Ideas to Make Moto Guzzi More Successful?

[RayB]

Maybe MG could add the following:
1. A little bit of reliability testing and improvement prior to model release
2. Improved quality assurance.
3. Improved supply chain timeliness for parts.

[Xlratr]

Also interesting .

  Dusty

Now that is "dry"! Love it! 

[K250]

I see Rob-MG has the Coldplay turned up REALLY LOUD.   

[trippah]

From here in Syracuse (I love snow)New York I have to travel to Buffalo (21/2 hrs)to a guzzi dealer.  I have to go to the northern suburb (Bremerton) (1/2 hr)to a Triumph dealer.  At 70, I'm not all that interested in wrenching except perhaps personalizing a bike.  So, I guess I probably would have gone for a Triumph rather than the V7 (alas, Uncle Sam requires I poney up 2K so there goes my down payment. I think they need a dealer network, most new young buyers will want to ride first, wrench second (If at all).   (There is a Fiat dealer in Syracuse- maybe they should work with them) :Beating_A_Dead_Hors e_by_liviu

[canuguzzi]

From here in Syracuse (I love snow)New York I have to travel to Buffalo (21/2 hrs)to a guzzi dealer.  I have to go to the northern suburb (Bremerton) (1/2 hr)to a Triumph dealer.  At 70, I'm not all that interested in wrenching except perhaps personalizing a bike.  So, I guess I probably would have gone for a Triumph rather than the V7 (alas, Uncle Sam requires I poney up 2K so there goes my down payment. I think they need a dealer network, most new young buyers will want to ride first, wrench second (If at all).   (There is a Fiat dealer in Syracuse- maybe they should work with them) :Beating_A_Dead_Hors e_by_liviu

There is no reason why a Guzzi can't be trouble free from the day the buyers takes it off the showroom floor until it wears out.

All it takes is dropping the nostalgia of romanticized mediocrity and the idea that being a door mat hidden by cliches of "its this or that (insert sexy Italian woman) " or the comparisons to cars costing hundreds of thousands where the owners have mechanics at beck and call to fix anything. Not even close.

It could be done and probably wouldn't cost them a thing.

[canuguzzi]

"stripped my new engine to discover that the left hand piston is the wrong way round from the factory...!

the arrow is pointing to the rear on the left hand cylinder and  the arrow points to the front on the right hand cylinder"

From a current thread.

This is an example of something that should be checked before the thing is shipped or is that too an owner responsibility?

Perhaps more details will follow. Maybe if you look down and then walk backwards around to the other side everything lines up right?

No one is asking for miracles, just do it right, that would eliminate most problems new buyers experience. When buyers have confidence that the bike will be supported, they are less hesitant to buy.

Quality control pays huge dividends. The results are more buyers, a good reputation for build quality outside of the faithful on forums and that translates into sales.

[swordds]

I also have to drive about 2.5 hours to a dealer and I also am not interested anymore in doing my own maintenance and I considered buying a Triumph instead of a Guzzi because they have a much closer dealer.  But now I kind of look forward for the excuse to make the trip and am fortunate that my bike has run just great since day one. If one of my pistons is in backwards I can't tell it. I would also say, if your main concern is quality control, get a Honda or something built by robots in a mega-automated factory, not something assembled mostly by hand by a comparatively tiny number of workers. It's Italian, you should own it with a sense of humor and adventure, it's not a sewing machine.

[canuguzzi]

The premise of the thread being how to make MG more successful would then be limited to what? Not improving quality control because its not possible because Italians are incapable or because something isn't complete automated in manufacture quality control is something that isn't important?

What would your ideas be then? 

[swordds]

Touche, very good point. But I bought my V7II after much research of many brands because I thought it was the best bike with the best features to fit my desires and budget, so I don't start with the premise that Moto Guzzi sucks.

With your correct point in mind I would agree with more dealers (the dealer I do have has been excellent) and more color options because so far for me that has been my only difficulty and complaint.

