Ideas to Make Moto Guzzi More Successful?

[Jerryd]

Interesting thread! I've got to believe that many who have posted here are fairly new to the brand, because this is certainly not some new phenomena, and has been going on for decades, especially in the U.S. MG's are a unique niche market that mostly sells to those of us who want something different. We tend to overlook performance and value just to be a part of something we feel is special. Certainly not a business model that many companies want to invest in.

[HardAspie]

I think it might be simple.
Moto Guzzi does not make motorcycles, it makes Moto Guzzis. What if MG polled riders of Guzzis and asked them what they would value in design and marketing and support of Moto Guzzis? Then do that. Ignore all but their niche, and exploit that niche with precision.

[jbell]

I think it might be simple.
Moto Guzzi does not make motorcycles, it makes Moto Guzzis. What if MG polled riders of Guzzis and asked them what they would value in design and marketing and support of Moto Guzzis? Then do that. Ignore all but their niche, and exploit that niche with precision.

Aspie, the niche is overwhelmingly inhabited by a bunch of old guys whose first house cost less than a new Guzzi.  For me, no matter what Guzzi or anyone else comes out with, spending $15-20 G's on a new motorcycle bumps up against an extreme psychological barrier.  I like your idea, but just don't think it would work.  To their credit, Guzzi is trying to crack the cruiser market and they have been making inroads into a younger market with the V7's.  Your idea has worked for Harley but I really don't know how the youth market views Harley.  If Harley or Guzzi don't tap into a younger generation, well, once us dinosaurs are gone, all that is left is an oil slick.

[keener]

Aspie, the niche is overwhelmingly inhabited by a bunch of old guys whose first house cost less than a new Guzzi.  For me, no matter what Guzzi or anyone else comes out with, spending $15-20 G's on a new motorcycle bumps up against an extreme psychological barrier.  I like your idea, but just don't think it would work.  To their credit, Guzzi is trying to crack the cruiser market and they have been making inroads into a younger market with the V7's.  Your idea has worked for Harley but I really don't know how the youth market views Harley.  If Harley or Guzzi don't tap into a younger generation, well, once us dinosaurs are gone, all that is left is an oil slick.

couldn't agree more ............and get on with  developing a higher performance big block like the 8 valve 1200
for those that would want to move up from the v7/ v9 ...at some point.
 

[HardAspie]

Aspie, the niche is overwhelmingly inhabited by a bunch of old guys whose first house cost less than a new Guzzi.  For me, no matter what Guzzi or anyone else comes out with, spending $15-20 G's on a new motorcycle bumps up against an extreme psychological barrier.  I like your idea, but just don't think it would work.  To their credit, Guzzi is trying to crack the cruiser market and they have been making inroads into a younger market with the V7's.  Your idea has worked for Harley but I really don't know how the youth market views Harley.  If Harley or Guzzi don't tap into a younger generation, well, once us dinosaurs are gone, all that is left is an oil slick.

Good point.

[Matteo]

If I were king...

1. Co-marketing: Moto Guzzi should team up with Triumph here in the US to market their bikes. They are complementary, and MG could benefit greatly from the expanded dealer network. I would really love to see Latus Harley-Davidson/Triumph add Moto Guzzi (and I know at least one of their salesmen who would love to see that, too, because he could then ride a Moto Guzzi to

That would suck, I don't like going into Harley dealers as it is, top it off with having Guzzi as a stepchild in the corner with people that don't know the brand turns into "Yeah we can order that" no thanks.
The Portland dealer has stepped up in a big way. He is tripling the size of his shop, has sent 2 techs to Guzzi and Aprilia training and is relocating to one of the busiest streets in Portland. Keeping it strictly Guzzi and Aprilia.

[Air-Cooled]

Put a better engine in the V7 line.  Dump the ugly California line. Bring back a LeMans V style bike.

[Uzidzit]

At least pretend to give two shits, about the customers that DO love you....and pretend to support their purchase with respect instead of a giant middle finger and slap in the face.

When the mother ship receptionist says quote" we only have 2 customer support people for North America you can't expect them to return contact every owner that is having a major warranty issue"

At least they are honest

[jbell]

That would suck, I don't like going into Harley dealers as it is, top it off with having Guzzi as a stepchild in the corner with people that don't know the brand turns into "Yeah we can order that" no thanks.

 :1:  One of the problems Buell had when still associated with HD was exactly that.  Go into a HD dealership and look at the Buells and you would be completely ignored.  Generalization, I know, but anecdotaly quite prevalent. 

[swordds]

Wierd to me. I love my V7II Stone and am very pleased with my dealer. I think the V7II beats out the competition in weight, features (EI, FI, TC, ABS, shaft drive) easy 6,000 mile maintance schedule, it's air cooled, and looks and rides great and I'm probably forgetting several other positive features. Who wants to adjust 8 valves, not me. Who needs to go 120+ mph, not me. It goes plenty fast, can go 200+ miles on a tank of gas, gets decent mpg, has lots of torque, is not sheathed in plastic, doesn't look like a praying mantis, doesn't have a thousand electronic ge-gaws (sp?) - what is there not to like?  It is a great motorcycle and too bad for others if they want to drive a fad. I  guess I  just don't get the Guzzi bashing so prevalent on this forum, maybe I haven't owned one long enough. When people ask me about my motorcycle I tell them it is a great motorcycle and I love it and don't see why anyone would want to own anything else.

