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The allure of Guzzi

I remember the day clearly. I was filling my car up at a service station in Essendon (Melbourne Australia) when I heard the sound of engines approaching. Engines that sounded like nothing else I'd ever heard. I looked down the road and saw two bikes headed my way. One red & the other yellow. As they got closer, I saw they were sports bikes. Now, I was vaguely aware of Moto Guzzis, but until that point I'd never really paid much attention to them. But now, I saw their cylinders out in the breeze and recognised the make of bike immediately. Their riders gunned the engines and there is no other way to describe this - I heard God.
To this day, I tell detractors that God rides a Moto Guzzi...
Two Sport 1100's gleamed in the low morning sunshine as they roared past me. And I was hooked.....
My Honda 750/4 K2 never appealed to me from that moment on. I bought every bike magazine that contained Guzzis I could find.
It was some time later, 2003 in London when I test rode my first Moto Guzzi - a yellow Centauro. Frigging awesome. Rough and mean and very quick in my limited experience. I ended up buying a G5 for its ability to handle my luggage. I rode around England and France and loved every moment on that bike.
In 2006 I had moved from working on cars to motorcycles. There was a 2001 Cali Stone gathering dust in the showroom where I worked. It was dressed up as a tourer with running boards, panniers and screen etc. and looked UGLY! One quiet day, I thought I'd take it for a run to clear its throat and then, without permission, I put it on my bench & stripped all that excess stuff off until it looked like a motorcycle I'd be happy to own.
Well, the boss did his nut when he saw what I'd done, so I went to the finance dept, got a loan and bought it.
I commuted 950 kilometres every week for almost two years and it never ceased to amaze me just how capable it was touring as well as scratching.
There were a couple of speeding fines and once a country-copper pulled me over for speeding. Bless his cotton socks, for he was happy to look the bike over and let me go with a warning!
Well, I've still got that bike. It's had a few modifications over the years and now hits an indicated 240kmh. Even allowing for speedo error, that is moving!!!
Nothing lifts my mood quite like it.

I'll never sell it.
There are only 2 reasons i would ever sell my Guzzi: to get another one or i move to a country i can't ship it to. Australia's getting too hot for me (coming from someone who was born here), so i'm looking to move to Switzerland, which appears to be Guzzisti central - most common bike dealerships in the east appear to be Guzzi. 1 in each town! & used ones are dirt cheap. Never seen so many dealerships anywhere, so maybe i'd kill 2 birds with 1 stone
 
Back in the day (late 70s) I had some RAF colleagues that had a Le Mans Mk2, Spada and 850T respectively and as I was looking to change my Kawasaki Z650 gave serious thoughts to the 850 T3 California but as the Guzzi dealership in my area was sketchy to say the least and the bike was to be my primary mode of transportation a new BMW R80/7 won the day, and yes I regretted that decision.

After several bikes later, predominantly Vtwins, Harley, Ducati, Honda etc, roll on to present day more or less, living in Menorca and as the now owner of a BMW R1200C Montauk, wife and I decided to tour to Barcelona, through France and onto Imperia on the Italian coast, a round trip of almost 2000kms. I had envisaged the the Montauk would be my last purchase but although it was a great machine for Menorca and also several trips to Mallorca, the Imperia journey IMHO showed its shortcomings at sustained high speed cruising.

Anyway, whilst in Italy, saw some of the new V7 offerings also many Ducatis and quite a few older Laverdas and my mind got to wandering, as Google is your friend and we were travelling back through Barcelona, Motos Caparros whom I believe to be the longest established MG dealer in Spain was only a short detour on route back to the ferry port and we duly ended up outside his front door. No fancy showrooms there, but lined up on the pavement (sidewalk) outside was a fair selection of of second hand machines, Griso, 1000Convert, 850T3 and others but it's what was in the shop that caught my eye, a new California 1400 Touring and yes I did try it for size.

Having returned home "out of interest" I contacted some of the closest MG dealers and it just so happened that the nearest dealer Casa Capo, Mallorca had a black Touring in stock. The Montauk was promptly put up for sale and the rest as they say is history, not quite.

Vacation time 2016, wouldn't it be nice to visit the States and rent a bike, even better wouldn't it be nice to visit the States and rent a Guzzi. Enter RideMalibu, a few days in San Diego followed by a day in LA then onwards to Malibu lodging with Todd and Gretchen and renting the GuzziTech modded V7 to explore the hills and canyons surrounding Malibu, hit the Mulholland highway and beyond and visit the Rock Store for an experience I cannot recommend highly enough.

Yes the California has its faults, fuelling and suspension to name but two, (GT fuelling kit and Matris sorted) but as long as there are enthusiasts and specialists like Todd we can all soar with the Eagle.
 
