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So you want a test ride? LOL

Mayakovski

GT Reference
GT Famiglia
Joined
Dec 17, 2017
Messages
1,089
Location
Comox, BC, CANADA
So a bit over a month ago I contact the local MG dealer (local being 3 hours away) and advise I want to buy a V7 III Special, I have ridden the V7 II and loved it.

He says they have a V7 III Stone demo available and the special will be in the following week.

So I make my hotel reservations, schedule a day off work and am waiting impatiently for the day to arrive. That day being March 3 (which also happens by pure coincidence to be my birthday).

I just emailed them to confirm and was told no demos available until some time in April, and the Special might be in in April as well.

Really, you sell motorcycles but will have no demo available for almost 2 months????

Is this normal in the motorcycle world these days, they are making so much money they do not need to be available to customers? The last bike I bought was a 1995 KLR650, and the dealer brought it is specially for me to test ride without my even asking.

HARUMPH. Not a good start to a customer / dealer relationship.
 
Guzzi is a very limited production bike & the V7 line has become the most popular Guzzi bike in a very long time.
This results in short supplies especially for low volume dealers.

If you are going to get into the world of Guzzi then you will have to get out of the mindset of how other manufacturers do it.
Otherwise you will be very disappointed.

Guzzi's are a fantastic machine & very addicting but can also be very frustrating to new owners.
 
I hear what you are saying Trout, and I totally get it. I realize that Guzzi is small, and that there bikes are not the bread and butter of most dealers. That said I cannot imagine why a dealer would not keep at least 1 demo model of the most popular line. Seems like shooting yourself in the foot.

In my case the dealer may well have lost a sale because of that. I am looking into a different dealer, even father away to see if they keep demo models in the fleet. Having to wait 2 months for a demo bike to join the fleet seems like bad management to me. And makes me wonder what other areas of service such a new bike prep, maintenance and parts they do not take seriously.
 
First it sounds like your dealer is a bit strange ... they tell you they have a Stone demo available but then they don't? And a Special is due in 1 week, but wait, no it is several months away. That is just bad dealership behavior no matter which brand.

Moto Guzzi, as I understand it, has no demo program. So if a dealer decides to make a bike available as a demo, then they are just willing to take the hit on that for hopefully more sales. So maybe they lose $1000-$1500 on the demo model, did they make that up by selling more bikes? Maybe.

I'm lucky enough to have 4 MG dealers within a 2 hr drive from me. One of them has no demos at all, buy it, then you can ride it. One has no demos, but if you are serious about buying a bike and you want to ride it first (and they talk to you and feel your are serious), then they will prep the bike you want and you can take it for a short ride. The other two have a V7 III Stone as a demo bike (and maybe others, I was only checking on the V7 bikes). So for both of them you would ride the Stone and then need to decide if you wanted to buy the Special. If you really wanted them to prep a Special and ride it they probably would.

So basically up to the dealer to decide if it is worth the trouble to offer a demo.

But none of the Honda/Yamaha/Kawasaki/Suzuki dealers will let you ride anything until you buy it. Unless it is some demo day thing where they bring in bikes specially for the demo day rides.
 
Also, not exactly motorcycles season in Canada right now. :) Maybe they have more programs (demos) in Spring?
 
The dealer I work with is a small shop. He doesn't have a "demo fleet" for any of the marques he carries. He has inventory on various bikes. Can't afford to, either for the cost of doing it or for the amount of extra storage it requires.

When I called and said I wanted to test ride a V7III Racer, he wheeled one of the two he had into the shop and did the pre-delivery setup. I arrived, took my test ride, and worked the deal with him. That's the bike I took home the next day.
 
I am surprised a manufacturer would not have a demo program. I have never run into a car dealer that was not willing to let me test drive whatever was on the lot.

Interesting comment usedtobefast regarding the other brands, the Honda/Yamaha/Kawasaki/KTM dealers around here (Vancouver Island) will let you take pretty much anything for a test ride. They are very friendly and willing to help.

