The study is performed by over 2000 anonymous “customers” that visited motorcycle dealers from June 2009 to April 2010.

The Pied Piper prospect satisfaction index is mostly reflective of the salespeople at the dealers, not the manufacturer.  Of course, manufacturers can and often do train their dealers regarding how to sell motorcycles to prospective customers.

When looking at the scores in the Pied Piper index results, it looks more like a popularity contest for motorcycle brands in the US market.  Moto Guzzi, the oldest European motorcycle manufacturer, obviously should know a thing or two about how to train and assist dealers in properly promoting their brand and product line.  It seems reasonable to expect better results there.

On a personal note, one of the reasons I purchased my Moto Guzzi California when I bought it new in 2008, was because of the local dealer and the way they treated me and my family.  They took a lot of time to educate us regarding Moto Guzzi motorcycles in general, and made us feel at home.  I have seen them do the same with many prospective customers many times.  Other dealers we visited for other motorcycle brands were either very high pressure, or purely focused on financing instead of the actual motorcycles, or never bothered to try to help me at all!

Let’s hope for a better Moto Guzzi sales year in the US, improved support to the Guzzi dealers (we need them and want them to succeed) and a much better 2011 score on the prospect satisfaction index for Moto Guzzi!

The V7 engine was introduced in 1967, a time when 700cc was considered big for a motorcycle.  In fact, the V7 began life as a touring bike.

Things changed for Moto Guzzi in 1971 when the V7 Sport Telaio Rosso was introduced in limited production.

The Telaio Rosso, Italian for “Red Frame”, indeed had a red painted frame that made the motorcycle look fast even when it was just sitting still.  This red frame was much more than just flashy, it was a breakthrough in motorcycle design due to the improved handling it provided.

The V7 Sport Telaio Rosso was a real superbike in 1971.  The time was right for Moto Guzzi to get involved again in racing, as well as to promote a more modern, sport-bike image.

The mid-1960’s had not been good to Moto Guzzi financially.  Boosting the reliable V7 engine to near 750cc and putting it in the Ambassador proved to be a wise move for sales in the US.  But this was just a start.  Putting this new, more powerful V7 series engine into a new sport bike was really the key.

The 1971 Moto Guzzi V7 Sport is truly a rare bird, with only 104 produced according to several sources.  Some more were produced in 1972, but not many at all.  These combined to set the stage for the regular production V7 Sport.

One of the more important and impressive accomplishments of the Moto Guzzi V7 Sport is that became the world’s first mass-produced motorcycle to exceed 200 kph (over 124 mph).

The original v7 Sport developed excellent power, around 70 bhp.  The engine used timing gears and was tuned for performance.  As Moto Guzzi was forced to reduce manufacturing costs, the V7 Sport became the 750S  during 1974 through 1975 .  The 750S had features  including a timing chain instead of timing gears, dual Brembo front discs instead of a front drum, a new seat and black exhaust instead of chromed.  The 1975 Guzzi 750S was badged as a V7 Sport for sales in USA.

Furthering the reduction in cost, this motorcycle evolved 750S3 for 1975 and 1976.  S3 features included non-adjustable clip-on handle bars, a chromed engine guard, and a square tail light.  The famous Guzzi linked disc brake system was also included.

Overall, the 750S3 used a lot of the 850T3 design, including the mild camshaft.  While it isn’t immediately obvious to the eye, the 750S3 was not like the 750S or the V7 Sport in many ways, even though they looked fairly similar.  In the end, the Moto Guzzi 750S3 was replaced by 850 LeMans.  Also, the 750S3 was made obsolete by the Japanese motorcycles of that time period.

As a tribute to the fantastic styling and passion of the V7 Sport, Moto Guzzi launched the modernized version of the V7 Sport for 2009.  Now also available is the V7 Cafe Classic.  When something is done right, it becomes timeless, as the Moto Guzzi V7 Sport continues to be.

First on the list of upgrades is the new exhaust system. This helps push the power rating up to 103 hp at 7500 rpm, and torque rating to 81 lb.ft. at 5800 rpm.

Other new items for the 2010 Moto Guzzi Norge GT8V are a redesigned body fairing, an improved center stand, and improvements to the instrument panel to make it easier to read while riding.

The meetings have taken place before, and reassurances have been stated before, but it appears now that Piaggio Group is more committed to keeping Moto Guzzi manufacturing at the world famous Mandello site. This includes reinvesting in the manufacturing facility itself, helping to bring more production volume by re-launching the brand, and preparing new models and new engines for production there in the near future.

The union representing the factory workers is still fighting against some of the plans, including trying top reduce the number of redundancies, and to maintain more functions to stay at the Mandello factory.

