Anyone else interested in motorcycles?

[AnotherJohnson]

The celebration was this weekend.

Cycle World got a bike for review.

https://www.cycleworld.com/story/motorc ... view-2023/

No indication of when they'll be on the showroom floor.

FWIW, I owned a first year Norge and a last year Norge. The first year Norge was probably the least ready to sell bike that I've ever owned. The last year Norge is my all time favorite "no cruise control" bike. Point being, it may take a couple of years for Guzzi to actually work out the bugs, so being an early adopter is dangerous. Better to let someone else be the guinea pig.

It may be really great ... but I would not order one without seeing how the early adopters fare.

[AnotherJohnson]

That's a pretty bad mistake for a pro shop. I think I would have a word or two with the manager if that was my bike.

I tend to do maintence work myself. I changed the plugs on my bike this past spring.

In my experience the phrase “dealers are stealers” is offset by the observation, equally true, “buyers are liars.”

Unless you know first hand who did what, a lot of blame for screw ups is passed from the guy who screwed it up to some innocent bystander, like the lackey at the dealership.

People screw stuff up and then comb it over and take it in. They direct what they want you to do, even if it’s wrong, often because they read about it on the internet.

I’m not saying the dealer didn’t screw it up … but it’s hard to imagine that he really did. After R&R of a coil, a test ride would quickly reveal this problem. I think it showed up later, or that the guy did his own first attempt and failed. Then rather than admit the lack of diagnostic prowess, blamed someone else.

The double crush washer is a clear rookie error. The old cw was stuck to the seat and the new plug had its own.

You can’t get a good seal on two crush washers, so that by itself could have caused the problem.

[SteveFord]

I guarantee you the owner did not do that with the spark plug.
Taking the tank off is beyond his abilities, he wouldn't even attempt it.

Today I was minding my own business (as usual) and I somehow wound up purchasing a 7th Triumph.
A silver 2011 Sprint GT, 47,000 miles, it needs new oil lines coming off of the cooler as one is leaking, it went from a dribble to a gusher but the owner says no engine damage or funny noises.
For $1000 I just could NOT say no to a new project to futz around with.
I need more space in the garage - anyone want a free freezer? I can't guarantee if it works, I never plugged it in.

[AnotherJohnson]

I guarantee you the owner did not do that with the spark plug.
Taking the tank off is beyond his abilities, he wouldn't even attempt it.

Today I was minding my own business (as usual) and I somehow wound up purchasing a 7th Triumph.
A silver 2011 Sprint GT, 47,000 miles, it needs new oil lines coming off of the cooler as one is leaking, it went from a dribble to a gusher but the owner says no engine damage or funny noises.
For $1000 I just could NOT say no to a new project to futz around with.
I need more space in the garage - anyone want a free freezer? I can't guarantee if it works, I never plugged it in.

Never underestimate the mess that the incompetent can make of a motorcycle. Skills or no, incompetence will find a way.

Seven bikes at one time is a collection. I don’t think I’ve ever had more than six at a time, and two is my most satisfying number.

I’ll pass on the freezer. 1-800-Junk B Gone

[admin]

I guarantee you the owner did not do that with the spark plug.
Taking the tank off is beyond his abilities, he wouldn't even attempt it.

Today I was minding my own business (as usual) and I somehow wound up purchasing a 7th Triumph.
A silver 2011 Sprint GT, 47,000 miles, it needs new oil lines coming off of the cooler as one is leaking, it went from a dribble to a gusher but the owner says no engine damage or funny noises.
For $1000 I just could NOT say no to a new project to futz around with.
I need more space in the garage - anyone want a free freezer? I can't guarantee if it works, I never plugged it in.

That's a nice bike and a good project. Just prey that the engine is ok. I always worry about oil issues as engines don't run too long when there is not enough oil in them! Regardless, have fun with the project.

[SteveFord]

Thanks, I'm hoping it's okay.
He did say if you know anyone in the area who can swing by and check the bike out and give it a listen send them by.
Worse case scenario I hunt up a used motor and do a swap.
Even more grease to play with!

You sure I can't interest anyone in a freezer? It makes for a nice table and is a real conversation piece...

[AnotherJohnson]

You sure I can't interest anyone in a freezer? It makes for a nice table and is a real conversation piece...

If it’s painted in Coke, Pepsi, NeHi or Moxie livery, someone will buy it.

[SteveFord]

My wife's dad owned half of the place who made NeHi, according to her the mob owned the other half.
That probably explains her haughty 'tude and her penchant for saying, "I'll kill ya!"

I backed out on the bike, shipping was getting too expensive.
If anyone is near Boston and wants a cheap bike with a big leak, let me know and I'll forward the seller's info.
The GT is a great bike, all the power you could ever need and it's very comfortable, good handling, ABS brakes, it's a 150 MPH couch.