[canuguzzi]

Quality control extends to far more than the manufacture of the motorcycles, that would be the narrow view. QC affects all operations, not just the person shoving the tanknonto the bike without regard for the resistance that is caused by it hanging up on a control cable but so what, they'll deal with it when the customer complains later.

Quality control extends to things like how customer communications are handled, insuring the right parts are shipped to dealers who have tonface the customer when the right parts don't arrive or they arrive in obvious poor condition (not from transport damage) and other aspects of performance that eventually affects customers AND dealers who are the initial point of contact with the company.

To get that one needs to buy a Honda? Just how does automation figure into what happens when the customer service interacts with the customer trying to resolve a problem?

Isn't quality control also part of insuring authorized dealers maintain the highest standards of service delivery? Does authorized dealer mean that the company just keeps hands off and does nothing to improve that?

Surely offering better training is also part of QC. Take the MG parts ordering system. How good is it, how fast reliable and is the follow through at high standards?

All these things translate into better service and with that comes increased customer satisfaction.

Funny how often it is said " they're Italians" or something similar as if Italians are somehow incapable of high standards. Seems like bigotry.

[BRIO]

Quality control extends to far more than the manufacture of the motorcycles, that would be the narrow view. QC affects all operations, not just the person shoving the tanknonto the bike without regard for the resistance that is caused by it hanging up on a control cable but so what, they'll deal with it when the customer complains later.

Quality control extends to things like how customer communications are handled, insuring the right parts are shipped to dealers who have tonface the customer when the right parts don't arrive or they arrive in obvious poor condition (not from transport damage) and other aspects of performance that eventually affects customers AND dealers who are the initial point of contact with the company.

To get that one needs to buy a Honda? Just how does automation figure into what happens when the customer service interacts with the customer trying to resolve a problem?

Isn't quality control also part of insuring authorized dealers maintain the highest standards of service delivery? Does authorized dealer mean that the company just keeps hands off and does nothing to improve that?

Surely offering better training is also part of QC. Take the MG parts ordering system. How good is it, how fast reliable and is the follow through at high standards?

All these things translate into better service and with that comes increased customer satisfaction.

Funny how often it is said " they're Italians" or something similar as if Italians are somehow incapable of high standards. Seems like bigotry.

Whenever I see a Guzzi it usually looks like it's holding up better cosmetically than similar Japanese products. Hell, I think they hold up at least as good as BMW's. Of course this is purely empirical on my part. Aren't we letting the teething problems on the 8v get the better of us with all this quality talk?

[swordds]

I  am not talented enough to phrase this properly, but I don't think it is bigotry to believe that there are cultural differences in races and nations and people. As a bicyclist I always thought that Fuji bicycles were flawless but Bianchi bicycles were works of art. Of course that is an assured generalization if looked at on a micro level, but at a macro level that is how I felt. I don't believe that motorcycles actually have souls, but I like my Italian bike because it is Italian so obviously I am a bigot because I believe that Italy has a different manufacturing culture than Japan. Now I better change my name and address and disappear from the grid. yikes!

[oldbike54]

 OK , a couple of you guys promised to ignore each other , guess that was a hollow promise 

 Dusty

[swordds]

But you have to love this forum!  No telling how far any thread might digress.

[PJPR01]

Perhaps now would be appropriate for intermission:

In Heaven…
The mechanics are German,  The chefs are French,  The police are British,  The lovers are Italian,  And everything is organised by the Swiss.

In Hell…
The mechanics are French,  The police are German,  The chefs are British,  The lovers are Swiss,  And everything is organised by the Italians

Humour people!       You can delete it if this is inappropriate, but I have to concur wholeheartedly with Swwords...