Moto Guzzi is not an ordinary motorcycle company, it is something much greater, even if the present sales situation does not reflect that. One has to be very careful when making any changes with an icon or decades of value quickly lose meaning and luster. Does anyone remember the AMF years of Harley-Davidson? They were not very good, to say the least. Cheers to Robert Colaninno and especially to the local and regional government agencies and the efforts of all to preserve and improve the operations of Moto Guzzi at Mandello!

Starting with the Nevada, the nicely styled chrome exhaust is borrowed from the V7 Classic.  In the opinion of The Moto Guzzi Guide, the new exhaust system really makes the Nevada look right is a  smart move by the Moto Guzzi designers.

The Bellagio has seen a matte black paint scheme before, but the new Black Eagle edition Bellagio drops the large tank badge in favor of the much more subtle and classic style Moto Guzzi Eagle logo.  This seems to give the bike more of a bad-boy style, and that is a good thing.

The largest of the 3 new Black Eagle Moto Guzzi motorcycles is the ever-famous California.  This new edition of the California shares some features of the popular California Vintage.  Probably the most controversial of which is the large round tail light which seems to be a love-it or hate-it feature, but does appear to be at home on a motorcycle styled old-school, like this one.  The engine, the seat, the wrap around tubing at the back of the seat, and other polished pieces are also shared from the Vintage.

These 2010 Moto Guzzis with their Aquila Nero paint schemes are in line with the popular trend towards matte black motorcycles and motorcycle gear.  For the die-hard rat rod style enthusiasts, all the chrome on these Black Eagles might be a target for additional black-out treatment.

For the rest of us, the chrome wheels, chrome exhaust, and all the other chrome pieces are just a part of what makes these motorcycles stand out from the crowd.  It also shows that Moto Guzzi was not simply trying to reduce their manufacturing costs and increase their profit margins by using the black primer colored paint instead of the much more expensive chrome.

For now, it is not clear if these Black Eagle edition Guzzis will actually land in the US market, but they should!

The 2009 Stelvio has especially gained a lot of good reviews since it’s launch, but the muscle-bike Griso has also had good reviews too.

Several Guzzi Stelvio accessories are offered, and for the Rider Magazine test, this adventure bike was outfitted nicely. The Stelvio takes on a purpose-built enduro look with off-road accessories including with heavy duty bars to protect the engine, rock guard at the rear CARC hub, a heavy duty aluminum skid plate, and boxy panniers that have a rugged look.  The Stelvio fog lights and aluminum panniers add up to about $1500 extra cost, and with the skid plates and crash bars, the $14,990 list price brings the total price up to $17,365.

The 2009 Moto Guzzi Griso 8V is a very impressive motorcycle to see and hear, regardless of personal taste and style.  It’s got a very well established group of competitors to go up against, but once again, that’s what makes the Griso 8V and most any Guzzi extra cool.  You will definitely stand out, in a very good way, on this bike against the rest.

The Griso 8V racing style dual front discs, over-sized exhaust header pipes, the wild futuristic looking exhaust tips, and the large exposed frame rails give plenty of clues to onlookers that this is a potent and special machine.  The exhaust sound is described as “pure ear candy” by Bill Heald, the author of the Rider Magazine article titled “Molto Musculare” about the 2009 Guzzi Griso.

The 2009 Griso 8V list price is $14,290 (USD).

After all, it’s 936cc (57 ci) v-twin engine is almost half the size of the popular big engine displacements these days. It’s weight is just 224kg dry (493 lbs dry), which is almost half the weight of many of today’s big bore bikes.  I guess it would have to put on a few hundred pounds to be a contender. Yes, I am being sarcastic.

The Guzzi Bellagio motorcycle is actually a great size and weight for the majority of riders. Don’t be fooled by modern motorcycle advertising into thinking that an engine of this size is too small or weak, or that you need to be on a mammoth to be cool.  In fact, the 74 hp of the Bellagio is plenty to make this 500 pound bike haul your butt away in a hurry.

As many Moto Guzzi motorcycles do, the Bellagio combines classic style with modern conveniences, like fuel injection, 2 spark plugs per cylinder, adjustable front and rear suspension, single-sided swing arm with shaft drive, and a 6-speed transmission.  Don’t overlook the impressive stopping ability it has via Brembo dual discs up front and single rear.

The instrument cluster is compact and styled to go with the this Guzzi custom look, but is actually high tech.  It even includes a trip computer function.

The spoked aluminum wheels by Excel, the low black saddle, the chrome pulled back drag bars and the matte black and chrome look give this bike a low-key custom look, but it has performance designed in all the way.  You can also get one in a silver/white two-tone, but the matte black is favorite.