[O]

Wierd to me. I love my V7II Stone and am very pleased with my dealer. I think the V7II beats out the competition in weight, features (EI, FI, TC, ABS, shaft drive) easy 6,000 mile maintance schedule, it's air cooled, and looks and rides great and I'm probably forgetting several other positive features. Who wants to adjust 8 valves, not me. Who needs to go 120+ mph, not me. It goes plenty fast, can go 200+ miles on a tank of gas, gets decent mpg, has lots of torque, is not sheathed in plastic, doesn't look like a praying mantis, doesn't have a thousand electronic ge-gaws (sp?) - what is there not to like?  It is a great motorcycle and too bad for others if they want to drive a fad. I  guess I  just don't get the Guzzi bashing so prevalent on this forum, maybe I haven't owned one long enough. When people ask me about my motorcycle I tell them it is a great motorcycle and I love it and don't see why anyone would want to own anything else.

 :1:  You and me both, and I'm missing a gear, ABS, and traction control.  These V7s rock!

[canuguzzi]

Selling what people need rarely works as well as selling them what they want. The old "you don't need_______" works if you are the government, someone operating a business you are told to buy from by the government or your idea of what everyone needs is it.

Moto Guzzi doesn't sell so few bikes because they offer what people want, they sell so few bikes because so few want them. There is nothing wrong with that it just doesn't allow for more than what they are doing now. If you're happy with what they are doing, good for you.

Customers can change the direction of a company, it happens all the time.

[Buddy Shagmore]

How about showing up at the Intl Moto Show, and exposing the Piaggio lineup to several hundred thousand potential buyers who attended in order to see "every production bike out there"?
How about a Moto Guzzi answer to the BMW R1200R? That bike has perfect ergos for a big standard.
How about offering the new Eldo in red, like elsewhere around the world? Some of us are sick of black, black, and more black bikes.

[BRIO]

If Ducati is to motorcycles what Ferrari is to cars then Guzzi should be Maserati. A quirky competent, muscular, yet classy motorcycle. The bread and butter should be a true gentlemans express sports tourer and a retro. There should be an Eldorado. Finally there should be a snorting, I'll mannered, fire breather which in true Italian fashion yells and waves its arms about without necessarily being fastest. It should probably be a little too expensive.

[rob-mg]

So there's this YouTuber called Snowcat with about half a million subscribers who is important enough that Ducati last month bought back his Hypermotard rather than continue dealing with his complaints about the bike's reliability.

Today's Snowcat video features a Moto Guzzi V7 Racer (from the 40 second mark): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRZCqrsmEM8

Recently, a moderator here deleted an entire thread about Snowcat's dispute with Ducati, posted here to start a discussion about the power of social media, because he doesn't like Snowcat and likes Ducati. He suggested that Ducati was right and that Snowcat was wrong. Which doesn't explain why, a day after our moderator's deletion of the entire thread, Ducati bought the bike back.

There's nothing wrong with Moto Guzzi. There's lots wrong with the old men, which includes the genius moderator here who unilaterally deleted that thread, who purport to speak for the brand while being completely out of touch with 2016.

[oldbike54]

 Actually that isn't why that thread was deleted .

 Dusty

[rob-mg]

Actually that isn't why that thread was deleted .

 Dusty

Dusty, the fact is that you went out of your way to take a run at Snowcat, you strongly suggested that Ducati was right and he was wrong, and you said that this was all BS.  You were so right in your analysis that the next day Ducati caved, completely.

That thread was about the power of social media as it relates to motorcycles. What you established is that you not only know nothing about the subject, but are eager to close down discussion about it if the discussion doesn't fit with your, what, mid 70s view of the world?

Meanwhile,  Snowcat's positive comments about the V7 Racer will reach hundreds of thousands of people and your comments on this site in their entirety will reach, what, a few thousand people?

[canuguzzi]

If Ducati is to motorcycles what Ferrari is to cars then Guzzi should be Maserati. A quirky competent, muscular, yet classy motorcycle. The bread and butter should be a true gentlemans express sports tourer and a retro. There should be an Eldorado. Finally there should be a snorting, I'll mannered, fire breather which in true Italian fashion yells and waves its arms about without necessarily being fastest. It should probably be a little too expensive.

Right up to the Maserati thing I was there. After the Maserati thing I'm there too.

People buying Maserati cars aren't the ordinary (comes out wrong I know) drivers who will drive it daily, turn it into something very different or stuff it full of luggage and run it down an unimproved road. There might be some but not many.

