Interview with Dave Richardson

[DeBenGuzzi]

I got this off the Aprilia board but its a very good read clicky for the interview with pics from the author but its all here.

 

"Conversation with Dave Richardson, Moto International Owner, Guzziologist, The Guy You Want to Buy a Bike From

March 12th, 2008

 

 

I met Dave a couple of years ago when I first started looking to get on a bike again. He runs an outfit called Moto International.

 

In my mind, Dave represents everything good about motorcycling. He’s a decent, funny, extremely knowledgeable guy who cares deeply about riding, riders, his customers, and the companies he works with. In fact his devotion to Moto Guzzi, while perhaps not unique to lovers of the brand, is pretty damned impressive (Google him and see).

 

One of the great things about Dave is that he wants you to ride the bikes. More than one. Several. So many other dealers have so many reasons, some of them even good ones, why they don’t want you on the bikes. Not Dave. The notion that you wouldn’t ride before your buy seems daft to him. Some of that may be the clientele he deals with . . . a lot of middle-aged guys with stars in their eyes and money to spend. But I think a big part of it is just who Dave is: An enthusiast first who wants to share what he loves.

 

I didn’t buy a bike that first time. I bought a Ducati instead. There’s a story about that but the net of it was the bike was in my garage a year and I sold it for something else. A couple of bikes later I got a terrible Aprilia itch that wouldn’t go away. Dave was absolutely no help, offering to let me ride his entire inventory of new and used bikes, bench racing at his desk as long as I wanted, and then refusing the pressure me to buy something. How could I refuse such nefarious tactics. So I bought an Aprilia and am resolutely not dreaming about a Moto Guzzi.

 

 

 

I showed up today with tape recorder in hand (actually I was there for the 600 mile service for my bike), just in time to watch Dave and crew unpack his showroom floor. There is no other word for it. It’s like watching a meditation in reverse, each bike carefully rolled out with barely inches to spare on either side until there are actually several square feet of open space on the sales floor. Or maybe it’s the “customer area.” I’m not sure which. Truthfully, while it’s easer to move around without the bikes filling every square inch of the place, I like it better all filled up. There’s something about it that feels properly thrown back in time.

 

Yeah, it’s the kind of place that makes you want to pull up a chair and sit a spell. So do that now and read what Dave has to say about Guzzis, Aprilias, and being involved with bikes for 25 years.

 

On owning an Aprilia and Moto Guzzi Dealership

 

I always tried to get out of this and it wasn’t until we had this shop for a few years that I really committed to it [owning a motorcycle dealership].

 

Aprilias are a great bike. They sell because they don’t have problems and they’re so good. Guzzis are in a weird place in the market because so much of the appeal of motorcycles is based on performance. The Guzzis appeal is kind of a rumble and a throb and feel. They are really wonderful bikes to ride on the street but not in a performance sense. It’s a hard thing to explain to people.

 

I call them the “Dr. Pepper Motorcycle.” They chase you down the street and force you to try it. “Okay, that’s good.” It’s kind of the same way with Guzzi. It’s a harder thing to sell, but it’s a happy rider once someone has it.

 

I like having the two brands because they appeal in different ways. The Aprilia people don’t understand the Guzzi people and the other way around. And that’s good. If you’re going to have two brands, you want them to draw from different places.

 

A Love Affair With Moto Guzzi

 

The weird thing about Guzzis, and this goes back to the 80s, I would have this dream of going there. I was somehow drawn to going there. That I wanted to save the brand. I was drawn there. [Dave is the author of Guzziology]

 

To Lake Como?

 

Yes. I’ve been there five times now. I got married in their town! I don’t feel like I’m the absolute Guzzi Nut. There are plenty of people way beyond me. But my fascination and this huge love of them is like this: Here’s something really good in the world and it’s ignored. How to make it better has become a sort of life quest for me. I spend time away from the shop trying to figure out how to make them more viable.

 

I write annual reports that involve Aprila and Guzzi. Well not quite annual. Maybe over the last ten years I’ve written six or seven. They’re maybe 20 to 60 pages with suggestions for new models, distribution, parts, accessories . . . Things that I would think would be good for the company.

 

Do I think that everything I say would be good idea and they should do it? No. But I want to put it in front of people and see if they’re consider it.

