Another one bites the dust.

[mphcycles]

This time its us. I have had all I can stand of PGA business model, and have little hope that the local oil based economy will improve much for the next couple of years.  Toys like bikes dont sell well when the daily news is full of lay off announcements.
MPH Cycles WILL remain in business right here as a service outlet for all our customers, but the high dollar cost of keeping bikes on the floor with so little interest from buyers makes this distasteful choice the only one that makes sense.  PGA does not allow for a service only arrangement like Pete has, so we will not be able to do warranty work . 

Its been an interesting  ride for 15 years, but even with Larry's help, without Todd's knowledge of the F'd up parts system, I just don't need the  headache. The termination letter is at the lawyers office for final touches.
Thank you to all who supported us for so many great years.

[oldbike54]

 Kind of leaves a big hole Mike , but we do understand . Good luck in however this works out .

  Dusty

[Aaron D.]

Sorry to hear this, Mike. I hope things look up very soon.

[arveno]

i am sorry to hear .

Hey Piaggio, what are you going to do for all this guzzi dealers ?














....crickets...

[HDGoose]

Sad. But understandable. And also not the first, nor the last, time I have heard this from dealers trying to deal with PGA.

Best wishes!!

[Spuddy]

SAD.  All the best...

Spud

[Joe A.]

same sad story from pre-PGA days as I've been told. damn shame and completely understood. Best of luck to you, you certainly gave it your all!

[Johnny Moto]

Oh s**t!
Totally understand, and wonder how you hung on so long.
I still look forward to, and rely on your always great service.

[rocker59]

 Damn...

[Travlr]

The sad lesson is.... if you buy a new Guzzi, don't assume your dealer will be around.
If these guys go, anyone can go.

Mike

[elvisboy77]

Thank you, for the awesome 750 Breva you sold and shipped to me, and for all of the dumb questions you answered, and for all the stuff you sold me to keep my Guzzis running.

[screamday]

Sorry to here this, Mike. But, you have to keep your business afloat. Thanks for all you've done to try to keep the Guzzi fever alive and well in the states. 

[rocker59]

The sad lesson is.... if you buy a new Guzzi, don't assume your dealer will be around.
If these guys go, anyone can go.

Mike

They're not going anywhere.  They're just dropping the Guzzi dealership.  And, they have always had more than just Guzzi to keep them busy.

From the OP:  "MPH Cycles WILL remain in business right here as a service outlet for all our customers".

[LongRanger]

Sorry to hear this. I never had the opportunity to visit MPH (I've never even been to Houston), but I know from this forum that you will be sorely missed as a trusted and highly respected Guzzi dealer.

It's yet another classic example of how it's not the product, it's the service, that makes or breaks a company (MG, not MPH). Lousy management. What a shame.

[WitchCityGuzzi]

A real shame. I always considered MPH and M.I. the  premier shops. So sad to see you go. Best of luck in whatever you do. Thanks for all the support over the years.

[SmithSwede]

Really sorry to hear things worked out that way Mike, but you obviously gotta take care of yourself. 

[FGO]

Truly a shame that one of the Dealers that kept Moto Guzzi alive in the US has been forced into this. Over the years, I recall the many times MPH, particularly Todd helped me out. This was the type of dealership Piaggio should have studied to create the foundation for other dealerships, not scooterships with 2 guzzi's.  It is a shame, but my loyalty will be to MPH and as long as they can provide me things that I need, they will be my first choice.  This is a travesty the Piaggio allows this to happen, the end is near my friends....

[Stephen]

Wow, sorry to hear the best of the best has to do this.
I had to bring my Goose to MPH to get my warranty work done because no other Guzzi dealerwould touch it in DFW area.

I guess that clenched the decision on buying a new goose...

GOD Bless you Mike, and Thanks for everything

[tonUPRacer]

Sad news to be sure. I've heard similar rumblings in my neck of the woods, drop the new bikes and keep the service end. They are making some nice new bikes but it's too bad they are making it hard for folks to sell'em. Best wishes.

[canuguzzi]

The sad lesson is.... if you buy a new Guzzi, don't assume your dealer will be around.
If these guys go, anyone can go.

Mike

The sadder lesson is that so long as apologists excuse every contempt MG has for its customers and dealers, this will not be the last example we will see.

Treat your customers and dealers well, money flows into your bank account. Unfortunately, MG thinks they are a grace to motorcycling and that loyalists will always be there for them. That list gets smaller every day.