[oldbike54]

 Oh I'm gonna de... WAIT , damnit Paul , yeah humour , good job Swwords .
 True hell would be if Americans were put in charge of food , can you imagine , nothing but fast food places with names like Burgers R Us , and , Well , this is sorta Pizza 

 Dusty

[reidy]

I am an Australian ex-Guzzi rider. I stil come here and read the posts as I have a soft spot for Guzzi and owned one for 14 years. I got the nod from my wife to purchase my first ever new bike. I wanted another Guzzi. The new California is not to my taste, to big and bulky and I don't like the tank cutouts. That is their choice to build a bike like that and I am fine with it but would have liked something like the old Jackal.

Since I was on a small block I was keen also on the v7. In Australia, Guzzi has a website and they will put you in contact with your local dealer. The dealer that I had used for parts had stopped selling new bikes (Tom at Don Newells, he was good to deal with). The website put me in contact with a dealer over 200 Km away. I spoke to the salesman and he was going on a three week holiday and was the only one at the dealer that new about Guzzi according to him. I could contact him in a month and he would try and sort something for me to have a look at a new bike.

I found out a different dealer was 50 Km away. It went to them and felt like I was intruding on the salesman valuable coffee time. He could not answer basic questions and as this was a multi brand dealer it felt like he was unhappy that a customer wanted to talk Guzzi. He could not supply the price of some of the accessories I was interested in and would get back to me next week. Next week never came. I was a cash buyer with no trade in.

I now ride a Triumph Bonneville that I purchased from Olives in Brisbane. Excellent service and one of the best business I have ever dealt with. I felt like I was a valued customer from when I walked in the door. They seemed happy that I was interested in there product. They are also a multi brand dealer. I have made one warranty claim. I went in on a Friday afternoon and they apologized that it woud not be submitted until Monday morning. One week later they rang to tell me the part was in and when did I want it fitted.

In short it became to hard to buy a Guzzi, they may be good but I should not have to beg to give them money. I am happy with the Bonneville but will probably always wonder what if.

Steve

[Jerryd]

Isn't the idea behind this thread to come ideas on how to make the brand more successful? At least in the U.S. , it has to be a strong Dealer network? How will we get new buyers that might have some interest in MG to try the brand, if they have to travel hours to purchase one and then have it serviced? "Yeah, the bike I just bought from you last week for $15K won't start and they are some strange symbols on the display! Sure, I'll truck it down to you so you can have a look. You're only 3 hours away! "

 The fact that many long time Guzzi owners are willing to do that, or do their own service on older bikes, just doesn't help the cause. I've bought 6 new Guzzi's in the past 12 years but probably won't buy new again because of the lack dealers less then 3 hours who will provide me warranty service. At this point I'd rather buy a used Guzzi at a significantly lower price and deal with local generic m/c repair shop and take my chances. At least the p/o I'm buying from has most likely sorted out the teething problems of the bike when it was new.

The problem with establishing a strong dealer network though is that MG won't support them like other manufacturers, won't pay the like other brands, and don't offer the same marketing support. Why would any respectable dealer put up with that unless it was just an add-on brand that is relegated to the back corner of the show room? Sound familiar?

Lastly, I agree with NP. In this day in age, there is absolutely no excuse for poor QC whether it's built by hand or by a robot. Wasn't there a time when "hand built" meant something?

[rocker59]

The dealer network is a chicken / egg situation.  Moto Guzzi does not sell enough bikes in The USA to have dealers in every town.  If they did that, there would be dealers out there who had never seen a Moto Guzzi.  Would you trust a new dealer who had never worked on, much less seen any of the bikes.

Moto Guzzi is selling 700 +/- bikes per year in The USA.  How many dealers do you think that volume can support?  How many dealers can have hands-on knowledge of the machines with that low volume?

What Guzzi needs to do with the dealer network is focus on the big metro areas first.  There are some glaring holes there.  4th largest city in The USA is Houston, and they just lost a long time dealer there.  No replacement seems to be forthcoming.

Guzzi has the address of every new owner.  It would be very easy to compile that info into a map, and work on developing the dealers where the current customers are concentrated, and working out from there.  By developing the dealers, I mean support the existing dealers in those areas, not throwing additional dealers into markets that are already being served.  The focus on new Guzzi dealers should be on markets that are not being served.