[AnotherJohnson]

I backed out on the bike, shipping was getting too expensive.
If anyone is near Boston and wants a cheap bike with a big leak, let me know and I'll forward the seller's info.
The GT is a great bike, all the power you could ever need and it's very comfortable, good handling, ABS brakes, it's a 150 MPH couch.

Good call.

[SteveFord]

Yeah, I think so.
I don't need two of them and it's not that hard to replace some oil lines so it's possible he ran it really low or dry for a bit.
It's either damaged or he's really afraid it might be.
The shipping would bring it to around $2300-2400 and then possibly hunt up a motor and a lot of screwing around.
Plus, I get to keep that freezer which may or may not work!

[AnotherJohnson]

Gosh, shipping is really high. It used to be $600 to ship across country.

I used to use a Lexington, KY based company that started as piano shippers, but transitioned to motorcycles. I’ve had BMWs shipped from MAX in NH to Cookeville for $500. I guess those days are gone.

[AnotherJohnson]

Here’s a link to my shipper.

http://www.keyboardmotorcycleshipping.com/rates.asp

$725 within eastern and/or central time zones. Other routes to be established as negotiated.

[SteveFord]

There's a fellow riding around Spain on the new Guzzi V100 and somebody asked about a comparison to his previous Griso.
He said it's taller, lighter, handles much better and less vibration.
I wrote to him a few minutes ago to see if it's got that pride of ownership, forever keeper bike feel to it.
My guess is it's one of those kind of bikes.

Parts are still stupidly expensive, he mentioned the cost of them three times in three posts (bags, windscreen, cylinder guards).

[AnotherJohnson]

I still haven’t seen any advertised in the U.S.

None of the big Guzzi dealers are even using one as a teaser.

FWIW, history has shown that it is ALWAYS a mistake to be an early adopter of any model that Guzzi puts out.

And I say this as the happy owner of a 2016 Moyo Guzzi Norge.

[SteveFord]

A fellow in England just showed one that he bought with the price tag on it.
Figure $20,000 here in the US, give or take.
Saddlebags are shaped funny, they won't hold a hemet.

[admin]

A fellow in England just showed one that he bought with the price tag on it.
Figure $20,000 here in the US, give or take.
Saddlebags are shaped funny, they won't hold a hemet.

Starting at $15.5k USD.

https://www.motoguzzi.com/us_EN/models/v100/

[AnotherJohnson]

A fellow in England just showed one that he bought with the price tag on it.
Figure $20,000 here in the US, give or take.
Saddlebags are shaped funny, they won't hold a hemet.

Starting at $15.5k USD.

https://www.motoguzzi.com/us_EN/models/v100/

Most Guzzi dealers will add transportation, dealer prep, and doc fee, at least during this period of early adopters. That will bring it up to $18k starting price.

Eventually there will likely be excess inventory and the deals that go with it.

For right now there aren’t any being offered in the US. Guzzi is still in the pre-order stage trying to figure out how many to force the importer to bring over.

The S model is about $2K more than the base model.

[SteveFord]

$15,500 isn't out of line.
Triumph's got some of their models at around $22000 which is ridiculous.

The first thing I'd do is chuck the exhaust from the cross-over (cataytic converter?) back, add a center stand and lower handlebars.
I wonder if Verlicchi still makes swan neck clip ons and if they'd fit inverted forks?
Get some Givi luggage and you'd be good to go.

Like Another Johnson said, not the first year's production!

[admin]

It's a nice looking bike but there are a lot of other options in that price category. I am a member of another forum for the Kawasaki Ninja 400 users and Kawasaki is releasing a racing 400 cc bike in the next few weeks. There is a lot of talk about it but the price seems to be putting it in competition with a lot of other bikes with similar performance. And of course it's a first year model so who knows what kind of bugs have not been found in its design?

[AnotherJohnson]

It's a nice looking bike but there are a lot of other options in that price category. I am a member of another forum for the Kawasaki Ninja 400 users and Kawasaki is releasing a racing 400 cc bike in the next few weeks. There is a lot of talk about it but the price seems to be putting it in competition with a lot of other bikes with similar performance. And of course it's a first year model so who knows what kind of bugs have not been found in its design?

You are not likely to have any problems with a first year Kawasaki. They have had a first rate racing program, and their stuff is generally bulletproof.

Moto Guzzi is well recognized for their post sale new owner R&D program (that’s a joke son). If you buy the first year model, it’s historically been a beta test program. With the V100, this is especially true since it is MG’s first effort to design and build a consumer targeted water cooled engine. The things that could go wrong are legion.

The only hope against this is that they are now a full two years late in this release. One can hope that this time has been used to identify and solve the quirky problems that typically make MG the #1 manufacturer of excuses.

And I say all this in love … I am the happy owner of the last MY of the famed Moto Guzzi Norge. Once they figured the Norge out (it took from 2007 to 2014), there were no more problems, so of course they retired the model in 2016 and then sold those until about 2018 when they finally depleted inventories. Maybe the V100 will be different. But the Norge was just the latest example of the quirky charm of what is fondly known as the Harley Davidson of Italy.