More like (ready for rocks) a Dodge. Often big, often brawny, not the fastest unless you get the nearly unobtanium ones but sort of brutish in nature. Muscle in mass, not the strongest or quickest but steadfast. Not the most fancy but

Come to think of it, maybe the Dodge of Italian motorcycles.

[oldbike54]

Dusty, the fact is that you went out of your way to take a run at Snowcat, you strongly suggested that Ducati was right and he was wrong, and you said that this was all BS.  You were so right in your analysis that the next day Ducati caved, completely.

That thread was about the power of social media as it relates to motorcycles. What you established is that you not only know nothing about the subject, but are eager to close down discussion about it if the discussion doesn't fit with your, what, mid 70s view of the world?

 Interesting .

  Dusty

[rob-mg]

Interesting .

  Dusty

A favourite expression of yours when you don't like what someone says.  Reminds me of Dr. Strangelove.

[oldbike54]

A favourite expression of yours when you don't like what someone says.  Reminds me of Dr. Strangelove.

 Also interesting .

  Dusty

[rob-mg]

Also interesting .

  Dusty

Not interesting, just obvious.

Personally, I'm more interested in the fact that a YouTuber, with 450,000 subscribers, that you went out of your way to trash, gave a shout out to Moto Guzzi bikes. He's relevant on the internet, you're not.

Or do you not get that?

[oldbike54]

Not interesting, just obvious.

Personally, I'm more interested in the fact that a YouTuber, with 450,000 subscribers, that you went out of your way to trash, gave a shout out to Moto Guzzi bikes. He's relevant on the internet, you're not.

Or do you not get that?

 You seem to feel entitled to throw personal insults at me with impunity , which I find very interesting .

 Dusty

[rob-mg]

You seem to feel entitled to throw personal insults at me with impunity , which I find very interesting .

 Dusty

Here we go. Your response to the Snowcat thread was to delete it, and apparently your response to my comments on this thread is to threaten me, implicitly, with being banned. Apparently because I have the temerity to disagree with you.

[swordds]

Just got back from a 60 mile night ride, I had forgotten to mention the large analog speedometer and tachometer, beautiful, functional, easy to read, rock steady, perfect.  What a great bike. 

[oldbike54]

 OK fellas , despite what a certain misguided member believes , we are not stuck in 1975 , let's not act homophobic . Thanks .

 Rob , when you continue to insult the forum and its members you must expect some blow back . My issue with you is not that you disagree with me , it is that your blatant disregard for the rules is unacceptable . As Luap would say , if you aren't happy here , no one is forcing you to stay .

 Dusty

[BRIO]

Right up to the Maserati thing I was there. After the Maserati thing I'm there too.

People buying Maserati cars aren't the ordinary (comes out wrong I know) drivers who will drive it daily, turn it into something very different or stuff it full of luggage and run it down an unimproved road. There might be some but not many.

More like (ready for rocks) a Dodge. Often big, often brawny, not the fastest unless you get the nearly unobtanium ones but sort of brutish in nature. Muscle in mass, not the strongest or quickest but steadfast. Not the most fancy but

Come to think of it, maybe the Dodge of Italian motorcycles.

Dodge!?! You mean a questionably styled excercise in cost cutting?

I'm thinking a two wheeled Iso Rivolta, Bizziarini, De-Tomaso, Maserati.

Dodge?? (Eddie Murphy voice) get the f***k outta here;)

[pikipiki]

Moto Guzzi should stay as an italian built bike, stay in their factory stay as a low volume manufacturer but work to sell every bike they build and keep their small workforce busy to avoid any financial instability. They should not aim to build more than 10,000 bikes a year.
Every year there should be a low volume test the water or part bin special or look this is what we can do bike that is expensive, desirable and limitted to 100 bikes. New models may be influenced on the annual special.
There should always be a small block available as custom, traditional or sport.
There should always be a similarly versatile big block.
Guzzi should use excess factory capacity, not to build more bikes the same as the ones at dealers waiting for buyers but build crate engines to order, so I work gets slack they could anounce a crate engine to upgreade aged 1970s bikes. once get 100 deposits start building.
Guzzi are roughly on the right track although the choice to release 2 bikes bobber and roamer seems more than enough when I think one custom small block would do. The V7 continuing in 750 form seems a mistake when the new engine is developed now and what has been a successful model is now dated against new Triumphs. Potential V7 buyers are now likely to wait for an 850 version or buy a non guzzi bike. The California, well its a nice enough bike but the platform lacks versatility due to the size of the motor and the frame. This means Guzzi are short of a third platform to fit between the Cali and smallbock which is a problem when really they should be working from two basic designs and not three. One possible solution would be a water cooled high output version of the new 850 which would share gearbox clutch and most auxilliarys with the aircooled variant and would fit same frame there would then be a lot of bike options available.

[Dean Rose]

Make another big Breva.

Dean

[swordds]

Snowcat said something like "Moto Guzzi., nice, I like it.". So apparently Moto Guzzi's problems are solved and their sales should jump into the millions. The power of social media, and all that. Interesting.