And so it (frustratingly) begins…

[GTM®]

I believe the best thing would be a string of factory owned “mini dealerships”. Just a very small, old school type shop with like 2 employees.

Agreed, with the “employees” able to make swift resolutions. It’ll never happen.
My good friend at Ford Corp. always (recently) said that they would love take over every dealership in the U.S., as they tend to destroy customer loyalty according to their data, when they (Ford) are actually anxious to take care of customers, especially when it comes to swift warranty resolutions.

 

[hispanico]

Just to make sure you understand what is (or at least was until recently) the relationship between Piaggio and its dealers: in 2014 Piaggio decided to revoke the official dealership status to the Primo Moretti dealer in Macerata.

Primo Moretti was the fist ever Guzzi dealership in the world, it operated continuously since 1922 (yes, the year after the founding of Moto Guzzi) and it always sold only Guzzis. The shop window largely remains similar to the one in the 1920s, so much so that it was declared historical landmark by the government of the region of Marche (where Macerata is). The current owner, Roberto Freddi (grandson of the founder), is considered one of the best Guzzi mechanics in Europe, possibly in the world. A lot of italians, but also germans, dutches, and other foreigners sends their bikes to be fixed by Roberto and his team, and on the italian Guzzi forum there are a lot, and I mean a lot, of fantastic testimonies about Roberto's skills, passion and willingness to help. All this to say that together with the history there is a real professionalism with the Primo Moretti, something that, sadly, many Piaggio dealerships lacks.

So it's even more absurd that Piaggio revoked the dealership status to a such historical, professional and respected establishment, without a real explanation, not even to the owners! After a lot of protests and petitions by hundreds of guzzisti from all over Italy and many from other european countries (and also some bad newspaper articles for Piaggio), Piaggio backtracked a bit, it justified its action by saying it's "reevaluating and reorganizing the dealership presence in Italy" (which doesn't mean anything) and gave Primo Moretti an "authorized reseller" status. However Piaggio later also revoked that status, and Primo Moretti stopped being even an authorized repair shop! IT'S INSANE!

If you now go to the italian Moto Guzzi website and search for dealerships near Macerata, you will find a generic dealership, not far from the town, that also sells Suzuki, Kawasaki, Benelli, scooters and microcars. I mean... unbelievable...

However I want to make clear that Primo Moretti still exists, Roberto still exists and still makes many guzzisti proud, despite the despicable actions of Piaggio...

 

[hispanico]

Also I want to add that I don't know what are the requirements for a Piaggio dealership in North America. I've been in a couple of "MotoPlex" dealers in Italy and they don't have anything particular and/or fancy, they aren't even that big. Honestly I don't even notice a real common style. My local dealer is actually a small branch of a bigger "MotoPlex" and inside it's a mess! But they sell well, so... why change, I guess?

 

[hispanico]

According to the January 2023 issue of Bike magazine (UK) it is the Benelli TRK502X that has been Italy’s best-selling bike for three years. I don’t know if that’s correct but given it’s relatively low price on account of the Chinese QJ Motor ownership it makes sense. Interestingly even a prestige manufacturer like MV uses the same motor in its new Lucky Explorer 5.5.

January 2023? Is your time zone that forward in time?

The Benelli has being the top selling bike since 2020 (so the last two years), almost certainly it will be also for 2022. But the GS was in second position, and before 2020 it was always in first place, going back at least to 2010 (I stopped there), with an average of 3k to 4k units sold.

Yeah, the Benelli TRK502 sells a lot because it looks like a big ADV bike, but with a small engine, powerless if compared to the size of the bike, and most importantly is CHEAP. Although is designed and engineered in Italy, the bike is built in China with chinese components, this cuts the costs a lot, especially compared to bike built in Italy.
In Italy the base TRK502 retails at about 6k€, which is a lot less than the 9k€ required for the base Kawa Versys 650 or Suzuki V-Strom 650, while at the same time having a bike that looks closer (and uglier, IMHO) to the big ADVs like the GS.
The Benelli weighs about 235kg (520 lbs), 5kg more than the V85TT, but with 48 hp. Versys and V-Strom weighs about 210kg (460 lbs), and have more power than the Benelli

 

[scottmastrocinque]

….However I want to make clear that Primo Moretti still exists, Roberto still exists and still makes many guzzisti proud, despite the despicable actions of Piaggio...