But, no matter what you want to believe, Guzzi is an exotic brand and will never have the saturation of Harley, Honda, Yamaha, etc.  They just won't.  Just like there are fewer Ferrari and Maserati dealers than there are Nissan and Acura dealers.  If you own a Ferrari, Maserati, Bentley, Jaguar, Land Rover, etc., you have to expect to travel farther to a dealer than if you own a Ford, Chevrolet, Honda, Toyota...

 

[swordds]

Or they could go in the opposite direction of more dealerships. If I  were going to buy a Zero motorcycle or a SYM motorcycle or a Tesla automobile it would be a "mail order" purchase. Isn't there a SYM (or other Taiwan motorcycle) importer that sets up and ships their motorcycles to buyers for an amazingly low fee?  Zero was going to have no problems shipping me a motorcycle. Sounds a little far fetched but when I was buying my MG I was thinking wouldn't it be great if I  could get one from Amazon.  For my cars I use an independent local mechanic that I have used for years and I have purchased a new car and never returned to the dealer for service and using an independent mechanic does not void the warranty ( at least not for a car).  If I  knew of a similar local trust worthy motorcycle mechanic I might do the same with my MG. Who needs a dealer anyway?  Heck, maybe I should start my own mail order motorcycle sales business.

[Jerryd]

The dealer network is a chicken / egg situation.  Moto Guzzi does not sell enough bikes in The USA to have dealers in every town.  If they did that, there would be dealers out there who had never seen a Moto Guzzi.  Would you trust a new dealer who had never worked on, much less seen any of the bikes.

Moto Guzzi is selling 700 +/- bikes per year in The USA.  How many dealers do you think that volume can support?  How many dealers can have hands-on knowledge of the machines with that low volume?

What Guzzi needs to do with the dealer network is focus on the big metro areas first.  There are some glaring holes there.  4th largest city in The USA is Houston, and they just lost a long time dealer there.  No replacement seems to be forthcoming.

Guzzi has the address of every new owner.  It would be very easy to compile that info into a map, and work on developing the dealers where the current customers are concentrated, and working out from there.  By developing the dealers, I mean support the existing dealers in those areas, not throwing additional dealers into markets that are already being served.  The focus on new Guzzi dealers should be on markets that are not being served.

But, no matter what you want to believe, Guzzi is an exotic brand and will never have the saturation of Harley, Honda, Yamaha, etc.  They just won't.  Just like there are fewer Ferrari and Maserati dealers than there are Nissan and Acura dealers.  If you own a Ferrari, Maserati, Bentley, Jaguar, Land Rover, etc., you have to expect to travel farther to a dealer than if you own a Ford, Chevrolet, Honda, Toyota...

I agree! Nothing in Florida.

Did we lose MPH again?

[swordds]

I  think the dealer in Pensacola FL is excellent. Their showroom is worth visiting just to look at the classic motorcycles on display. They also sell BMWS and when I  look at the new MGs and BMWs side by side in the showroom the MGs are better looking bikes and BMW has nothing to compare to or compete with the V7II IMO.

Maybe MG is exactly as successful as they care to be?  Maybe instead of a Honda or GM model of success there is room for a more quaint business model of success?  What is wrong with being a small factory by a lake satisfied with employeeing 300 or so workers, without an army of quality inspectors, or customer representatives, or excellent English translators. What is wrong with not being mainstream?  Maybe the premises that selling more bikes means being more successful is faulty. Maybe the thread should incorporate ideas on what more successful means. It could mean how do you stay in business for 100 years without becoming too mainstream, then what should they do to become more successful?

[Jerryd]

I  think the dealer in Pensacola FL is excellent. Their showroom is worth visiting just to look at the classic motorcycles on display. They also sell BMWS and when I  look at the new MGs and BMWs side by side in the showroom the MGs are better looking bikes and BMW has nothing to compare to or compete with the V7II IMO.