 

Do they?

 

Yeah. Well, I guess. There are some things that I see that directly relate to ideas that I have which is satisfying.

 

On Dealing with Piaggio

 

Last year at the dealer meeting, the head guy of the whole Piaggio organization was there. I get sucked into a meeting as one of their top-ten dealers in the country. It was really a gab session. And I figured this guy was just what I call a “monopoly player.” Someone who buys companies. Last time it was telecom companies. Now it’s scooters. What the hell does he know about our stuff?

 

He wasn’t that guy. He knew everything. He was amazing.

 

He sat in this stupid gripe session for an hour and a half and just listened. It should have been directed to the US people. Nobody was talking big ideas that should go to the head guy.

 

In the conversation he said, “Well we bought Piaggio in ‘02 and it was profitable in ’04. We bought Aprilia / Guzzi in ’04. There were new bikes just developed by Aprilia for Guzzi. So all we had to do is bring them to market. Immediately Guzzi looked new and fresh. Aprilia didn’t, so we put our money first into Aprilia. And now that investment is showing up. The Shiver is showing up and will be here for next year.

 

Now we’re turning our attention to Guzzi and trying to decide where they fit in the world. A couple of times he said, “Maybe it should be like a Rolls Royce.”

 

I thought, “Gee that’s a really bad idea.” They [Rolls] don’t have technology. They don’t have a place in the market. They don’t have the customers. They don’t have the dealers. The culture. Nothing.

 

Any company can move to any position, but the farther they move from where they are, the riskier it is that they won’t make it.

 

That got me thinking that something that needs to be said here. But that didn’t seem to be the subject of the meeting, so I didn’t break in on that. Afterwards I sent an email through channels to somebody in Corporate and said, “Can I communicate to Mr. Colannino?”

 

It took awhile for them to come back and say, “Yes.”

 

He comes back with, “I like your ideas. I want to talk more about them with you.”

 

I thought, “That’s cool.” Then I thought: Wait a minute, I’ll probably be showing some guy a T-shirt and he’ll be trying to decide between the purple one and the red one and I’ll get Mr. Colannino on the phone. I thought, “This is not good.”

 

So I email them back and I said, “Rather than do that, why don’t you make me an appointment and I’ll come to Italy.” They said fine.

 

A week later I get an email form the head of the US operation saying, “I’m working on your appointment with Mr. Colannino.” And I thought, “That’s not going to be good.” I had sent the US guy what I sent to Mr. Colannino. He said, “I agree with everything you say. But there is still that feeling in a corporate hierarchy that I’m going over somebody’s head. But I don’t’ work in a hierarchy. I don’t work for them. I’m an independent businessman. I’ll talk to whomever I want to. But still, there are obviously problems. They fussed around for a couple of months and then it fell apart.

 

What else can I do? It’s their company, not mine. But I see such an opportunity for them.

 

Where to Position Guzzi

 

The place they put Guzzi in the market isn’t the best. For example: The Breva 1100. I characterize it like this. There are four ways to build a bike.

 

You can make a modern looking bike with modern technology like Aprilia’s sport bike.

You can make classical style bike with classical technology like Harley.

You can make classical style bike with modern technology, like a Japanese standard bike or cruiser.

What doesn’t make sense is to build a modern looking bike with classical technology. That’s what a Guzzi is.

 

 

Do you characterize the Norge the same way?

 

Yeah, all it is, is the Breva tarted up. That’s fine. It’s the best selling thing they’ve had in a very long time. I would have to guess the reason is, in its market, large displacement, Sport Touring, it is entirely viable. The look, the feel, the performance, the comfort, the price, and what it does are all competitive in that market. Most of what Guzzi does is not. They are low performance and high price.

 

Well, they have a great charisma and a versatility a lot of bikes lack. I think they are great bikes, but there are a much harder thing to sell where we’re right in the middle of a market.

 

On Aprilia

 

I’ve heard from Aprilia that their approach is to look at a segment and the competition . . . they run their calculators and ask, “Can we build a bike that’s better than the competition for less money.” If they see that, they do it. That doesn’t mean they’re always the best or the cheapest. But that’s their approach.