“Eccellenza nella professionalità!

Siamo veramente felici di aver incontrato il "prof" Roberto che ci ha risolto tutti i problemi della nostra Guzzi, acquistata usata e manomessa da un incompetente. []

Ringraziamo ancora di cuore per la sua disponibilità e gentilezza e per la sua ineccepibile competenza!”



Vero. Mi piace.

Va bene.

Ti ringrazio hispanico.

 

[Fleuger99]

I agree completely Todd.

We would both be outstanding dealer principals. I know this for a fact. However we would be financially struggling dealers just like everybody else.

It’s the exact same BS with BMW and has been for over 20 years now.

Both BMW and Moto Guzzi make the capital investment completely out of the realm of reality.

They insist on demands for outrageously expensive facilities, signage, interiors, furnishings and fixtures of which there simply is no projections of income sufficient to support the investment with any hope of return in investment, let alone profitability.

Warranty reimbursement is the scourge of every modern dealership motorcycle shop in the USA. The manufacturers take the lion’s share of the profits but allow almost nothing held aside for warranty work.

It’s another reason why the dealers hate customers who bought their motorcycles elsewhere. There is nothing to make warranty work worthwhile. Not even a customer - dealership relationship.

It’s just not a sustainable situation and it will never contribute to any growth or market penetration.

I believe the best thing would be a string of factory owned “mini dealerships”. Just a very small, old school type shop with like 2 employees.

They don’t need mega-mall dealers like Burt’s Motorcycles…

Bean counters with MBA’s, ruin everything.

I guess I’ll just keep buying and wrenching my own motorcycles as long as I can. If they continue on this path of trying to deny self-maintenance from owners, then I will continue to ride older stuff that can still be maintained by me.

I currently ride a 2019 BMW R1250RT and we only have one dealer here in Austin TX. They are not as described above, expensive facilities signage. interiors and furnishings. The dealerships also sells Triumph and all the Japanese brands under one roof. It is called Ride Now Austin. Their customer service sucks, their pricing is outrageous (my small 18K service which is essentially an engine oil & filter change and some inspections was $426 and my large 12K service was $1048). I love the bike but absolutely hate dealing with them as there are always issues.

Maybe new dealerships are required to facilitate as you described the above requirements but many existing ones do not.

 

[scottmastrocinque]

Every state has their own laws. It the downside of 50 separate states with 50 separate sets of laws.

Some states have “grandfather” clauses that can insulate the dealership from some of the requirements. California is one of them too.

However, upon ownership transfer or increase in stakeholder equity, the manufacturers can force their will upon the dealership.

Happens every day in the USA.

 

[LaGrasta]

Numerous trips to Italy over the years, and hardly ever see an MG, always so disappointing. Still, I love these bikes! There are no casual MG owners; all of them enthusiast.
US dealer support is the prime reason they suffer US sales. They should be jumping at the chance for a GTM (Todd) in every market.

 

[James Guffman]

Numerous trips to Italy over the years, and hardly ever see an MG, always so disappointing. Still, I love these bikes! There are no casual MG owners; all of them enthusiast.
US dealer support is the prime reason they suffer US sales. They should be jumping at the chance for a GTM (Todd) in every market.

I would be interested to see the demographics of the MG community. I have bought 2 new Guzzis and have a deposit down for a V100 and I'm only in my 30s I just can't help myself. Before they stopped reporting figures Australia was selling roughly 100 Guzzis a year so we are not a big market.

