V100 Mandello Chat - H20

[scott_m]

Per above, I was really counting on a V100 Le Mans, seems they missed a stratospheric opportunity here. That's OK though, it's why I'm building GTMs.

Todd, I truly believe the next super trick limited edition will be a V100 platform Le Mans. Piaggio is highly desirous of linking with the historical past while forging into new territory. A hyper trick Le Mans sporting motorcycle would fill this gap ever so nicely. Absolutely I think we will get our wish Todd. I really do.

 

[GTM®]

Todd, I truly believe the next super trick limited edition will be a V100 platform Le Mans. Piaggio is highly desirous of linking with the historical past while forging into new territory. A hyper trick Le Mans sporting motorcycle would fill this gap ever so nicely. Absolutely I think we will get our wish Todd. I really do.

I sure hope so.
For those who didn't yet notice, I created an all-new section dedicated to the H20 Guzzis. This is the only post here for now.

 

[Poppe]

I really can't decide if I like it or not. Everyday seems different, hell sometimes in the same day I've gone from really hating it to thinking it's pretty great. It feels like it might be a lot better in person but maybe not. Ha.

It's physical size seems smaller than I was expecting when you watch the videos of people next to it. At first glance I thought it was closer to a big sport touring bike.

 

[DeadEye]

Its like that with a lot of things - from a certain point of view it looks Great but from another Angle your whole perspective changes...
If your not a Tall person - It may still look like a Big Sport tourer - and Ill be folded up on It like a pretzel !

 

[Poppe]

Its like that with a lot of things - from a certain point of view it looks Great but from another Angle your whole perspective changes...
If your not a Tall person - It may still look like a Big Sport tourer - and Ill be folded up on It like a pretzel !

The New Mustang Mach-E has this problem. When looking at it from behind, just at an angle, the thing looks super bulbous with super skinny tires that don't match. Otherwise looks pretty gorgeous.

This video has me liking the V100 right now. Ha. Until tomorrow when I decide against it again.

 

[Mike Lynch]

little late to the discussion on this, but I am absolutely in love with this bike so far from what I've seen/read. Was debating on getting a V85TT and doing some mods to make it less ADVish and more sport tour"y", but then the brass releases this and I am ALL IN!

 

[Sasazuka]

Starting Up

 

[scott_m]

Although the stock exhaust is aesthetically beautiful, the Euro 5 noise limits are certainly of high priority so the engine running sound is mild as expected.

I did note how quick and sure-footed the starting sounded. I fully expect fueling to be dead on close to perfect if my Piaggio scooters are any indication. In fact, the starting sounded very much like my big MP3 scooter.

However…that being said.

I’m sure my friends at Mistral are already hard at work on an option to let loose the melodious note that a properly setup Moto Guzzi 90 degree V-twin can make!

I also suspect Todd is salivating at the ideas he’s already formulating in his mind’s eye and ear.

What fun this is going to be…

 

[Raven]

The release of the V85TT was much anticipated but the V100 much more so. After only 100 years, Moto Guzzi seems to be really coming together.
If only there was a way to get a good dealer network in place. Oh, and keep it in place.

 

[GTM®]

The release of the V85TT was much anticipated but the V100 much more so. After only 100 years, Moto Guzzi seems to be really coming together.

I'll remain pessimistically optimistic.

If only there was a way to get a good dealer network in place. Oh, and keep it in place.

If you're referring to N. America, they are blind and ignorant. I've tried for several years to engage them on opening a dealership, only to get turned down because of the space I wanted to launch in was "too small and would never work" - or they requested that I open in some large and absurd location in SoCal. Space is at a premium here, worth it's weight in gold per square foot. Makes for a non-starter.
In the past, the small passionate dealers are what gave Guzzi it's legs. Since '07 or so, their expectations are completely unrealistic as to spatial requirements and no paid warranty work is the final nail in the proverbial coffin. Guzzi's model range and global volume make zero business sense to any dealer who actually needs to turn a profit. It's why multi-line dealers push them into the back corner and don't care much about them at all, nor do they care to learn to service them properly... from PDI on.
In Italy and abroad, the smaller Family run dealerships are celebrated. In the U.S. they were the first targeted for demise.

 

[john zibell]

If you're referring to N. America, they are blind and ignorant. I've tried for several years to engage them on opening a dealership. In the past, the small passionate dealers are what gave Guzzi it's legs. Since '07 or so, their expectations are completely unrealistic as to spatial requirements and no paid warranty work is the final nail in the proverbial coffin. Guzzi's model range and global volume make zero business sense to any dealer who actually needs to turn a profit. It's why multi-line dealers push them into the back corner and don't care much about them at all, nor do they care to learn to service them properly... from PDI on.
In Italy and abroad, the smaller Family run dealerships are celebrated. In the U.S. they were the first targeted for demise.