I will check on the Demo days, I agree this is not the riding season up here, but darn it, that was going to be my birthday present to myself.
 
I am surprised a manufacturer would not have a demo program.
Their "program" is that the dealer takes a unit in stock (that they are paying flooring on), puts it into service, and only after a significant amount of miles/kilometers can they sell it at a slight discount. I can see where in cold climates, this wouldn't make sense until the riding season starts. As stated above, Guzzis take "unique" owners, as they are a miniscule brand. Most are owned by those who enjoy working on their machines. "Moto Guzzi: Making mechanics out of riders since 1921."
 
So what your saying is I have to treat this just like I did my old Ducati 900 Darmah, plan to do my own maintenance and be prepared to wait 4 to 5 months for a new throttle cable. LOL.

That I can do. :)
 
LOL!

Actually, depending upon your dealer, Moto Guzzi today is pretty good on getting parts and doing service.
The thing is, doing maintenance on a Moto Guzzi V7 is probably as easy as it comes ... with a little practice, you can do the whole job in about two hours. Very simple machines... :D
 
My local dealer (420Km away) allows test rides on 2nd hand stock he has on the floor. You ride the nearest one he has to what you actually want. I test rode a 2013 Stone to determine whether or not I wanted a 2017 Special. My next nearest dealer is 2,700Km away. Moot point!!
 
I s'pose I didn't give the whole story. Our state only has a few over 2,000,000 people in 3,000,000 sq km.and he's a very small 2 man show dealing only in MG. He doesn't maintain any new bikes in his shop. He's too small a dealer to be able to afford that. Something like 200 MGs are sold Oz wide anualy, and a few of those are in West Oz. For instance, there are now 2 series iii V7s in West Oz. However, his service is 2nd to none. Very knowledgeable, helpful and he carries a good compliment of spares.
 
So a bit over a month ago I contact the local MG dealer (local being 3 hours away) and advise I want to buy a V7 III Special, I have ridden the V7 II and loved it.

He says they have a V7 III Stone demo available and the special will be in the following week.

So I make my hotel reservations, schedule a day off work and am waiting impatiently for the day to arrive. That day being March 3 (which also happens by pure coincidence to be my birthday).

I just emailed them to confirm and was told no demos available until some time in April, and the Special might be in in April as well.

Really, you sell motorcycles but will have no demo available for almost 2 months????

Is this normal in the motorcycle world these days, they are making so much money they do not need to be available to customers? The last bike I bought was a 1995 KLR650, and the dealer brought it is specially for me to test ride without my even asking.

HARUMPH. Not a good start to a customer / dealer relationship.

Well if it's any help I know that my local dealer (International Motorsports in Vancouver) has several V7's in stock as I was there on Tuesday. Downside is it's snowing right now !!!
 
Well if it's any help I know that my local dealer (International Motorsports in Vancouver) has several V7's in stock as I was there on Tuesday. Downside is it's snowing right now !!!
Hey Paul;
I emailed them yesterday about a test ride. We'll see what they say. Sorry to hear about the snow, it's beautifully sunny and warm in the Comox Valley.
 
In my case the dealer may well have lost a sale because of that. I am looking into a different dealer said:
If you are thinking of coming down to Victoria to get a better dealer, think again. I was there this summer to help out a fellow Guzzi traveler with his bike maintenance and first saw a sales man on the floor that I recognized as a guy that sold me a bed and mattress years ago at Sleep Country, so that obviously qualifies him to work there as a motorcycle salesman, and then the main parts guy told me that he NEVER heard of any bike that needed to have the oil pan dropped to get to the oil filter......... WTF?. The only guy in that store I trust, is the outboard mechanic.
I recommend at whatever store you are planning to buy a bike, to try and get to talk to the mechanics and perhaps owner and ask some pointed questions about the handling of warranty issues and maintenance , because that's the guys you end up dealing with once the salesman is back to selling mattresses again.
 
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