Ordered a V9 Bobber today - 8/2/17 updates

[bkiser]

Yes, Sloan's. My next closest Guzzi dealer is in Atlanta, three hours away. As long as I can deal reasonably with Sloan's they will be my dealer of choice. So far, I have no complaints with any department there. My salesman is Frank Poag if you ever want to go there.

I also bought my V9 Bobber from Sloan's back in March.  It was a great experience all the way around!

[menzies]

I am going to travel up to Sloan's tomorrow. The last time I spoke with them they were really not interested in a trade but would take my bike on consignment.

[guzziks]

Hit 71 this year and am feeling the pain of not being able to push the Norge around safely.  Sold my track bike last year, not cause heavy, but eyesight and reflexes are not good enough that I wanted to do it anymore.  So it goes.  Will try to sell or trade in my Norge for something more manageable and more reliable. 

Not taking any long trips anymore, so just some sort of short hop bike.  One I like is the new Ducati supersport, which can be fitted with small bags.  Another will be the new veestrom. 

But will be watching for your posts to see how you like the V9.

[decotriumph]

I am going to travel up to Sloan's tomorrow. The last time I spoke with them they were really not interested in a trade but would take my bike on consignment.

Which one were you trying to trade?

[menzies]

The Stelvio but I will speak with him about the Breva today. If they would take one on consignment that work better than trying to sell myself as I have never had too much success in my neck of the woods selling a Triumph or Guzzi.

[bkiser]

I worked with a salesman named Doug Demonbreun.  He was one of the few folks willing to quote me a price over email, but he stuck to it and made the whole process very easy, throwing in some additional discounts, etc. 

[decotriumph]

I worked with a salesman named Doug Demonbreun.  He was one of the few folks willing to quote me a price over email, but he stuck to it and made the whole process very easy, throwing in some additional discounts, etc.

I made my deal with Frank by e-mail, too. Did the same thing when I traded my Road King for the Stelvio.

[decotriumph]

I finally got around to taking off the tank and handlebar stickers and the rear reflectors. It looks much cleaner.


Additionally, I purchased a beaded seat cushion, which will not work as there's not enough clearance between the seat pan and the fender for the adjustment hardware on the beaded cushion. I will possibly have the seat rebuilt this winter with a more accommodating design. Or I may just throw a gel cushion on it occasionally.

[pmillar]

Funny thing, when I saw the (nice) pics above my reflex reaction was, "no tach, run away!"... then I remembered the tach on my '73 Eldo hasn't worked from the day I bought my bike 18 years ago.   

[TimmyTheHog]

Funny thing, when I saw the (nice) pics above my reflex reaction was, "no tach, run away!"... then I remembered the tach on my '73 Eldo hasn't worked from the day I bought my bike 18 years ago.   

I am not an old school by any long shot lol..but I do like tach meter :P...

make it look more vintage IMO..

beside that, awesome bike the V9 is...

[Ncdan]

Surely all these posts recently praising the V9 must be fake news.  Everyone was so sure when the V9s came out that they must be the worst thing ever to bear the Moto Guzzi name.  How could the experts be wrong?

The V9 isn't a strong choice for long days in the saddle.  Other than that, I don't think there's much not to like.

Can always change or rebuild the saddle. 75% of long distance ridding is physical fitness in the first place.

[decotriumph]

This morning I did the next set of updates on my V9 Bobber:
1. The stock grips were too small for my big mitts, so I ordered a set of Biltwell Recoil Grips from Lowbrow Customs (I've known the guys who own Lowbrow for at least a dozen years). Oddly, they had the grips in stock and Biltwell didn't, plus Lowbrow's shipping charge was $8 less! These new grips are soft and bigger. They only had a small air vent hole in the outside end, so I had to open it up enough to clear the bar end weight screw. The grips were too soft to use a drill (drill just pushed through the hole but didn't remove any material) so I wound up using side cutters and nipped away a little piece at a time.
2. I removed the stock mirrors and flopped the mirror mount holes to the underside. Then I added a pair of Rizoma Reverse Retro bar end mirrors ($91 ea.), which also required using Rizoma bar ends ($45 pr.), as the stock Guzzi ones are too big in diameter. I am real pleased with these mirrors (very high quality) and can now see behind me in my own lane! Point of reference, my dealer quoted me $600 for the pair of Guzzi accessory mirrors, so $227 (no tax, free shipping) vs. $600 (plus tax).
3. Having previously removed the ugly reflector bouquet from the license plate area, I was left with one bracket hanging below the license plate. I ordered a stick-on chrome and enamel "Italia" emblem from eBay and put it on there, giving a nod to the bike's heritage.
Hopefully, this weekend I'll get time to install the H-B C-Bow mounts & bags. The fly screen is still on a slow boat from Italy, I guess.

