When (good) luck has you have your Quota!

[p6x]

1 hour ago, activpop said:

Now you have two Guzzis to consider in Colorado, a Stelvio and a Quota. This one is so much better priced than the Boise one and it's red! I suspect these might not move too fast so that puts the buyer in a better position for a price adjustment.

The Boise one was actually adequate, the deal breaker were the lever bowl ends that were cut off. The brake lever was no biggie, but the clutch one was also including the "choke", so a bit more of an issue to source. The fueling had been corrected with a new map. But yes, "Black" is really not my favorite tint for a motorcycle.

As for prices, for having missed on several Quota this year, I would say that motorcycles priced around 3k seem to be moving quickly; or at least, this statement verifies in Texas where the two I found one red, one black sold almost immediately.

At this point, I am still very partial to the one owner 2016 Stelvio in Illinois. It has the burnt orange color that is acceptable, and they have reduced the price from 8500 to 8000. It is a single owner bike, and I would think they are going to dump the price at least another 500 soon.

[Speedfrog]

On 10/15/2023 at 9:19 AM, p6x said:

The add says USD 3100, possibly a price adjustment from when you found the add initially...

There was a mention when I first saw the ad about the owner having all the necessary parts to replace the fluids; oil, oil filters, etc., and that if he were to do the job prior to the sale, the price would go up some...

That mention is not there anymore, one can assume that job has been done. 

The picture of the new oils and filter is still there. It even shows fork oil, so if that was done as well, it would justify the +$300 price adjustment.

No mention of the brakes fluid.

[p6x]

3 hours ago, Speedfrog said:

There was a mention when I first saw the ad about the owner having all the necessary parts to replace the fluids; oil, oil filters, etc., and that if he were to do the job prior to the sale, the price would go up some...

That mention is not there anymore, one can assume that job has been done. 

The picture of the new oils and filter is still there. It even shows fork oil, so if that was done has well, it would justify the +$300 price adjustment.

No mention of the brakes fluid.

I was actually wondering what that photo of fluids had to do with the bike. Now I understand.

With probably one exception, all the Quota I checked were in the 3000 USD price range. He is well "in the money". Although it is usually more difficult to sell a bike outside of the riding season, but here in Houston, we are in the 70's and it is actually quite nice to ride in these temperatures.

My only reserve is the add-on windshield which does not do much for the esthetics. Even if it was removed, it would leave traces as you can clearly see he had to drill the dashboard and fairing to get it fitted.

When he states:

-"with parts and service available at local dealers"; I suppose he is referring to his neighboring zone. From what I understood of Craig's list, they recommend to only deal locally.  

[HRC_V4]

I've had my Quota a few years and done a few 1,000 mile trips on it.  I added Happy Trails hard luggage to it.  It is a great touring bike, very comfortable and fun.  The least happy part of the bike is the FI system, it was an early FI system, but oddly it is 100% throttle position sensor system, no AFM or MAF or MAP sensor, so doing an initial tps adjustment is a must.  The odd part riding is the 4,000 rpm switch, below 4k, not much power/torque and not smooth, above 4k, smooth and power. When I dug into the .bin file, the bike was programmed with very little ignition advancement below 4k, from memory it went from 17 degrees btdc at 3,600 to 30 degrees btdc at 4,000. I looked at a V11 map it it was much more linear.  I made some changes and had good results, I've also leaned out the fuel some, to improve fuel mileage and increase plug life.

 

I have purchased a dual channel wide band O2 sensor/ data acquisition setup, my winter project is to get this installed on my Quota and improve my FI map, mainly looking for better mileage, plus I enjoy playing with fuel maps.

[p6x]

3 hours ago, HRC_V4 said:

I've had my Quota a few years and done a few 1,000 mile trips on it.  I added Happy Trails hard luggage to it.  It is a great touring bike, very comfortable and fun.  The least happy part of the bike is the FI system, it was an early FI system, but oddly it is 100% throttle position sensor system, no AFM or MAF or MAP sensor, so doing an initial tps adjustment is a must.  The odd part riding is the 4,000 rpm switch, below 4k, not much power/torque and not smooth, above 4k, smooth and power. When I dug into the .bin file, the bike was programmed with very little ignition advancement below 4k, from memory it went from 17 degrees btdc at 3,600 to 30 degrees btdc at 4,000. I looked at a V11 map it it was much more linear.  I made some changes and had good results, I've also learned out the fuel some, to improve fuel mileage and increase plug life.

 

I have purchased a dual channel wide band O2 sensor/ data acquisition setup, my winter project is to get this installed on my Quota and improve my FI map, mainly looking for better mileage, plus I enjoy playing with fuel maps.

