pokeyjoe
High Miler
This is a bit of a cross-post, so my apologies. Since the V7 has become a fairly popular bike, I thought a post here would be appropriate.
I've been reading through lots and lots of threads on wildguzzi and am astonished at the prevailing attitude in the forum. Most of those people believe that their bike - as delivered - is the way it should be. Factory fresh, pre-delivery inspection (PDI) complete, etc. In my experience, the dealer takes the bike out of the crate, puts the mirrors on it and sticks it in the showroom. Oh, and he charges as much as $500 for that service. I had to use a big pair of pliers to get the dipstick loose on my bike so I know the dealer didn't even check the oil.
Moto Guzzi has sufficient quality checks in place before the bikes go out the door. The bikes are pretty much OK when they leave and the dealer should catch anything amiss during PDI or at the first service. The problem I have is that if the dealer doesn't do anything to make sure the bike is setup correctly before it goes out the door, why would I let him do the first service?
So where does that leave the average buyer? I don't know. I guess you could demand proof that the bike was correctly setup. I'm not sure how that would work. I'd like to have the dealer reimburse me for having Todd set the bike up correctly for me. He checked the valves (too tight),the TPS sensor (way out of spec), and the throttle body sync (OK on this bike).
My message is that someone needs to go over your bike. Someone with the tools and knowledge to do a good job. Ideally, that would be the dealer, but its not always happening. I had Todd do it and, as a bonus, I had him load a richer fuel map as well. Does the bike run noticeably different? No, but I feel better about riding it. I know I'm not going to damage it due to the negligence of others.
I sure hope there are better dealers out there.
I've been reading through lots and lots of threads on wildguzzi and am astonished at the prevailing attitude in the forum. Most of those people believe that their bike - as delivered - is the way it should be. Factory fresh, pre-delivery inspection (PDI) complete, etc. In my experience, the dealer takes the bike out of the crate, puts the mirrors on it and sticks it in the showroom. Oh, and he charges as much as $500 for that service. I had to use a big pair of pliers to get the dipstick loose on my bike so I know the dealer didn't even check the oil.
Moto Guzzi has sufficient quality checks in place before the bikes go out the door. The bikes are pretty much OK when they leave and the dealer should catch anything amiss during PDI or at the first service. The problem I have is that if the dealer doesn't do anything to make sure the bike is setup correctly before it goes out the door, why would I let him do the first service?
So where does that leave the average buyer? I don't know. I guess you could demand proof that the bike was correctly setup. I'm not sure how that would work. I'd like to have the dealer reimburse me for having Todd set the bike up correctly for me. He checked the valves (too tight),the TPS sensor (way out of spec), and the throttle body sync (OK on this bike).
My message is that someone needs to go over your bike. Someone with the tools and knowledge to do a good job. Ideally, that would be the dealer, but its not always happening. I had Todd do it and, as a bonus, I had him load a richer fuel map as well. Does the bike run noticeably different? No, but I feel better about riding it. I know I'm not going to damage it due to the negligence of others.
I sure hope there are better dealers out there.