I was just re-reading this thread and having a good smile.

"Back when" I had two old loop frames that were tagged & ready: 750 Ambassador & an 850 Police, the 750 was my dailey rider & the 850 was the long distance/camping/bagger.

One Sunday I get a call from a bud who wants to ride, told him to come on over.
He shows up on his Harley which dies in the driveway with an electrical failure.

Told him to leave the bike & I'd fix it during the week but lets ride today.
Put him on the 850 & told him to lead, he had never ridden a Guzzi.

About 150 miles later he pulls into a gas station, he has a smile plastered on that goes from ear to ear.
Kept saying things like: I was running 80 mph the whole time, this thing fly's thru the curves, pretty dang solid on the straights.....
I let him ride it for the week while I got his HD wired up thinking he'd own one but he never gave up the HD.
 
before the night was over I had bought his Guzzi: 1970 750 Ambassador.
The reasons I bought it was: 1) I had been drinking 2) My old BSA was starting to need work 3) I always liked different "stuff".

LOL! These sound like honest reasons. I was sober when I bought mine but can relate to reason number 3.
 
What is it that made the rest of you choose Guzzi?

I am gullible and was convinced by a friend that I would like it. That's the reason. :)

Well, I DO like my 2014 California (bought used and a year old in 2015) and it has proven to be a good bike even though I have only managed 18,000 miles so far. As I have stated here before it seems to be a bike that "grows on me" the more I ride it and except for some things that tend to break I develop more of an affection towards it as time goes by.
 
I've had BMWs, Suzukis, KTMs, Triumphs, Hondas, Ducatis, Vespas, Aprilias, Yamahas, H-Ds, and a Ural w/ Chair. Never had a Kawasaki. First bike was a Suzuki GT550 2-stroke triple, which had tons of soul and character. After having 1000 cc sport bikes and 1200 cc tourers, my need to travel by bike had waned, and 1000 cc on the street can just be frustrating. I had never tried a Guzzi, so I test-rode a Stone, and liked the character and feel. The simplicity of maintenance reminded me of the Ural and BMW boxers, and the shaft drive was appealing. I really liked the Racer, so here I am, starting my adventure with Guzzi. She will share the Italian side of the garage with a Vespa 300 Super. My hope is that the wife will follow on the Vespa, and perhaps sometimes lead. So far I love the sound, look, and feel of the V7 III Racer; pure motorcycling like it used to be.
 
I've enjoyed reading all these posts. I think all guzzi owners enjoy doing things a bit different with a bit of "how do you like me now" mixed in. I'm certainly guilty of this when I take her out. I live in a world of Harley's and that bike gets more looks than any of the other brand. I own 3 other bikes all of them unique, none of them are HD but each recognizable with there own personality. All are fun to ride but when you're out on the Guzzi people stop, turn around just to ask questions and take pictures you can feel all those eyes on you at a light or when you ride by and that is just fun. You also get to see just how many of the "bike guys" actually know bikes (maybe 10%). So it's always a bit fun to educate a few. You know "no it's not Japanese it's Italian" , "Moto Guzzi makes it, that is the manufacturer Moto Guzzi" , "no there not new they've been making bikes since 1921". Maybe it's just me or a bit of ego but I love doing that to Harley guy's. All of that is just icing on the cake because as we all know those bikes are just fun to ride. For me it's just not getting there but how I got there.
 
Just returned back from my first 400+ mile trip on Racer. Stopped for a quick lunch on the last leg back, about 150 miles out, and an older gent came trotting over to me as I walked back to the bike to suit up and head out.

"I noticed it had clip-ons!" he said breathlessly. "I used to do a lot with motorcycles, but my favorite of all was a Moto Guzzi with clip-ons I bought in about 1973."

"Was it a V7 Sport?" I asked.

"Yes! Yes! That's the one! It was so pretty, and it ran so well! I haven't seen a Guzzi with clip-ons around here in an eon! Is this new?"

"Near as it comes. I bought it last Fall."

He hung around while I finished getting on my helmet, glasses, and gloves. I mounted Racer and fired it up.

"Oh my ... It sounds just like mine did! If only I was twenty years younger!" he exclaimed, and smiled. "You ride carefully, youngster!" I gave him a thumbs up and he watched me as I pulled out and powered away.

Yes, there's something about a Guzzi... :D
 
Young and old alike think they're great. I pulled in to the local depanneur (corner store) and a kid about 10 or 12 says "Wow, nice bike." I said it's a Moto Guzzi, ever heard of them? "No." It's made in Italy. "Ooooh, cool."
 