The Quota ES1100 that I checked out in Idaho had had its FI upgraded by the previous owner. The guy selling it told me the bike did not exhibit any misfire or problems.

An 02 sensor would help you improve FI based on the Ethanol contents in the gas, which we know is fluctuating between companies and batches.

[Speedfrog]

@p6x  Still looking for a red Quota??

Here is a nice one in Phoenix, AZ for just under $3k.

https://phoenix.craigslist.org/wvl/bar/d/sun-city-2000-moto-guzzi-quota-1100/7701283388.html

[p6x]

17 minutes ago, Speedfrog said:

@p6x  Still looking for a red Quota??

Here is a nice one in Phoenix, AZ for just under $3k.

https://phoenix.craigslist.org/wvl/bar/d/sun-city-2000-moto-guzzi-quota-1100/7701283388.html

Thanks! indeed, it looks the part, minus this humongous safe in the back!!!

Now that I have contacted a few sellers on Craig's list, it is always hit or miss. So far, I only had the one good experience with an individual in Boise, Idaho. All my other attempts to get in touch were either left unanswered or denied, because "not local". Everyone on Craig's list is so "defensive", like there are only "bad people" looking to steal a Moto Guzzi Quota from you, duh!

I sent the guy an email to ask him about mileage and any other details he may have omitted to specify.

 

[p6x]

@Speedfrog

Bingo! the guy answered; it has 31,000 miles, one owner. The actual seller bought it from the owner's estate, so he does not know anything about the bike but he said it looked in good condition.

I believe that he is some kind of liquidator? his wording led me to believe the owner passed away.

I am planning to go to Arizona to check it out the first week of January. If I like it, I will drive it back to Houston.

[p6x]

Well, after what I thought was a promising debut, the seller has gone into complete radio silence.

I have sent multiple email in an attempt to set a rendezvous to check out the bike, without any reply since the initial one.

Given that I only have a relay email generated by Craigslist, and no other form of contact, I would like to ask your collegial favor:

Could you email check if he is only ignoring me, and you get a reply? since he answered from his phone the first time, I am guessing I may have spooked him by being honest and telling him I was currently out of Houston, but wanted to already plan ahead.

thanks in advance!

[Speedfrog]

@p6x  I sent the guy an inquiry email, I'll let you know if I get a reply . . .

[p6x]

On 1/4/2024 at 1:53 PM, Speedfrog said:

@p6x  I sent the guy an inquiry email, I'll let you know if I get a reply . . .

I am guessing you have not, because I sent him another email now that I am back in H'town, and I got an "email box full" automatic message from Craig's list email relay system.

I cannot make sense of it; usually, the relay server pushes every email to the recipient, so they keep internal storage to a minimum. However, I don't really know how Craigslist email server works.

Unless, you need to log in into your Craigslist account in order to reply using your unmarked Craigslist email.

The guy is currently offline then.

Updated:

I found the same Quota on Facebook Marketplace with the seller's name. He has a car for sale too.

[Speedfrog]

@p6x  I haven't gotten any reply as of yet. I think you're right about the emails going through Craigslist servers being pushed to the recipient's email client. At least, that's been my experience, no need to be logged into your Craigslist account to send or receive email messages.

Your guess is as good as mine concerning the seller behavior . . .  All I can say is, try to be patient and give it some time, he might resurface and actually respond to his messages.

One good thing is that the ad is still up and was updated yesterday 1/05/24    . . . . Fingers crossed!

[p6x]

@Speedfrog

It is frustrating as I had time to go and check the bike, even drive it back home. This window closes on Monday, as I have other engagements.

I also contacted him on FB, just in case.

I found some other Quota, but none of them Red. I am still monitoring some Stelvio too, including one which price was recently dropped;

It is ok, I am patient.

[Speedfrog]

I've tried sending an email from the Craigslist post and didn't have any problem like you described, it seems to have gone through just fine. 

[p6x]

9 hours ago, Speedfrog said:

I've tried sending an email from the Craigslist post and didn't have any problem like you described, it seems to have gone through just fine. 

It took a little while for my email to return as "undelivered".

Or the seller may have classified me as a fraud, given my haste to set up a meet.

This is the issue with those free to use selling apps. Sellers may be overprotective, depending on personality, because of all the information about the bad people trying to take advantage, they may identify anything genuine as dangerous.

At least the other Quota I identified in Florida on FB got some traction:

It only has 4.7 kmiles, was brought from UK by its first owner.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/653848136729846?ref=saved&referral_code=null