 

That’s not to say that’s the best approach either. That’s not being inventive and having your own product image . . . who you are. You’re basically holding up a mirror and reflecting it off everyone else. That bothers me. I feel like that Aprilia doesn’t have enough individualism. They’re looking too much at Ducati. They have much more inventiveness on the scooter side than they do on the motorcycle side. More of a clean sheet vision going on.

 

The next generation of Aprilias will be a V-Twin based on the Shiver . . . they’ve said that engine goes 750 to 1200 ccs. It’s a 90-degree twin which will give away what’s unique with the 60-degree twin and be sort of a Ducati which it really isn’t. Rather than going with something that’s unique and arguably better, they go back to copying again.

 

On Guzzi Buyers

 

When a guy walks through the door, can you just pick him out . . . that’s an Aprilia buyer; that’s a Guzzi buyer?

 

Well, we do have plenty of crossover buyers. My average Guzzi customer is 45 to 60. He comes in and tells me he used to have a bike and then he got married and had kids and the wife told him to get rid of the bike. Now the kids have grown up and he’s been given permission to have a bike. This happens over and over again.

 

To me, this is really big news for someone like Guzzi when you have such a consistent kind of person looking. When you go back to when that guy was young, it was the 70s and the 80s. For instance when I look at Kelly Blue Book from that era, there were something like 18 brands in the US. Now there are 140. But his range of what was or is, is probably a bit stuck in the past. So what’s he going to pick from? BMW, Triumph, Honda . . . the Guzzi was something that was a bit classy and upward and now he’s back looking at Guzzi.

 

That’s great. Give the guy what he wants. For instance I was pushing them to make something like Ducati makes with their Sport Classics. But don’t copy your own sport bikes. Don’t just copy an old Le Mans or V70 sport. So many people take their old touring standards from the 70s, T3s and bikes like that, and make them into cool café racers. So emulate your customers and not yourselves. Then you have something unique.

 

What came out of that? They’re making something called a V7 Classic, which is a little 750 with a gas tank that sort of looks like an old V7 Sport. The rest of the bike looks like an old Triumph. It completely ruins the idea. Based on a 750, sure it’s cheaper and lighter. But the guy I’m thinking about is not looking for a 50 hp 750. He’s looking for an 1100 with a lot of horsepower.

 

That person walking through the door has a Guzzi echo. He remembers it.

 

Exactly. Aprila doesn’t have that.

 

I thought when we first had Aprilia we’d have a bunch of young guys looking at GSXs who wanted to come and look at these and race around on them. It doesn’t happen.

 

These things are way off the map for them. I don’t know if they don’t know Aprilia exists, or they’re too exotic, or too expensive, or what it is. We’re three blocks from a Suzuki shop and we don’t get the 22 year-old kids looking at our bikes.

 

Here’s another problem. I think most Aprilias, and yours is a nice exception (2007 RSV100R Factory; Black on Gray], are too adolescent in their looks. You have these big lion heads, the checkerboard stuff, the flashing graphics . . . that’s all GSX stuff. In fact, GSXs have grown up and they don’t have so much of that stuff anymore.

 

 

 

Aprilia would be much better off if they made a good classic looking bike like the Ducati. I put this to the brand manager in the US just before he went to Italy on one of his trips. He came back and said that Aprilia views their customer as younger than the Ducati. I was shocked.

 

Too me, Ducati appeals to guys in our age group. The Monsters appeals to the 20-somethings. We don’t have something for the 20-something.s Maybe they think the Shiver will be that bike. But most people who I see looking at those bikes are in their 40s or 50s.

 

On Aprilia Buyers

 

The typical Aprilia buyer is maybe five years younger [than a Guzzi buyer], but not a whole lot.

 

I’ve had people come in and look at Aprilias and say, “Gee everyone has a Ducati. I want to be different.” That blows my mind because I was a Ducati guy in the 70s and early 80s. I had a regular group of friends I would do vacation rides with in Portland because there just weren’t any Ducatis in Seattle. The people who had them, they were special bikes and they never rode them.

 

It just blows my mind that people think that Ducati is the thing everyone has.

 

There will always be a counter-culture bike. The Victory is for the guy who wants something that isn’t Japanese but more modern than a Harley. It’s a niche. That’s where Aprilia has got themselves. They’re the anit-Ducati. They want to be more than that, but they’re not doing a good job I think of expressing who the company is by way of being more than that.

