• Ciao Guest - You’ve landed at the ultimate Guzzi site. NEW FORUM REGISTRATIONS REQUIRE EMAIL ACTIVATION - CHECK YOUR SPAM FOLDER - Use the CONTACT above if you need help. New to the forum? For all new members, we require ONE post in the Introductions section at the bottom, in order to post in most of the other sections. ALWAYS TRY A SEARCH BEFORE STARTING A NEW TOPIC - Most questions you may have, have likely been already answered. DON'T BE A DRIVE-BY POSTER: As a common courtesy, check back in and reply within 24 hours, or your post will be deleted. Note there's decades of heavily experienced Guzzi professionals on this site, all whom happily give endless amounts of their VALUABLE time for free; BE COURTEOUS AND RESPECTFUL!
  • There is ZERO tolerance on personal attacks and ANY HYPERLINKS to PRODUCT(S) or other competing website(s), including personal pages, social media or other Forums. This ALSO INCLUDES ECU DIAGnostic software, questions and mapping. We work very hard to offer commercially supported products and to keep info relevant here. First offense is a note, second is a warning, third time will get you banned from the site. We don't have the time to chase repeat (and ignorant) offenders. This is NOT a social media platform; It's an ad-free, privately funded website, in small help with user donations. Be sure to see the GTM STORE link above; ALL product purchases help support the site, or you can upgrade your Forum profile or DONATE via the link above.
  • Be sure to see the GTM STORE link also above for our 700+ product inventory, including OEM parts and many of our 100% Made-in-SoCal-USA GTM products and engine kits. In SoCal? Click the SERVICE tab above for the best in service, tires, tuning and installation of our products or custom work, and don't miss our GT MotoCycles® (not) art on the BUILDS tab above. WE'RE HERE ONLINE ONLY - NO PHONE CALLS MADE OR RECEIVED - DO NOT EMAIL AND ASK QUESTIONS OR ASK TO CALL YOU.
  • Like the new V100, GuzziTech is full throttle into the future! We're now running on an all-new server and we've updated our Forum software. The visual differences are obvious, but hopefully you'll notice the super-fast speed. If you notice any glitches or have any issues, please post on the Site Support section at the bottom. If you haven't yet, please upgrade your account which is covered in the Site Support section or via the DONATE tab above, which gives you full site access including the DOWNLOADS section. We really appreciate every $ and your support to keep this site ad-free. Create an account, sign in, upgrade your account, and enjoy. See you on the road in 2024.

TO Vespa

I don't know the exact address, but it is on the south sideThousand Oaks Blvd., next to the new Star Chevrolet. You cannot miss it.
 
Per MGNA website, 3602 Thousand Oaks Blvd, which is between Westlake Blvd & Hampshire Rd off ramps from 101. Also says phone # is 805-495-7969. Sure sounds like the known exhaust thing, hope they take care of you.
 
Thanks so much. :)

I have LONG since fixed both mid pipe issues. The stripped kickstand wire, im just leaving as is. I repaired it twice, but i started getting more comfortable with the bike, and started scraping it on the ground. Im good just leaving it off now. ive pretty much sorted everything out now.
-Andrew
 
oca said:
The new location is in Thousand Oaks at the Automall on TO Blvd. Jameison is in TO.

As Bob described signage is not great, but there are bikes out front. The work area in the back appears larger than the original facility.
Click to expand...

Perhaps a new sign was installed since, but the signage today is clear but not huge. I came in from the west with the sign on the right. There were scooters in front with an arrow sign pointing to more scooters towards the rear. It Looks like TO doesn't go for large signage.
I had passed David's old location on several occasions for possibly the lack of signage or maybe I was just daydreaming but then TO is not a familiar place for me and I feel a little lost there.
 
I stopped by the new location shortly after they moved and spent some time talking with the folks there. The new owner and Dave used to work together and have known each other for a number of years. I suspect they are friends, which should be remembered when talking smack about Dave to the new owner. On the other hand, they seem to be genuinely interested in promoting the motorcycle side of the business and becoming more than a boutique scooter shop that also happens to sell motorcycles. I suggested they come up to the Rock Store for one of the 1st Sunday meets - bring up a bike (even on a trailer) and say Hi to the Guzzi owners and get to know some of the local folks. I also suggested having a coffee pot and stale cookies to get us to drop by and hang out occasionally. Their new website is not up yet, and I don't know what domain name they are going to use (Dave kept the old one), but I mentioned that it would be nice if there was a Guzzi based name rather than a Vespa one - they can use a redirector for each brand, but come on, Guzzi folks are not for the most part Vespa folks.