[jas67]

Mike -- sorry to hear of this.

I'm assuming by "PGA Business Model", you mean their practice of requiring dealers to floor plan all four of the Piaggio Brands (Guzzi, Aprilia, Vespa, and Piaggio)?

That's stupid, as some markets are better scooter markets than others.      What's wrong with a dealer just wanting to sell Guzzi?    We need MORE Guzzi dealers, not LESS.

I know of a Guzzi dealer (who has a member on this board) who made an arrangement PGA and another dealer in the area.   They are selling only Guzzi, while the other dealer is selling Vepsa and Piaggio (I don't recall if they have Aprilia or not).     Could MPH make this arrangement as well?   Would this help you keep the Guzzi dealership?

[Kev m]

Bummer.... I wonder what good ones are left?

[charlie b]

This is truly a sad day.

[Arizona Wayne]

Mike Haven said part of his issue is he's smack in the middle of the oil industry epi-center and with the low price of oil now oil workers are being laid off for lack of their skills needed right now and who knows what the future holds  for them in Houston. They may be lucky enough to relocate some where else to keep employed, but that's not going to help MPH sell new Guzzis in Houston.   Add that to the demands of Piaggio and it's a loser for MPH as a dealer.   Least that's what I read out of what Mike posted here.

[Texas Turnip]

Mike, You are the reason I stayed with Guzzi as the unnamed dealer I bought the new '98 from couldn't get it to run right after many return trips. You had it running RIGHT in leas than an hour and I put over 100K on it after that.

Warrantee work is a sad note from some, I call them GINO, Guzzi In Name Only dealers. Guzzi riders don't have a clue as to the amount of Guzzis that you did work on even tho the bike was bought from someone else.

I think my 44 year relationship with Guzzi ownership is coming to an end.

Ken

[Arizona Wayne]

I think my 44 year relationship with Guzzi is coming to an end.

Ken (aka Texas Turnip)

       

[Arizona Wayne]

Bet Ken get's an Indian next.    Or he could ride all his old Guzzis he has kept for more than 100K miles when he parked them. 

[davedel44]

Mike, Larry and Todd in abstencia.  God bless you guys.  You'll still see me on a regular basis for maintainence and parts.  Still the best guzzi shop in Texas whether you sell the new ones or not!

Dave
Galveston

[PJPR01]

Mike, Larry and Todd in abstencia.  God bless you guys.  You'll still see me on a regular basis for maintainence and parts.  Still the best guzzi shop in Texas whether you sell the new ones or not! Dave Galveston

 

Ditto on that...let's hope the oil economy does bounce back in a year or so...how easy would it be to reactivate the Piaggio arrangement and start selling again?

[mphcycles]

Mike -- sorry to hear of this.

I'm assuming by "PGA Business Model", you mean their practice of requiring dealers to floor plan all four of the Piaggio Brands (Guzzi, Aprilia, Vespa, and Piaggio)?

That's stupid, as some markets are better scooter markets than others.      What's wrong with a dealer just wanting to sell Guzzi?    We need MORE Guzzi dealers, not LESS.

I know of a Guzzi dealer (who has a member on this board) who made an arrangement PGA and another dealer in the area.   They are selling only Guzzi, while the other dealer is selling Vepsa and Piaggio (I don't recall if they have Aprilia or not).     Could MPH make this arrangement as well?   Would this help you keep the Guzzi dealership?

 No, quite the opposite is true. When the local Aprilia dealer wanted to sell Guzzi too, I again asked for the application to sell Aprilia. It was never sent to me. I had been asking about it since 2006. And I would sooner chew my legs off than enter into any business association with that local operation.
 I would also never attempt to sell scooters here. As far as I know we were the only Guzzi only dealer in the USA.  I have always bought the bikes at the the end of free flooring period, I dont see the point in paying interest on products sitting here, although there is certainly a cost to using my own funds for inventory, at least the cost doesnt go up every month. The recent straw is the fact that to gain access to the benefits and discounts needed to remain competitive in the Texas market would require me to continue to order many more than I am selling, including models that have always been hard to give away at cost.  The sales scene state wide is a race to the bottom , to dump all non currents at cost, less rebates. So a profit of maybe 100 dollars for uncrate, set up, sales, disposal of crates, washing, web site  tweaking, social media, phone calls, emails etc. And maybe after a year of all that and having 7-14 thousand dollars each sitting here the bike goes home. I have better ways to earn my living.