 

[tris]

Well - I got see my first V100 in the flesh yesterday - yet another white one

My thoughts are nicely finished and the wheels are fantastic.
I still get pleasure in seeing all the key fasteners "tagged" with yellow paint to prove that a human has been there
Overall looks wise, for me, its another new bike in the same style as every other new bike on the road
That being said if I was in the market for a newer Breva 1100 sort if bike it would definitely be on the list, but I think I'll be staying with the Roamer for the foreseeable future

 

[LaGrasta]

"I still get pleasure in seeing all the key fasteners "tagged" with yellow paint"

Yes, love this too!

 

[Mayakovski]

Overall looks wise, for me, its another new bike in the same style as every other new bike on the road

Yes, Guzzi had a chance to make a bike that stood out and was unique, unfortunately they were very, very conservative with it. With the exception of the ridiculous powered winglets.

 

[scottmastrocinque]

Ridiculous? Have you ridden it and felt the difference? Probably not. Why bash it then?

People said the same crap about FI, ABS, ECU's, Traction Control, single sided swing-arms, selectable rider modes, heated grips and seats, etc...

 

[Vagrant]

Yes, Guzzi had a chance to make a bike that stood out and was unique, unfortunately they were very, very conservative with it. With the exception of the ridiculous powered winglets.

Unique doesn't sell well most of the time. One of the reasons all SUV's look alike. Just the big jugs sticking out make it unique enough for most.

 

[GTM®]

Overall looks wise, for me, its another new bike in the same style as every other new bike on the road
That being said if I was in the market for a newer Breva 1100 sort if bike it would definitely be on the list, but I think I'll be staying with the Roamer for the foreseeable future

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. The bike is a disappointment to me styling wise, but that won't keep me from buying one.
I really wish they had built something more inline with their heritage (Le Mans for one) for the launch. This model, and upcoming Stelvio would be a logical next step IMO. Like most others, no one really cares about customer opinions at Guzzi.

 

[Mayakovski]

Ridiculous? Have you ridden it and felt the difference? Probably not. Why bash it then?

Nope, have not ridden it. To me they just look cheap, gimmicky and very easy to damage and likely very expensive to repair/fix.

 

[scottmastrocinque]

Nope, have not ridden it. To me they just look cheap, gimmicky and very easy to damage and likely very expensive to repair/fix.

Point taken. I haven’t ridden one either. In fact, haven’t seen one in person yet, so I’m remaining open minded for now.

 

[davethewelder]

The V100 in white with gold wheels is super classy, but really I haven’t sent a color from Moto Guzzi that I don’t like.

 

[tris]

The white per se is great indeed my V9 is white.
It just feels that all the dealer V100 test ride bikes are white over here
Maybe it's all a cunning plan by Guzzi to flog more bikes

 

[gyrorex]

Piaggio/Guzzi US puts such insane and completely irrational demands on anyone looking to become a dealer (like I have numerous times). For those who have researched it, one can easily see why they’ll never grow here if the current corporate people and “policies” stay as-is. The newest dealer here in coastal L.A. was forced to completely update his space under Piaggio demands and design, at his expense. For sure they are trying to put people out of business before they start.
I loved when a Rep sat face to face with me and told me to open a dealer in the worst possible place in SoCal by cluelessly pointing at a map because “there’s no dealers here” - yes, for a reason moron. Idiocracy at its finest.
This “MotoPlex” idea may work elsewhere, but simply will not work here. It’s not the correct fit for most U.S. buyers. They don’t want big, overpriced and showy dealers, they want clean and attentive ones that know the product and will take care of customers when problems arise. And the financial burden for warranty work that Piaggio puts on the dealer is also idiotic and seemingly borderline illegal. They have lost lawsuits over this, yet the “policy” remains.
I love the machines, and strongly dislike the business here in the U.S. My $.02.

Geeezzzz! Doesn't sound like much has changed since Berliner had the importer license back in the 70's.