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Pro Italia Glendale vs. Vespa Sherman Oaks

hhkiwi

hhkiwi

Tuned and Synch'ed
Joined
Mar 21, 2013
Messages
82
Location
Ulm, Germany
I recently bought my first Guzzi – a 2008 Breva 1200 Sport – and it is due for a service soon. The two dealers closest to me are Vespa Sherman Oaks and Pro Italia in Glendale. Who's had any first-hand experience with either dealer for service work?

Vespa Sherman Oaks would be closer for me but they appear to be relatively small and specializing in scooters – the Guzzi part appears to be a more recent add-on, but I may be wrong. Pro Italia is further away for me but they look bigger and more familiar with "real" motorbikes.
Then again, bigger is not always better, right?

I'd be interested in any feedback on the two dealers to help me decide where to take my bike.
 
If you must stay with a dealer, P.I. is the only one I recommend. If you want to stay even more local, I'm just up in the Malibu Hills. Service by appointment. You won't find any of the big stores better at Guzzi. Happy to fit you in.
 
Thanks Todd, I didn't realize that you do regular servicing too - Malibu would be very convenient for me!

The only issue is that my bike is still under warranty so I may need to take it to an authorized dealer until that runs out in October or November...
 
I enjoyed having Todd go through my bike when I first bought it. He will talk Guzzi with you all day long. :lol:

I did take my bike to ProItalia for some warranty work, though. As long as you are not in a hurry, they're fine. Good mechanics, but their shop is full of complaining Ducatis (and their owners). They had to remove my swingarm to get at some clutch parts and I was a little concerned about my red frame (V7 Racer), but the bike came back without a mark on it.
 
I'd go to ProItalia for the warranty work, but for servicing you can't beat Todd, both for the quality and the price.
 
hhkiwi said:
The only issue is that my bike is still under warranty so I may need to take it to an authorized dealer until that runs out in October or November...
Click to expand...

CA doesn't allow voiding a warranty for service out side a dealer network. Just have to keep records of the work. Guzzis are still pretty simple, so damage caused by improper maintenance is unheard of. In my experience I'd rather have a guzzi enthusiast work on my bike than a dealer. I don't have any experience with the socal dealers, but I have seen very poor service with norcal dealers - one in particular.

My friend even used Agip motor oil to avoid any excuse MG might have to get out of warranty work. But I'm sure most high grade oils are better or at least equal.
 
I know this thread is a bit old but I though I'd throw in my $0.02.

I've had Todd do all the work on my bike that I didn't want to do since I got it, including a suspension upgrade and fixing the fueling issues.

The work being done on the bike this time is the first time mine has been worked on by a dealer (needed to replace some plastic - long story). TO Guzzi/Vespa is doing the work. They are OK, but go strictly by the book. Do not take your bike there if you have any GuzziTech performance mods.

Pro Italia is good with Italian motorcycles, but they price all their work as if it is being done on a Ducatti.

I wouldn't piss on Dave at Vespa of Sherman Oaks if he was on fire, much less let him work on my bike - of course YMMV.

jdg
 
Here’s some feedback on my recent Pro Italia experience.

My B12S had developed an oil leak at the front crankshaft seal. Because the bike is still under warranty I decided to take it to Pro Italia, rather than Todd or the Vespa outfits in SO or TO, even though it is a 40 min drive for me from Santa Monica to Glendale.

Prior to setting up an appointment I sent the PI service department an e-mail with my bike’s VIN and a photo of the leak and they confirmed that my bike is still under warranty and that the problem looks like the front crankshaft seal. So they booked me in for a three hour appointment to fix the leak about four or five weeks ago.

When I got there at 11:45 AM for my 12:00 appointment they told me that they were down one mechanic but would still look at my bike within the next 30 min. Yet, when I returned to check on things two hours later my bike was still sitting outside untouched.

I then complained to one of the owners who was very apologetic and finally got the bike looked at by his service department. As expected, the problem was the front crankshaft seal but it now turned out that they did not have the required parts in stock (seal and gasket). In other words, I wasted a whole Saturday afternoon for nothing and rode back with my bike still leaking (it wasn't a major leak but still).

My second appointment was last Saturday and while they did have the parts available this time the job took them five hours instead of the projected three hours because they struggled to get the belt pulley off.

It seems to me that PI is not up to speed with MG bikes. On my first appointment, they could not even find the part numbers for the seal and gasket required for the job. I pulled up the parts manual on the GuzziTech website for them so they could order the correct parts! On the second visit, I was told that they had to modify a Ducati tool to get my belt pulley off! Wouldn't you expect an authorized MG dealer to have a full set of tools for late model Guzzis??

To their credit, the guys at PI were all very friendly but they seem to specialize in selling bikes, not servicing them – certainly not Guzzis (they may be better with their other brands, I don’t know).
 
I went to Pro Italia years ago when I had a Ducati. They were having some open house party so my friend and I dropped by on our Ducatis. The people there (Staff) were totally rude to us and made us feel completely unwelcome. I've never been back, nor have any inclinations to go back. They act like they're Ferrari mechanics and if you don't own the latest Testa Rossa or whatever, you needn't be here. I still have a Screw You attitude about them. And Ducatis, too. I disliked mine enormously.
Bare
 
I bought my V7 from Pro Italia. Nice enough sales crew (salesman couldn't even start a Moto Guzzi, though). I took it back for some warranty work (screaming clutch). I made an appointment, took it in, and waited two weeks for them to start on it. The service manager was rude. The mechanic was pretty nice when I talked him and did a good job on my bike. He had to remove my swingarm and I checked carefully for scratches and stuff (red Racer frame) and there wasn't a mark on anything.
 
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