Maybe MG is exactly as successful as they care to be?  Maybe instead of a Honda or GM model of success there is room for a more quaint business model of success?  What is wrong with being a small factory by a lake satisfied with employeeing 300 or so workers, without an army of quality inspectors, or customer representatives, or excellent English translators. What is wrong with not being mainstream?  Maybe the premises that selling more bikes means being more successful is faulty. Maybe the thread should incorporate ideas on what more successful means. It could mean how do you stay in business for 100 years without becoming too mainstream, then what should they do to become more successful?

A good example. Probably a great MG dealer, but 8 hrs away from those of us on the east coast!

Sure a botique manufacturer would be cool for us, but not an investor(s). That's why small companies get bought by big companies. You have to have access to capital to continue to do the R&D needed to stay current and remain competitive.

[swordds]

I would say focus on simplifying and reducing maintenance, 12,000 mile maintenance schedule, hydraulic lifters so no valve adjustments, keep the drive shafts, keep the v-cylinders, lighter and brighter color options, flashing brake lights as standard, other safety improvements (?), other things to reduce weight and improve mpg and allow use of regular gas.

[pikipiki]

Perhaps now would be appropriate for intermission:

In Heaven�
The mechanics are German,  The chefs are French,  The police are British,  The lovers are Italian,  And everything is organised by the Swiss.

In Hell�
The mechanics are French,  The police are German,  The chefs are British,  The lovers are Swiss,  And everything is organised by the Italians

Humour people!       You can delete it if this is inappropriate, but I have to concur wholeheartedly with Swwords...

When I finally go to Hell, I might buy a Bugatti, move to Munich for the nice beer, take my Brittish mother for her nice cakes, get a Swiss Olympic Skiing girlfriend to teach me to some tricks and employ a banker from Lombardi Street to manage my assets. I'll ask myself daily, where did it all go wrong.

Edit:
The Saints amongst you may enjoy the idilic existance of driving a Trabant, eating moldy cheese and raw meat, contending with Tower Hamlets Special Police Officers, no sex before marriage and fill in Swiss tax return forms.

[Jerryd]

4th largest city in The USA is Houston, and they just lost a long time dealer there.  No replacement seems to be forthcoming.

Let me ask again, was that MPH?

[rocker59]

Let me ask again, was that MPH?

Yes.  Sorry.  I just tried to search up Mike's post, but it's been deleted.

MPH dropped Guzzi a month, or two ago.  There was another post stating that the bikes were picked up and taken to the warehouse in DFW, rather than sent to another dealership in Houston, which leads all to believe that Guzzi has not yet secured a new dealership in Houston's metro.

Strange, since a few years ago another dealership near MPH in Houston fought (but lost) to get a Guzzi dealership...

[Jerryd]

Too bad! What happened?

I know they threatened to drop the line quite a while ago, but turned it around. Sorry to hear this again. In my opinion they and MI were/are the best in the U.S.!

Its interesting that their website still talks about MG, and as of a week ago, there is a note about wanting used MG's and BMW's for consignment.

[rocker59]

Too bad! What happened?

I know they threatened to drop the line quite a while ago, but turned it around. Sorry to hear this again. In my opinion they and MI were/are the best in the U.S.!

Its interesting that their website still talks about MG, and as of a week ago, there is a note about wanting used MG's and BMW's for consignment.

I think Guzzi's expectations and usual issues dealing with them, plus Houston metro being particularly hurt by the drop in oil/gas prices combined to bring MPH's Guzzi dealership to an end.

MPH is still in business.  Just not selling new Guzzis.

[PJPR01]

Still an active service center for Guzzi's...just dropped off my Norge this morning to get the regular service and install a Wilber's rear shock.

Unfortunately Piaggio NA had unrealistic expectations and were too rigid in their demands is what I gather...makes it difficult to do business that way.

Keep supporting your local dealership!!