Are Moto Guzzis worth having
- Thread starter nocte
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davamb said:Not every day you get a Guzzi in your driveway, some days you get 2!
The Griso is pretty awesome, but the little Cafe Racer does it for me:
I'd have one of these any day. Crying out for a half fairing though.
yes they're nice - but the new 750 is a bit under powered (under 50hp!) - not bad - but even 10 more and it would be a bit more of an all around-er
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Agree with you there Mike, I was on the TRX (taking the Norton head up to Bendigo to get an exhaust thread fixed) and the little Guzz had trouble staying with us at times on the straight bits when the... umm... how would you put it... throttle accidentally jammed open. Was right there on the twisties though. Surely there's tuning scope for another 10hp out of it. If I had the bucks, I'd go for one.mikegray660 said:
When I started rebuilding the Norton, it was with the aim of selling it and buying one of these:
To my eye one of the most beautiful proddy bikes ever made.
Little did I know then how attached to the Commando I would become.
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I've owned a least one guzzi model or another since 1977. Most models you won't live long enough to wear one out. I presently own seven of them. Three single's and four big twins. Been a life long MGNOC member L #377. Check out the www.wildguzzi.com forum if you want the straight scoop. Guzzi tech is very informative as well. They have come a long way since 1921 and have been going out of business ever since. :lol:
Some say it's an aquired taste.......some say, MOTO WHAT? Do they still make those :?: My 93' Cal III with 114,xxx miles and counting hasn't had but one U-joint since new, nothing else. Oil changes & valve adjustments, tires and an occassional battery and ride ! :mrgreen: I love my six norton's but I can't say the same for them.
present guzzi's... 1935 GTS 500, 1947 Super Alce, 1952 Airone, 1959 Falcone, 1973 V7Sport, 1993 Cal III and 95' Cali 1100 soon to be traded for another 2000 Quota(red).
Gone but not forgotten: 850T3, LeMans III(white) LeMans III(red), 1100Sport (blue), V50III, Mille GT, Quota(red), Centauro(green),G5, Eldorado 850, V700.
Tim_S
Some say it's an aquired taste.......some say, MOTO WHAT? Do they still make those :?: My 93' Cal III with 114,xxx miles and counting hasn't had but one U-joint since new, nothing else. Oil changes & valve adjustments, tires and an occassional battery and ride ! :mrgreen: I love my six norton's but I can't say the same for them.
present guzzi's... 1935 GTS 500, 1947 Super Alce, 1952 Airone, 1959 Falcone, 1973 V7Sport, 1993 Cal III and 95' Cali 1100 soon to be traded for another 2000 Quota(red).
Gone but not forgotten: 850T3, LeMans III(white) LeMans III(red), 1100Sport (blue), V50III, Mille GT, Quota(red), Centauro(green),G5, Eldorado 850, V700.
Tim_S
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Tim_S said:I've owned a least one guzzi model or another since 1977. Most models you won't live long enough to wear one out. I presently own seven of them. Three single's and four big twins. Been a life long MGNOC member L #377. Check out the http://www.wildguzzi.com forum if you want the straight scoop. Guzzi tech is very informative as well. They have come a long way since 1921 and have been going out of business ever since. :lol:
Some say it's an aquired taste.......some say, MOTO WHAT? Do they still make those :?: My 93' Cal III with 114,xxx miles and counting hasn't had but one U-joint since new, nothing else. Oil changes & valve adjustments, tires and an occassional battery and ride ! :mrgreen: I love my six norton's but I can't say the same for them.
present guzzi's... 1935 GTS 500, 1947 Super Alce, 1952 Airone, 1959 Falcone, 1973 V7Sport, 1993 Cal III and 95' Cali 1100 soon to be traded for another 2000 Quota(red).
Gone but not forgotten: 850T3, LeMans III(white) LeMans III(red), 1100Sport (blue), V50III, Mille GT, Quota(red), Centauro(green),G5, Eldorado 850, V700.
Tim_S
Tim, what is your V7 Sport like to ride in comparison with an 850 Le Mans or a Commando? Performance, handling, braking, ergonomics? Photos, please.
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davamb said:When I started rebuilding the Norton, it was with the aim of selling it and buying one of these:
To my eye one of the most beautiful proddy bikes ever made.
