friends.

[sthomag]

I remember riding a CX500, and it didn't seem so bad. I seem to remember it turning very well.

Also, if those old Huskies handled so badly, how did they win all those races?

[redrider]

I had a 400 triple. Ported, polished, milled heads and chambers. (not Marilyn). Ran like a scalded cat. Handling? I thought it was great until I rode a Norton. Neither of those had good brakes. I have ridden a LOT of new Asian bikes that still have crappy brakes. My GPz 1100 was a pig and the 550 was easier to flick but lacked a powerband. I guess I missed the triple. Rubber mounted bars? Run. Run as far and fast as you can. My Guzzi bikes have a gentle thrumming vibration. Never obnoxious. Just this morning I reveled in the start up. The V11 rumbled to life and then I upped the idle with the dummy choke lever. Idle came up to 2000. I sat there comparing the sensations to a radial engine aircraft. She handles anything with ease.

[Peter from Sch'dy]

I think if you were to ask Valentino Rossi (the GOAT) he'd suggest the Ducati GP13 for the worst handling bike of all time.

Best,
Peter

[guzzimike]

That "Author" should stay away from writing Moto-Tech articles and stick to handling his Cock; because obviously he knows Dick about motorcycle handling.


-

[wymple]

I keep seeing my old favorites on 10 worst cars of all time lists, like the dorks writing the piece know anything. And for the record, the GT380 was a real nice, solid bike, as were all the Suzuki 2 stroke street bikes.

[JJ]

The author / article is obviously a complete joke or a spoof, for sure.  Anyone that has owned or ridden Guzzi's knows better.

I have ridden / owned over 33 motorcycles in >45 years of riding on the street, (all sizes / makes / models),  and I will say without reservation that a brand new 1975 Kawasaki 500 Mach-III almost killed me at age 19 due to a 85-mph "tank-slapper."   

I will always remember that fearful night....and it scared the devil out of me!!  I sold it shortly after that incident.

[segesta]

Yeah, it's clickbait. For the same reason I never go to those "... and you won't BELIEVE what happens next!" headlines.

And I never quite even understood the definition of "handling." Despite quantitative measures like lateral acceleration x handlebar angle etc, most articles seem to come down to "I felt scared/confident while riding it."

Update: I see that the author used the word amongst. I think we can ignore anything he has to say.

[Rough Edge racing]

Yeah, it's clickbait. For the same reason I never go to those "... and you won't BELIEVE what happens next!" headlines.

And I never quite even understood the definition of "handling." Despite quantitative measures like lateral acceleration x handlebar angle etc, most articles seem to come down to "I felt scared/confident while riding it."

Update: I see that the author used the word amongst. I think we can ignore anything he has to say.

 Yes the scare factor....That what the old British bikes were about, low scare factor. I used to push 60's Triumphs to edge and they wiggle and squirm a bit but are never threatening. It's more like the bike is warning you the limit is very near. I would ride behind guys on faster Japanese bikes watching their swing arms wiggle ...I could keep up with very little effort while they were working like crazy to keep their bikes on the road in fast turns..

[Daniel Kalal]

Ohhhhh , "clickbait" 

In the early days of the Internet (Usenet, actually), the most common form of "bait" was to make the statement:

"shaft drive motorcycles can't wheelie."

That would be good for pages and pages of apoplectic responses.  Eventually people realized they'd been had, and they'd sheepishly stop posting.   Sigh...  the good old  days.  It even worked for awhile on the old Guzzi mailing list.

[leafman60]

Hey, the article ain't that bad.  Could have been much worse!

The errant-handling Guzzi models were deemed "some of their earlier models."  Who knows. Who cares.  As a Guzzi rider, you must learn to dismiss ill-informed or misplaced articles about the rare brand.

Hey, the same article hit heavy on the Honda CX500 that was a popular bike in its day.  It was dissed because of its transversely-mounted VTwin and the terrible sideways rock that it caused on the road. Normally, that distinction is a favored comment for the Guzzi bikes but at least they didn't go there in this article.