The bigger is better mentality that is going on is getting a little out of hand when it comes to cruisers these days. This one sticks to an excellent formula for size, weight, power and balance. Not to mention, it has awesome looks and style.

MotoGuzziGuide.com would love to be able to test ride a Moto Guzzi Bellagio in the USA, but so far none can be found for sale.  Oh well, I guess we’ll have to take a trip to Europe!

The Guzzi engine in the Blackjack is coupled to a Volkswagen transmission.  This unusual marriage makes for a lightweight and reliable drive system that comes together very nicely in the Zero cyclecar.

It is important to note that Blackjack is not the only cyclecar company using Moto Guzzi engines.  Check out the Morgan replica Aero BRA MG3 from Aero Cycle Cars, also in the UK.  You can get the MG3 with a Moto Guzzi 850, 948 or 1064 engine.  The MG3 can be bought as a kit, or turn-key, where you provide the Guzzi drivetrain or Aero can provide that fully prepared by Motori di Morino.

Triking Cyclecars of England also has been using a Moto Guzzi v-twin engine in their 3-wheelers since the company was started in the late 1970’s.

This type of 3-wheeler design, referred to as a cyclecar, comes from the old Morgan Motor Company and it’s founder, H.F.S. Morgan.  Morgan used a variety of engines over the years, and most of them were a v-twin motorcycle engine that was located right out front where we would expect to see a front bumper or grill on traditional cars.

A cyclecar has 2 wheels in the front and one in the rear.  This helps with cornering stability and places much of the weight on the front end.

The Triking, the  BRA and the Blackjack Zero borrow much of their style from the Morgan Sports and Super Sports models of the 1920’s and 1930’s which initially used J.A.P. and then switched to Matchless v-twin engines.

In the US, it can be very difficult to find a British cyclecar or cyclecar kit to build.  For locating the Guzzi v-twin to use in it, unfortunately, it also can be difficult to find a Moto Guzzi dealer without having to travel a relatively far distance (luckily, not for me).

A cyclecar can be one of those vehicles that once you see one, you want to have one.  An enterprising company in the state of Washington called Ace Cyclecars of Seattle, has started offering cyclecar kits aimed directly at the US market.  Not surprisingly, the engine for the Ace cyclecar kit is none other than a Harley-Davidson v-twin.

Some motorcycle insurance companies offer discounts for riders that go to motorcycle riding school.  One course that you should consider attending is the Experienced Rider Course offered though the Motorcycle Safety Foundation.  Even if you have been riding for years, you will still learn something in the ERC.  At the very minimum, you will refresh your riding skills and get to practice some specialized maneuvers that will help you improve your motorcycle riding safety.  Not every company that offers motorcycle insurance will actually provide a discount for attending a motorcycle school, so check ahead of time if reducing your motorcycle insurance is one of your primary reasons why you take the course.

When shopping for Moto Guzzi motorcycles, consider the type of bike you are getting and how that might change the cost of your motorcycle insurance.  If you are quite young and don’t have a lot of riding experience, but you go out and buy a Moto Guzzi 1200 Sport 4V, you can probably expect to pay a lot for your motorcycle insurance.  The Nevada 750 will probably cost less to insure, especially for a newer rider. It makes sense, right?

Another factor in the cost of motorcycle insurance is whether or not you want or need collision coverage.  If you have taken out a loan to buy your new Moto Guzzi, then you will most likely be required to have collision coverage with your motorcycle insurance.  If the motorcycle gets damaged by dropping it, getting in an accident, etc., then collision coverage will usually pay for the repair cost beyond the deductible that you will have to pay yourself.

The amount of the deductible you choose will raise or lower your motorcycle insurance.  The bank or lending company does not want to own a damaged motorcycle.  Remember, it is pretty much theirs until you finish your loan payments.  After you pay off the loan and fully own your Moto Guzzi, then you can cancel your collision coverage from your motorcycle insurance if you want to reduce your insurance costs and are comfortable with assuming that risk.

Sometimes the cost of motorcycle insurance can be reduced slightly by belonging to a motorcycle club or organization that is well recognized for promoting motorcycle safety and riding responsibly.

There are a lot of different motorcycle insurance companies that offer online quotes.  I found that some of them do not have the latest Moto Guzzi models, or even some of the more recent models, available as choices. In that case, just pick the closest one for quotation purposes.  This happened to me when I was trying to get quotes for my California Vintage and found that the choices were limited to older models such as the 1100i and the EV.  Make sure that you tell them the correct model when you are actually signing up for your motorcycle insurance or you will put yourself at risk for being denied coverage in case of an actual claim.

Good luck in gathering your quotes and finding the best deals for motorcycle insurance for your Moto Guzzi.