I also pointed them at WildGuzzi and this board and suggested they introduce themselves to Todd and find a way to work together to the benefit of all Guzzi owners seeing as how Todd is really in a different arena than the dealer and we are a rather close community here in SoCal.

They are a bit disappointed at not having a street front shop, but will deal with that as they can. I was told the biggest reason there are not more motorcycles out front is the time it takes to clean them up each night - scooters are much easier to brush off, but they realize that to get motorcycle folks to come in, they have to display motorcycles.

The old shop had a sign up for a while point to the new location, but since the property owner is trying to rent it, he took down the sign. They told me that it took almost no time to get the Vespa location updated on the Vespa Corporate website, but several weeks for the change to make it to the Guzzi site.

I'm cautiously optimistic - I had some less than positive experiences with the previous owner starting from when I was trying to spend $15K for a Norge, and continuing with a warranty claim that I'm convinced only got worked because another dealer got involved with Piaggio USA.

I'm willing to give these new folks a chance until they demonstrate they do not deserve my business. I like the idea of a local dealer as driving to Long Beach would be my other option for things I can't do or Todd cannot do (warranty stuff mostly).

jdg
 
While waiting for my ride after dropping off my Norge, I watched one scooter after another rolled to the front of the lot. I thought it kinda sucked. It was pretty time consuming.
 
Some friend, or the new owners are not that bright:
1. David kept all the previous information on what service was done to the bikes.
2. David kept the domain name.

I would have made both part of the purchase. Both are assets of the company being purchased.
 
Lets not be rude here, Any needed service records can be faxed or read over from SO shop. All that is needed is a please and thank you. Did you even try? Because I'm careless, I didn't keep my service receipts, and I forgot to have my service book stamped last time.
I'm not a business man. For me, I wouldn't pretend to second guess business deals.
 
This thread has taken an interesting course and come full circle... important records (warranty & related) are housed with Piaggio, so no worries there.
I have handled warranty work for stranded local Guzzista, even when claimed to be done by T.O. and it wasn't. I've been doing full service work and related for over two years now. Contact me direct if you want/need bike service, tuning, performance, suspension or related... I now handle tires as well, alongside of anything that I offer here at GuzziTech.
We shall see what the immediate future brings with the new owner... which leads back to my original question; The new owner is Mark? And is Mark known as "Lucky?"
 
Happy new year to you too.

So, after a trip down, it seems that jameson is still the head tech (half the problem) and the old tech, mike, works there as well.

However, i got to speaking with Monica, who seems to have something to do with the new webpage (tovespa.com instead of vespato.com) as well as PR stuff. She seemed eager to leave the old "dave and vespa thousand oaks" thing behind.

As such, i suggested to her, that they ride something out (not bring their latest models on sale, but actually ride up) to the rockstore, and meet some of us. I mentioned 10AM on the 1st sunday of every month, and we will see what happens. They are kind of settling in though, so i wouldnt expect to see them there for a little while.

I also mentioned wildguzzi and guzzitech, as a way of seeing into the community a bit. They were aware of guzzitech as an entity, but not as a forum.

Their biggest concern is this. They see some of the things guzzitech does, (bypassing the stepper motor, ECU reflash, open airboxes etc) as warranty voiding, because it causes the bike to run "out of spec". Perhaps they dont understand how bad "spec" really is, or perhaps they just hold allegiance to piaggio. Either way, it's bolognea, but such is life sometimes.

But the bottom line is, their store is in the middle of a parking lot, sitting behind some other car dealerships that can only be accessed by a service road. If they want to survive, they need to make friends, figure this bolognea thing out, and at least the new blood is interested in trying.
 
Spaceclam said:
Their biggest concern is the work that guzzitech does often voids warranty, which is indeed a point of contention.
Click to expand...

It could possibly void the warranty if they want to tell Piaggio about it. And as we well know, the good dealers work with their customers not against them.
 
Spaceclam said:
Happy new year to you too.

She seemed eager to leave the old "dave and vespa thousand oaks" thing behind. She even commented that dave was "being a real dick" about the transition, even though he sold it to a close family friend. I didnt bring him up, she did.
Click to expand...


Need I say more?

Happy New Year -- Felice anno nuovo.
 