 

To me, the two companies are quite opposite. Aprilia does everything to make a bike that performs well, fuss-free, low maintenance, very durable, all these things, but they don’t have any aura about them like Ducati does. Ducati has the aura.

 

Until the 1098 came out, we always had the faster, better bike. Now they have a bike that’s lighter and more powerful and almost the same price. Aprilia has lapsed because the situation of just being bought by Piaggio with more stuff on the way. So we’re in a hiatus time with no new engineering. So Ducati has run by us.

 

The other problem is that Ducati has introduced the idea of the 1200 sport bike. The Aprilia engine was designed to be as functional as it could be at 1000 ccs. It’s not designed to go bigger than that. A good move by Ducati to force Aprilia to build a whole new engine to move on.

 

Aprilia has such potential to have such a great aura around them. There are three classes of GP racing for motorcycles, and three for the riders. That’s six. Of the six, Ducati won two and Aprilia won the other four. How many American’s would even know that? Who the heck cares about 125 and 250?

 

Aprilia is involved in these classes because they always have and it appeals to young guys and scooter riders in Europe. It doesn’t do anything for us over here. They don’t seem to have enough of an idea about how to promote themselves over here.

 

 

 

It’s changing though. They won the ST Championship last year with the Tuono. They’ve won the first couple of races this year. They won SuperMoto this year as well as in Europe. They do well in the fringes. They need to jump into the main thing. And they’re going to.

 

The Aprilia V4

 

 

 

The whole idea with the V4 is to go super bike racing and I think they intend to race in the US as well. What it will do for them, I don’t know. Where does the V4 fit in the market?

 

It’s kind of brilliant in a way. Ducati has a V4 but they built it as a super exclusive bike. Aprilia has a chance to be more in the price of an MV maybe. I don’t know where this thing will be priced. But if it’s the price of an MV or the upper price of a Ducati, that’s a bargain. But that’s way more than an RSV is now. And the RSV is more than a Japanese bike.

 

So if the V4 is going to be thousands and thousands more, does it matter that it has all that performance? Will you sell a few more a year than the RSV? A lot more? Is it a better bike? It could be a worse market to be in. Maybe you get some press, but how many people are looking to but $20,000 bikes? I don’t know what the pricing will be. They haven’t hinted at it. It’s tough for them with the dollar being so worthless. How do you make anything and sell it for any kind of price over here?

 

But building a bike that they’ll only sell a hundred of instead of something they can sell many hundreds of doesn’t make sense to me.

 

Maybe they can build a miracle V4. There is some hope. A Four vs. a twin: It’s more a matter of how many castings you’re dealing with. The four has the same number of castings as a twin. The fact that it will be an in-house engine vs. something they buy out means it will likely cost them less.

 

I could have bought something other than the RSV. It wasn’t really a financial decision for me. Maybe I’m just a life wimp, but at some point, for where I am, there is a concept of “enough” performance.

 

Uh, huh. And that’s not a normal motorcycle standard. There is never enough. There is always more. And in America, I think that we sometime make decision based more on what our friends are going to think of it.

 

So do you buy a bike that isn’t the highest horsepower? Are you a wuss or something? It reminds me of when Aprilia brought a 450 and a 550 to the market. They were maybe $500 apart in price. Well who in the world would buy a 450 when you can buy a 550? If you’re going to race in a 450 class that’s fine, but if not, you’re a wuss.

 

Aprilia said they felt like their customers were discerning enough to know their horsepower requirements.

 

I said, “You have to be nuts.”

[Guest frankdugo]

good job!mabey will see that v4 with a factory team next year at daytona.that will make american kids know who they are.

[Skeeve]

Wow, it's like reading an echo of my own thoughts... Dave Richardson has much more reason to be "in the know" than I, but he put exactly the vibe I've picked up about the two brands into clear words. What he didn't put into words is that Piaggio, like any conglomerate, reallly doesn't have any idea what their subdivisions' respective strengths are beyond the spreadsheets...

[mznyc]

Thanks Ben.

This is great to get to get opinions from one of the biggest Guzzi supporters in the country ,if not the world.

Great to get the inside story of the relationship of the dealer(probably the most important in the US) and the top man at Piaggio(Guzzi).