Sad but true. The US Guzzi importer seems to run like they don't care about dealers or their customers. About as bad as BMW with their requirements. BMW did the same thing to local small and large dealers. I know of a BMW dealership that was the number one seller in the South East. BMW drove him crazy wanting him to move his dealership to Birmingham Alabama. He told them to stick it and shut the door. So far no BMW dealership in Birmingham has made a good go of it. The one in Birmingham won't even service a BMW if you didn't buy it from them!!

 

[Gazdok]

I am still riding and maintaing my 2005 Breva 1100 and on and off looking for a new bike just like the Breva, i.e. 2 cylinders, with a screen or top fairing, shaft, comfortable but not as wide and mighty as some BMWs.
And eventually another new MG design - not just the recooked V7s.
I like the looks of the V100 but there are a few bits that seem to be missing on the new V100. I canot see a centre stand, they forgot grab handles and does it really have and need a 190 section rear tyre? A BMW R 1250 GS with 130BHP still rolls on a 170.

 

[DeadEye]

Queen said it First " Fat bottom Girls you make the Rocking world Go Round !"

 

[GTM®]

The US Guzzi importer seems to run like they don't care about dealers or their customers.

That's Piaggio U.S.A., John. I blame the people employed here in these positions for the ludicrous attitude.

 

[GTM®]

I like the looks of the V100 but there are a few bits that seem to be missing on the new V100. I canot see a centre stand, they forgot grab handles and does it really have and need a 190 section rear tyre? A BMW R 1250 GS with 130BHP still rolls on a 170.

These are pre-production units, meaning stripped down, as clean as they can look to excite the public. Both of what you mention will likely be on it or available as an option. 180/55 has been industry standard for a very long time. 190~200 usually reserved for serious-HP bikes. Upside is you can fit the 180 on a rim designed for 190s. I'm OK with using standard wheel and tire sizes.

 

[Gazdok]

Queen said it First " Fat bottom Girls you make the Rocking world Go Round !"

The fat bottom girls might make the world go round but the fat bottoms and handling is different.
I put a 170/60-17 on my Breva 1100 and it handles better. I would have liked to go lower even but the rim would need to be slimmer. I do not think 86 HP really need that size rubber and equally the V100 could go smaller for handling. The 170 does not affect the looks as most people will not notice at all.

 

[scott_m]

In Italy and abroad, the smaller Family run dealerships are celebrated. In the U.S. they were the first targeted for demise.

OMG Todd isn’t this the truth!

Agostini, probably the most well known dealer in the world, literally about half a mile from the factory, was and still is, a family business, like most businesses in Mandello del Lario.

Enzo has Cadre Cycle down by Cincinatti, and his place is small too. He’s the only one here in Ohio.

I would love to have a franchise but there is only money to be lost in such a venture here in Northwest Ohio

 

[scott_m]

Sad but true. The US Guzzi importer seems to run like they don't care about dealers or their customers. About as bad as BMW with their requirements. BMW did the same thing to local small and large dealers. I know of a BMW dealership that was the number one seller in the South East. BMW drove him crazy wanting him to move his dealership to Birmingham Alabama. He told them to stick it and shut the door. So far no BMW dealership in Birmingham has made a good go of it. The one in Birmingham won't even service a BMW if you didn't buy it from them!!

I lived this first hand at Brattin Motors BMW Motorcycles in San Diego.

BMW did everything they could to try and force us from our building. They tried to make us purchase outrageously priced signs from them (> $20,000 !). Corporate “ID” changed every 4 years with more wild expenses, etc, while they eliminated dealer holdback, and reduced warranty reimbursement, and raised prices constantly.

I saw long standing dealerships change hands, but only when BMW strong-armed the buyer into all sorts of contractual obligations.

I cannot remember the name but one dealership (maybe it was Blue Moon), sold. The new dealer built a Taj Mahal facility that was insanely stupid, then Covid came and they almost immediately went bankrupt and slammed shut the doors.

Many major BMW shops have shut their doors. Seattle, Indianapolis, Chicago, Wisconsin, Arkansas…literally tons, driven into oblivion by BMW corporate idiots and greed.

Unfortunately, this is where $800 - $1200 services and other such nonsense sprung up from. If shop’s didn’t resort to this type of pricing, they were doomed.

 

[DeadEye]

With no local dealers , and more and more technology going into the bikes it’s going to make it harder / impossible for the backyard mechanics to maintain their machines without the computer to hook up to it...

Imagine a system where you have 500 miles to get to a dealer when the Maintenance required light goes on Before the bike SHUTS down !
And you end up with a Lawn ornament !

 

[tobinh]

The fat bottom girls might make the world go round but the fat bottoms and handling is different.
I put a 170/60-17 on my Breva 1100 and it handles better. I would have liked to go lower even but the rim would need to be slimmer. I do not think 86 HP really need that size rubber and equally the V100 could go smaller for handling. The 170 does not affect the looks as most people will not notice at all.

ah, unrelated but thank you for this note. I'm planning on putting a 170 on my B11 next, thinking along the same lines.