I was "introduced" to Guzzi in '69 or '70.
A friend bought one & rode to my house to show it off but I wasn't impressed.
At that time I had Jap dirt bikes & English road bikes & a 1945 Harley 45ci but had my sights set on a "big" Harley.

About a year later I was sitting in a local bar & a another rider comes in & sits down.
We started talking bikes & before the night was over I had bought his Guzzi: 1970 750 Ambassador.
The reasons I bought it was: 1) I had been drinking 2) My old BSA was starting to need work 3) I always liked different "stuff".
That was the start of a long relationship. The Guzzi was so comfortable, reliable & so weird that it checked all my boxes.

Back then & still today I get many people ask me what kind of bike it is.
At one point I removed everything that said Moto Guzzi (It was even stamped into the valve covers so I leaded that in).
When somebody asked what it was I would tell them things like:
"That? Oh it's a 1948 Honda, first one ever imported into the USA".
"It's a rare Harley desert model from WWII. They didn't make a lot of them but my dad brought it home".
"Doesn't have a name we just sort of cobbled it together from old tractors & other bikes, runs ok".

The more I rode the Guzzi & the more I rode with people riding other brands the more I appreciated the Guzzi.
Never was the fastest bike but I didn't have to slow up for curves either & in the day it was one of the few bikes that would run 80 mph all day long, day after day after day.
At one point I realized that my saddlebags carried more American tools than metrics.

So my love for Guzzi comes from two sources; the practical source & the thrill source because even the old slow Guzzi was more fun to ride than any other bike I could put my butt on.
I was the local wrench head so I got to work on and ride many bikes and even tho some were fast or some were comfortable or some handled quicker the Guzzi always won the "Best Overall Bike".
Great story.
 
I have really enjoyed your warm and fuzzy Guzzi history’s . I have non... yet! I have owned only 1 new motorcycle in my life so far. It was a 1986 FXR low rider. I have been riding internal combustion 2wheelers since 1970. In the beginning all I could afford was other people’s problems. Through the decades I have had many makes and models, learned to appreciate the brilliant engineering and poor designs. It has become more of a hobby, I don’t see me ever buying another brand new bike. I have gone through my drag bike phase, sport bike phase, cruiser Phase, scooter phase, and still have one and ride it, but I always have had old reliable in my stable, a bmw air cooled boxer.
The bike you see in my avitar is 20 min after I received it, looks nice huh, but what you don’t know is it barely starts on one cylinder, the brakes don’t work, one front fork is empty, the other is full of water and oil, the rear bitubo shocks are in a box, and the bike is full oxidation and rust, the wind screen is gone and a must have for me. Oh ya the headlight doesn’t work and it is not the bulb or the headlight kill switch. It is a tonti frame, big block , what the heck does that mean? It’s a Moto Guzzi , they are all pretty much the same ,right? Not to worry folks I will have this machine in fine working order and looking as nice as it can in another month or so.

What brought me to Guzzi? The really nice and wonderful people I have met at a couple of Guzzi rallies,and they way they are run. So I decided to join the cause and bought the first guzzi that came up that I felt I could afford to suit my needs. I hope it works out.
 
When I was in my early 20's (age, not 1920's) my first bike was a Suzuki X6 Hustler. I wanted to travel the US by motorcycle and started looking at what "touring bikes" were available.
I looked around and at my rider friends and came to the conclusion that there were only two large, heavy bikes being made at that time: Harley's and Guzzi's.
I considered my friends personalities (and perhaps how I would "evolve") and came to the conclusion that my Harley friends were going to jail, and my Guzzi friends were pot smoking non-violent hippie musicians. I could deal with that!
I pooled all my money, and with a loan from Dad, bought a new 74 Eldo LAPD. Still have it, still ride it. It gets a frame up resto every decade or so.
Named La Stufa (The Stove). Great bike...
 
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A friend pulled in this AM to go for breakfast and was cold.

0120191259 00

Fixed that, he had heat. 35* F not cold enough for Carharts but I put on my gloves, I don't need 12V. Just longjohns.
At least I got the itch off, been 2 days.
The waitress asked if I was cold, I replied "Cold air makes more power" and the old farmer on the bench starts laughing. H-D guys there in cars were laughing. Got the whole place roaring, just 2 bikes.