This sums it up for me(and seemingly Mr Richardson), the frustration I have with the current Guzzi offerings

 

"The place they put Guzzi in the market isn’t the best. For example: The Breva 1100. I characterize it like this. There are four ways to build a bike.

 

You can make a modern looking bike with modern technology like Aprilia’s sport bike.

You can make classical style bike with classical technology like Harley.

You can make classical style bike with modern technology, like a Japanese standard bike or cruiser.

What doesn’t make sense is to build a modern looking bike with classical technology. That’s what a Guzzi is."

 

He was also critical of the Norge,

 

"Do you characterize the Norge the same way?

 

Yeah, all it is, is the Breva tarted up. That’s fine. It’s the best selling thing they’ve had in a very long time. I would have to guess the reason is, in its market, large displacement, Sport Touring, it is entirely viable. The look, the feel, the performance, the comfort, the price, and what it does are all competitive in that market. Most of what Guzzi does is not. They are low performance and high price."

 

The V7 Classic,my feelings exactly,I would buy the Ducati on looks alone,but it zooms past the V7 on performance,

 

"That’s great. Give the guy what he wants. For instance I was pushing them to make something like Ducati makes with their Sport Classics. But don’t copy your own sport bikes. Don’t just copy an old Le Mans or V70 sport. So many people take their old touring standards from the 70s, T3s and bikes like that, and make them into cool café racers. So emulate your customers and not yourselves. Then you

What came out of that? They’re making something called a V7 Classic, which is a little 750 with a gas tank that sort of looks like an old V7 Sport. The rest of the bike looks like an old Triumph. It completely ruins the idea. Based on a 750, sure it’s cheaper and lighter. But the guy I’m thinking about is not looking for a 50 hp 750. He’s looking for an 1100 with a lot of horsepower."

 

Like I said in the Ducati ride post,Guzzi better wake up,the Italian and rest of the motorcycle world is passing em in the left lane,turning into a blur in that there horizon.

[WitchCityBallabio]

The Guzzis appeal is kind of a rumble and a throb and feel. They are really wonderful bikes to ride on the street but not in a performance sense. It’s a hard thing to explain to people.

 

I call them the “Dr. Pepper Motorcycle.” They chase you down the street and force you to try it. “Okay, that’s good.” It’s kind of the same way with Guzzi. It’s a harder thing to sell, but it’s a happy rider once someone has it.

 

I think he's right on the money here. Guzzi is never going to be a Ducati. There are any number of bikes that offer ridiculous levels of performance for less money, better reliability etc than even Ducati. I've had GSXR's, VFR's etc and I still like the Guzzi better. Those bikes were technologically light years ahead of the Guzzi, handled better, accelerated better etc, but I'd still take my V11 over them again any day.

 

You have to enjoy a Guzzi for what it is, not be angry for what it's not. I would like to see Guzzi at least offer a full sport bike package like a street legal MGS for general consumption. It still wouldn't compete with the 1098 or a GSXR 1000 or the like, but it would be a wonderful bike for carving up the twisties.

 

Realistically, who's buying a Guzzi thinking of superbike handling and speed? If you want Guzzi to retain that lovely air cooled V twin, you have to accept that there are performance limitations. I personally have no interest in a water cooled or 4 cylinder Guzzi.

 

[mznyc]

"have to accept that there are performance limitations"

Yes and I'll start drinking the koolaid Mr. Colannino tells me to drink,....Just go along with the flow,don't ask questions or challenge and demand anything and we'll all be safe!

Cant speak for anyone else,but I'm not angry,just dissapointed.Don't know if he feels the same but Dave's words mimmick my feelings almost verbatum.It's possible he was mis-quoted or taken out of context.

And who among us knows more about Guzzis than him.He'll know more in his little finger than I'll know in all of my Vanson 2-piece..

I understand why we buy them,er,ah,....I own one!

But I,and dont know if anyone else here ,would trade in their V11 for a Breva,Yukk!

I'm asking them to more forward,not stand still.

If we all say a Guzzi has certain characteristics we shouldn't change,then we might not have,Fuel injection,single shocks,or alloy wheels.Adding these on didn't take away the character of the Guzzi one bit ,IMO.Does the MGS win at Daytona not count because it was,oh please God not,....liquid cooled.Oh the sacrilege!