Controls before:

And after:

From the rear now (before in a previous post in this thread):

[Xlratr]

Nice upgrades!
I do like that bike.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[TimmyTheHog]

This morning I did the next set of updates on my V9 Bobber:
1. The stock grips were too small for my big mitts, so I ordered a set of Biltwell Recoil Grips from Lowbrow Customs (I've known the guys who own Lowbrow for at least a dozen years). Oddly, they had the grips in stock and Biltwell didn't, plus Lowbrow's shipping charge was $8 less! These new grips are soft and bigger. They only had a small air vent hole in the outside end, so I had to open it up enough to clear the bar end weight screw. The grips were too soft to use a drill (drill just pushed through the hole but didn't remove any material) so I wound up using side cutters and nipped away a little piece at a time.
2. I removed the stock mirrors and flopped the mirror mount holes to the underside. Then I added a pair of Rizoma Reverse Retro bar end mirrors ($91 ea.), which also required using Rizoma bar ends ($45 pr.), as the stock Guzzi ones are too big in diameter. I am real pleased with these mirrors (very high quality) and can now see behind me in my own lane! Point of reference, my dealer quoted me $600 for the pair of Guzzi accessory mirrors, so $227 (no tax, free shipping) vs. $600 (plus tax).
3. Having previously removed the ugly reflector bouquet from the license plate area, I was left with one bracket hanging below the license plate. I ordered a stick-on chrome and enamel "Italia" emblem from eBay and put it on there, giving a nod to the bike's heritage.
Hopefully, this weekend I'll get time to install the H-B C-Bow mounts & bags. The fly screen is still on a slow boat from Italy, I guess.

Controls before:

And after:

From the rear now (before in a previous post in this thread):

oh?

I did not know the mirror mount for V9 is separated from the control cluster unlike V7...

Unless the new V7iii is the same which I would have no idea.

beside that, LOOKS AWESOME.

I guess with the new bar end, you wouldn't have to modify anything to fit the mirrors eh?

[Kev m]

Deco, are you hanging onto the OEM mirrors or would you consider selling em?

[menzies]

Very nice clean look.

[decotriumph]

Deco, are you hanging onto the OEM mirrors or would you consider selling em?

I would consider selling them. Send me a PM offer.

[decotriumph]

oh?

I guess with the new bar end, you wouldn't have to modify anything to fit the mirrors eh?

Correct.

[KiwiKev]

You can't give the things away over here. They sell like rat sandwiches.

Pete

And we all know men down under prefer Vegemite sandwiches.

Not sure how they're selling in Enzed Pete, do you think sales will pick up?

[lorazepam]

I'm 6'2" tall with a 33" inseam. The V7 feels physically too small for me. The V9 seems to be about right.

It's funny that people consider a 750 or 850 "too small to tour on." Touring bikes not too many decades ago were in that size range or even smaller and beginner bikes were in the 125 to 250 range. I've done lots of long trips on 750s, 550s, and 850s. I know a guy who used to tour two-up on a Yamaha 650 Special.

I don't know how many thousands of miles I rode 450-650 bikes camping behind schools and churches, without a specific destination in mind, just a general direction. I had no idea they were too small to do that on.

[malik]

And we all know men down under prefer Vegemite sandwiches.

Not sure how they're selling in Enzed Pete, do you think sales will pick up?

It seems they might be. Although sales still seem glacial, what feedback there is seems to be positive. If a larger tank & rear sets end up being available, that would help. The distribution has set up a demo day on the old Pacific Hwy just out of Sydney in a couple of weeks, and the club (MGOA) has been invited to participate. We may be able to get some figures from them.

[KiwiKev]

It seems they might be. Although sales still seem glacial, what feedback there is seems to be positive. If a larger tank & rear sets end up being available, that would help. The distribution has set up a demo day on the old Pacific Hwy just out of Sydney in a couple of weeks, and the club (MGOA) has been invited to participate. We may be able to get some figures from them.

Good stuff, initially I didn't like the look of them but would be tempted if they gave me a good trade in on my beloved old Cali.

The V7 has a good following so maybe just taking time for people to get used to the new styling etc

[malik]

A mate managed to hire one in Europe last year - 6,000km including the Dolomites, the Alps & the Pyrenees - he was very impressed with the motor & gearbox, not so much with the seat, but not so impressed as to give up his Cali Classics either here or in NZ.

[Clancy]

The distribution has set up a demo day on the old Pacific Hwy just out of Sydney in a couple of weeks...

I was going to go to that till I realised it was being held on the same day as my 50th b'day party.
It was a tough decision about which event to miss....

[malik]

I was going to go to that till I realised it was being held on the same day as my 50th b'day party.
It was a tough decision about which event to miss....

Yeah. One fine birthday I rode the Bonang Hwy. Great present to myself. Maybe I could double the fun one year & add the Omeo Hwy to that - take a few days - camp out. Indulgence. Happy birthday. Get a good ride in.