0120191300 00
 
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I've enjoyed this read very much. I have a 2014 Cal Touring. Everywhere I go it's always the same, What is it? One trend I have noticed in reactions to the Goose is... They either really like it or they don't. One guy called it a work of art. I've owned at one time or another all the major metric brands and of course HD. For me this has been one of the most satisfying motorcycling experiences I've had in 49 years of off and on riding, as an owner and as a rider. BK
 
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I think that part of the love of Guzzi's is that they are generally hard to get, the love of the exotic, we all want what we can't get and paradoxically they are not that popular where they are easier to get - in Italy!
So there is good deal of myth and fable about unobtainium, and different being good regardless if it's better or not.
I bought a Bellagio with both eyes wide open and fully expected the bike to do some things really well and other things really crap.
But it's the only bike in 45 + years of riding it has attracted totally unsolicited praise from pedestrians at stop lights, and I have never had that before, even with my Bimota style Honda endurance racer!
Riding a Guzzi simply makes me smile ..... But only in right riding conditions.
Pick a swooping set of curves in open country and it's a joy.
Suffer roundabouts and slow traffic and drive line backlash rears its ugly head.
So what made me pick a Gootsie in the first place?
Don't laugh - a visit to a psychic lady who recommended one at a time that I was actually looking to purchase.
Cheers.
 
I think that part of the love of Guzzi's is that they are generally hard to get, the love of the exotic, we all want what we can't get and paradoxically they are not that popular where they are easier to get - in Italy!
So there is good deal of myth and fable about unobtainium, and different being good regardless if it's better or not.
I bought a Bellagio with both eyes wide open and fully expected the bike to do some things really well and other things really crap.
But it's the only bike in 45 + years of riding it has attracted totally unsolicited praise from pedestrians at stop lights, and I have never had that before, even with my Bimota style Honda endurance racer!
Riding a Guzzi simply makes me smile ..... But only in right riding conditions.
Pick a swooping set of curves in open country and it's a joy.
Suffer roundabouts and slow traffic and drive line backlash rears its ugly head.
So what made me pick a Gootsie in the first place?
Don't laugh - a visit to a psychic lady who recommended one at a time that I was actually looking to purchase.
Cheers.
Ah yes, them psychics will try anything remotely convincing to trick you out of your money...
Meh, the 750's don't seem to mind city riding
 
Great reading thank you all and don't be Shy every one's story is worth hearing . Hear goes it took me a long time to get hear and I suppose I took the long way round And little pun thrown in there as I'm sure you all know Ewan McGregor the famous actor and Guzzi fanatic . I saw a movie on TV in black and white as a child and a cool man with sun glasses a knitted cap and s leather jacket rode away on an ambassador I think it was with a real pretty hippy looking woman on the back wearing a head scarf .
Then I started seeing the odd Guzzi hear and there and all through my life I haven't seen that many I only knew about six people who rode a Guzzi and the nearest lives probably 50 miles away . I used to ride a BMW R100t and I couple of my friends had them too and said they much prefer to ride a Guzzi . Every time I seen one I think I remember I had only ever had a small go on milatry surplus new falcons that spend decades in a packing crate before being commissioned the owner had to put it together him self . I had seen the same advertising in a classic bike magazine and though about how cool it would be . I have been a huge fan of Moto Guzzi since I was very young and I lusted after a 1000S with orange stripes since they were new but I got side tracked by the time I started spending decent money on bikes I had a couple of Harley's one being a nice Evo 1340 that was not a million miles away from a California I suppose I had a few BMW modern Triumph triple and countless Japanese bike in fact I had gone back to Honda's
I bought a Honda Transalp 600 as a work horse to keep the milage down on my Harley and it kinda took over It was a litter trooper it ended up the barley got the elbow to be replaced by a Honda varadero xl1000v fí six speed a great bike that served me well and I would probably still be riding it and never realized my dream of owning a Guzzi if I had not called to the man I bought it off when passing his way when out riding one day three years later . He asked me would I sell it to his friend in about six months time . I said at that time I don't know maybe I always fancied a Guzzi and I think a breva 1100 is the bike for me . I ended up selling his friend the bike and buying a norge 1200 4 valve and I am completely smitten with it . I only recently acquired it and I only covered a couple of thousand miles with it yet . I had never even sat on a twin let alone ride one before I handed over the money and signed the registration paper . I just put my gear on and rode away on it . Wow what an unusual bike to ride I love the way it does everything . It was really worth the wait it's just a pity I had not gotten a Guzzi twenty five years ago . I can't turn back the clock I can only look forwards and the future looks bright with Moto Guzzi : ) I also bought a ducati st2 to replace the Honda transalp and its a fantastic bike ducatis best kept secret they are a race bike in touring clothes. I am happy with my two bikes I have now. I don't see them as Italian bikes so much just factories that make bikes both companies built a great bike. I recommend them to anyone. Don't get me wrong I am not knocking any other makers but these two companies have it off to a tee . Ducati is only for going fast but guzzi can go slow or fast it don't mind.
 
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