I'm not asking for a 1098 beater,just a reliable,modern bike, in a classic roadster package(simple good looks,comfortable,low maintenance).I think the Sporti,did that very well.

It appears the MGS is a phantom,that wont see the light of day on the showroom floor.But it is also in a class that I think most of us don't want,superbike,ala the 1098.

I rode a a liquid-cooled Monster last week and it was a blast and had character and plenty of good vibes to go around!

Don't get me wrong,I think the Breva,Norge,and Griso are cool bikes that have some evolution improvements in them.If I had unlimited funds I'd own all of em,ooh well not a Breva.But I think V11 owners are looking for a little more oomph and sex appeal ,than what they have to offer.

Can't there be a happy medium?

[WitchCityBallabio]

Are you saying there are no performance/reliability limitations to a 1000-1200 cc air cooled V twin?

 

There's a fine line that Guzzi is treading. Do you abandon the trademark V twin in the name of performance and lose your identity to become another also ran in the hp race, or do you keep the engine that has literally defined them in recent history? It's a risky proposition.

 

You're asking them to move forward and not stand still, and by most peoples estimation, they have. The CARC system is supposed to dramatically better than the setup we have on our V11's. The fuel injection is supposed to better sorted. They are putting 4 valves per cylinder again for performance gains. People have said that the Griso is the best handling Guzzi that they have ever produced. Most agree that the newer Guzzi's ARE more reliable. They have offered a very competent sport tourer, a pretty decent attempt at an adventure tourer etc. That to me signals an effort to move forward. The newest little V750 classic may not have been the performance machine hoped for, but it looks to be an excellent entry level introduction bike to bring new riders into the Guzzi market. That seems like smart marketing to me.

 

Does the MGS win at Daytona not count because it was,oh please God not,....liquid cooled.Oh the sacrilege!

 

No it doesn't mean it doesn't count, but race bikes have never been absolute exact replicas of the bikes that you go into the showroom and buy. Racing success sells motorcycles and it was good for Guzzi and I'm glad for it. I was not saying that water cooling isn't better, but rather that I'm personally not interested in a water cooled Guzzi. I like the simplicity and clean lines of the air cooled twin without ugly radiators hung off the front. It's no different than it is with me with the current crop of Porsche's. I've owned air cooled 911's and even though there is no comparison performance wise to the newest water cooled 911 offerings, they are most definitely not as inspiring a car to drive now and as such, I have no interest in them now. They are overly complex, heavy and have lost the edginess that was their trademark. I just don't want to see the same thing happen to Guzzi.

 

I might not give up my V11 for a Breva, but I would consider the 1200 Sport and definitely consider it for an 8v Sport. I think the Sport is a nice looking machine with a more modern look without giving up what makes a Guzzi a Guzzi. I guess sales figures for that bike will determine if it's a hit or miss.

 

I guess after re-reading your posts, I'm not sure where you want Guzzi to go. What exactly do you think they should be building for the "great leap forward"?

[mznyc]

"Are you saying there are no performance/reliability limitations to a 1000-1200 cc air cooled V twin?"

 

Exact opposite.As the one who pays them(the buyer/owner is essentially their boss)I do not accept this excuse.In my line of work people put me in situations that are seemingly impossible to sort out and it is my job to be inventive enough to resolve problems.This is what I and Guzzi get paid for.I,like my bosses don't want to hear excuses,just good results.I'm saying that they MAY have to consider a liquid cooled machine.In their heyday they were thought of as innovators.Now to many,they are dinosaurs,kinda like an Italian Harley,(who have finally given in to the dreaded LQ).

A 12,or 1300 higher compression air-cooled may do the trick. Don't have a preference of L or A cooled,just a bike with a little more bollocks,thats also sexy,clean and reliable.

"

You're asking them to move forward and not stand still, and by most peoples estimation, they have. The CARC system is supposed to dramatically better than the setup we have on our V11's,etc,etc,"

 

As I said here,"Don't get me wrong,I think the Breva,Norge,and Griso are cool bikes that have some evolution improvements in them" .I am aware of the improvements,didn't think it was necessary to list them.