Little did I know then how attached to the Commando I would become.
My first ride on a Guzzi, was a Sport 1100 carb model. Not quite the Daytone, but a wonderful machine. One of the locals has one in Black, but my favorite was a blue one for sale up here a few years ago. Man I tried to get the cash together for that one.
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John B said:
A Mk1 Lemon is "comfortable" ??
You must be young ? !
Had one of those, took 6 months of riding to build up the wrist muscles just to operate the clutch and throttle for a ride more than a few miles. Friends tried it, and came back from a spin around the block nursing their wrists, saying "how do you ride that thing...".
Fun to ride though.
The linked brakes took a bit of getting used to - just stamp on the rear brake pedal, and lightly use the 2nd front disk. Brakes (1976) were then in a league way beyond a Commando...
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Young? I'm 53 but easily envision riding this one till I'm gone. It's more comfortable than most of my other bikes, which granted are of a more sporting nature. Personally, I dont think the controls are particularly stiff. I could ride the LeMans all day, no problem. The linked brakes are interesting. At first I was going to disable them because I didn't like the
concept, but after using them i've decided to keep them. They actually work pretty well, and are part of the bikes nature.
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Agreed on the linked brakes. When I first bought my V50 Monza I thought they must have been drinking to mucho vino when that idea was put to use but as soon as I got used to it I really liked it. The bike is so well balanced I had a habbitat of leaning up and coasting towards red lights with no hands, I could lightly touch the rear brake peddle and it would slow very controled using the back disc & one front. I did a lot of long rides on it & it never got tired. I'll never own a 74-77 Ducati SS but I can afford a nice Lemons if they don't keep going up too fast. A friend just sold a nice one for $2,500! He didn't tell me & I could scream. It just needed cosmo stuff & was worth three times that much.
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Here's mine , 2007 ,(late registered, I believe late 2004 model), V11 Le Mans.
I go trid of my BMW Rockster after the ABS went whilst riding it , this is what replaced it .
Doesn't have linked brakes , riding position similar to the VFRs, so sports tourerish, got a gearbox that changes like a knife through butter. Would prefer carbs but can live with it.
Oh! and rumbles ............
Had a Mk1 before, there is no comparison between the older guzzi and the later ones, 1999 on.
I have a friend that has just bought a 1997 Cali 75th Anniversary, guy was selling it because it had belonged to his father who had unfortunately passed away, so it had lain in a garage for about 8 or 9 years, he put it on the Guzzi forum to sell and some people were very sceptical about the price, and not very complementary about it, usual," if it's lain for so long etc."; but my friend called him, saw it and made an offer which was accepted, he got it for less than £1500, including a complete set of Hepco panniers. a clean out of the tank, change of oil , a jump from a battery and it started after about the 3rd press of the button. After a day fettling it and cleaning it up it looked brill, hardly any rust, except handlebars.
There are bargains out there just a matter of patience.
Faults, all bikes will have faults but most are easy to fix, look at the Commando how many different fixes for various faults are there?, dozens!
Go try a Guzzi they are a hoot to ride and easy to maintain.
I go trid of my BMW Rockster after the ABS went whilst riding it , this is what replaced it .
Doesn't have linked brakes , riding position similar to the VFRs, so sports tourerish, got a gearbox that changes like a knife through butter. Would prefer carbs but can live with it.
Oh! and rumbles ............
Had a Mk1 before, there is no comparison between the older guzzi and the later ones, 1999 on.
I have a friend that has just bought a 1997 Cali 75th Anniversary, guy was selling it because it had belonged to his father who had unfortunately passed away, so it had lain in a garage for about 8 or 9 years, he put it on the Guzzi forum to sell and some people were very sceptical about the price, and not very complementary about it, usual," if it's lain for so long etc."; but my friend called him, saw it and made an offer which was accepted, he got it for less than £1500, including a complete set of Hepco panniers. a clean out of the tank, change of oil , a jump from a battery and it started after about the 3rd press of the button. After a day fettling it and cleaning it up it looked brill, hardly any rust, except handlebars.
There are bargains out there just a matter of patience.
Faults, all bikes will have faults but most are easy to fix, look at the Commando how many different fixes for various faults are there?, dozens!
Go try a Guzzi they are a hoot to ride and easy to maintain.