That's a great invitation, Todd! I'm hoping enough people sign up to make the PCV/AT happen for the older-gen bikes (of which mine is one), and *when* that happens I'll want my bike tuned well. I do my own valve check/adjust now but don't trust myself doing TB adjust, and don't have VDSTS...
 
Spaceclam said:
Happy new year to you too. So, after a trip down, it seems that jameson is still the head tech (half the problem).
Click to expand...

I actually like Jameson and was relieved at first that he stayed in TO, but after speaking with him about the "03 mapping" for the G11, i'm not 100% convinced in his ability (see 03 map thread in the griso section). The very fact that he's convinced that there is no "03 map" and that you guy's out there are having the wrong maps uploaded, brings into question his capabilities (for me anyway). As i said in the other thread i always championed Dave & Jameson @ vespato. So this being my first Guzzi (just never made it before), i took them as all knowing. But, reading this site along with others, i'm educating myself on whats involved in being Guzzist and not taking what the dealers tech says as gospel.

It's a shame really, because i liked having what i thought was a dealer and tech on my side close by. But, even though i'm disillusioned now about my Guzzi dealer, i am very lucky in one respect, in that i have Todd (who i have yet to meet) living on my doorstep (i'm in Ventura). So, i now have a great back up plan, use Todd (who i just found out does almost everything the dealer does).
 
he's not an idiot, though. the only experience he seems to have, however, is what piaggio teaches in their tech school. That is, our products have no flaws, how to change oil/clutch/valves, and the basic things that most frequently need servicing. Also, when you add gas, air and spark, it causes an explosion that makes the piston go up and down etc.

When it comes to actual problems that require a detailed knowlege of how stuff works, he's a little lost, but remains headstrong. Also, VERY by the book. he just hasnt learned that piaggio, in many cases, is simply wrong. Nice guy, though. Too bad.

But everything has a silver lining. I came into the guzzi world with a background in aviation mechanics. The engines are very similar, but i had no FI experience, and aviation mechanics is also very "by the book" because the FAA is a tyranical, micro managing entity. I knew nothing except the basic FI principals.

I have learned SOOO much, simply on account of dave being a jackass, jameson being green, and having the SoCal community there to help me out when my resources/ability to figure stuff out myself runs dry. As pissed off as i have been at times, looking in retrospect, i wouldn't change it for a thing.
 
For the record, 99.9% of most work I do does NOT effect the warranty. Before this rumor starts, I'm ending it now. I always take care of people and would never let that happen. I actually work with a few dealers to resolve warranty issues... I guess I'm not surprised that hardly anyone has stepped up to back me on this (in fear of being ousted by the local dealer?), and that I actually feel the need to post this is quite frustrating. Many many times in the last few years have I helped those, gratis, that have been stranded by fraudulent warranty/recall work which was not done, but claimed in the system. Imagine the frustration of an owner when an expensive recall part was not replaced, but claimed in the system, leaving them in the position to have to spend money to fix it properly.
For those that don't know, I have over a decade of hands-on, nostril-deep first-hand experience (from Management down) with MGNA-then-Aprilia/Guzzi-now Piaggio Guzzi, as well as 20+ years of racing (4 yrs. Pro), wrenching (building & maintaining my machines over the full span), and a million+ street miles under my belt... and I am still very well connected to the industry on every level, in addition to above, a test rider and journalist for Cycle World/Sportbike Mag to AMA Pro Series Manager. I specialize in Guzzi F.I. and I'm the Technical Adviser to Dynojet (for all things Guzzi) and as a dealer to all of the products I offer/design/engineer/have made here.
My garage has been open to local Guzzisti for almost 4 years now, and my primary focus is that everyone is able to enjoy their Guzzi(s) to their fullest potential.
 
Wow, I think too much time and effort is being put in this whole Vespa of TO thread....Ride your bikes, enjoy them to the fullest and weather you choose to use Vespa or Guzzitech to do your work, I am sure they will both take care of you as deserved. From personal experience I have had nothing but great help and extended kindness by Guzzitech thanks to Todd..... He's gone over and beyond with his time and advise with me and I am sure with anyone else who has dealt with Todd. So thanks Todd for everything thus far and look forward to working with you further in the future.

BTW! Even if there is a warranty issue I don't know if I personally would trust those inexperienced people at Vespa of TO or SO for that matter. They are both new to the brand and don't seem to know all their stuff.

Wishing you all fellow Guzzistas a very Happy and Healthy New Year

FYI, the Crest is open to Newcombs and beyond. The roads are clean but I would think a little wet in the mornings.
Safe Ridings!!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top