 

I guess after re-reading your posts, I'm not sure where you want Guzzi to go

 

"I'm not asking for a 1098 beater,just a reliable,modern bike, in a classic roadster package(simple good looks,comfortable,low maintenance"

 

I might not give up my V11 for a Breva, but I would consider the 1200 Sport and definitely consider it for an 8v Sport

 

When you buy yer Black Breva,can I have your Ballabio?I promise not to put a LQ kit on it.That would be like putting a mustache on a Picasso,

[luhbo]

The link to the interview was a real disappointment. I bought a copy of Guzziology some years ago, and 'till yesterday I imagined Dave as wearing long hair, rolling his owns and wearing a red, in the meantime better pink, Guzzi overall. Seing him pictured somehow made him quite mortal again...

 

No comment to the content of the interview. It looks as if the new Guzzis are selling better than all they had for a long time now. It's just such a shame that this is so wrong now in our little, idealistic, virtual forum world.

 

Hubert

[mznyc]

bought a copy of Guzziology some years ago, and 'till yesterday I imagined Dave as wearing long hair, rolling his owns and wearing a red, in the meantime better pink, Guzzi overall. Seing him pictured somehow made him quite mortal again...

Ha,ha,

I pictured long white hair,white robe,and white pointy hat,with blindingly white aura around him.

I guess we'll have to settle for his love,passion,and dedication to the brand we all love so well.

[Richard]

Does the MGS win at Daytona not count because it was,oh please God not,....liquid cooled.

 

Of course it counts, but it only counts to those few who actually look at the series. If you ask average Joe Bloggs on Mr Average bike in the street if he knew that a Guzzi won at Daytona he'd say either, "what, they got a Cali to get round that track in one piece?!" or "what's a Guzzi?!"

 

"but how many people are looking to but $20,000 bikes?"

 

With the current exchange rate, that's only £10,000, given that the Rosso Corsa was about £9,500 new...

 

The best analogy I've heard so far is that Ducati are like Ferrari and Guzzi are like Maserati: Ducati are the Hyper-sports machines, and Guzzi are (should be) the 'classic' sports bikes that are good on everyday roads. We're not asking for 180bhp at the rear wheel, we're asking for an old school sports bike that looks the part, like the MGS, makes over 100bhp at the rear wheel and can handle well. Essentially the what the Buell is to Harley...

 

Just my thoughts...

[orangeokie]

I was that 50-60 year old guy who walked into an aprilia/moto-guzzi shop in So-Cal about four years ago. My eye first caught hold of a brand new "red and gold" Rosso Corsa. It's $14,995 sticker was more than I was willing to spend, but the next bike I looked at, an '03 RSV Mille, was priced just about the same. I fell in love with the V11 but aprilia was racing Moto GP at the time and I ended up with a SL Mille Falco, before finally realizing my first love.

 

This article is right on the money!

[Guest frankdugo]

Of course it counts, but it only counts to those few who actually look at the series. If you ask average Joe Bloggs on Mr Average bike in the street if he knew that a Guzzi won at Daytona he'd say either, "what, they got a Cali to get round that track in one piece?!" or "what's a Guzzi?!"

 

"but how many people are looking to but $20,000 bikes?"

 

With the current exchange rate, that's only £10,000, given that the Rosso Corsa was about £9,500 new...

 

The best analogy I've heard so far is that Ducati are like Ferrari and Guzzi are like Maserati: Ducati are the Hyper-sports machines, and Guzzi are (should be) the 'classic' sports bikes that are good on everyday roads. We're not asking for 180bhp at the rear wheel, we're asking for an old school sports bike that looks the part, like the MGS, makes over 100bhp at the rear wheel and can handle well. Essentially the what the Buell is to Harley...

 

Just my thoughts...

[Guest frankdugo]

ducati does have a model named "hyper moto".saw it at the booth in daytona,was impressed.did not ask the price though.

[v11cafe]

The spirit of Dave Richardson and Guzziology, shared by many people around the world

is the reason that Guzzi survives always and everywhere.

Modern looks with classic technology is not a bad thing. anyway I don"t see something

much better offered by the BMW or Ducati ( I mean the air cooled engines),

in terms of road behavior or HP, now that the 8v is in the market.

Also, in Europe (...don"t know in US...) Guzzis are better priced usually, than the equivalent bike by Bmw or Duc

Norge-R1200RT, Stelvio-R1200GS-Duc Multistrada, Breva 1200- BMW R1200R