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If I only had the cash ....*sigh*

It's a nice bike, but I'd be scared to ride it in any heavily populated areas... (Cable actuated drum brakes don't stop so well IMHO and in heavy traffic you may want to be able to stop on a dime :) :) )
 
My Dad had one back in the 70's, bought it new. This is a seriously "old school" mototrcycle. Maintenance intensive (battery and coil ignition with points), under powered, lots of vibration, heavy with poor suspension and vague handling. Brakes are really bad, spongy with poor feedback.

There were (are) few dealers for support. Parts are very difficult to get, technical support sketchy. It's leaky here and there and uses a very crude "boot" between the engine and drive shaft housing that leaks and needs replacing often.

If I were even to think about getting a Moto Guzzi (which I really never will) I would only consider the LeMans series.

Dan
 
I got to ride one of these as a Demo for about a week when selling bikes at Tom's Kawasaki 101 S. Main Perryton, Texas in 1975.  We had a black one and a brown/gold one on the showroom floor.  I didn't like it and swapped out for a Z1. Ahhh, much better.  Of course I was 18 at the time and the Guzzi was a slug by comparison to my own 1972 H2 and the new Z1 and I didn't need/want a grandpa bike. LOL  The one I rode was the black full dresser.  I weighed about 150 lbs at the time too and the Guzzi probably weighed almost as much as a C10.  They sold new for $2000 minus whatever Tom would let me knock off (usually about $250) so around $1750 -$2000 would get you down the road.  The first one I sold was back in thirty minutes for warranty work. LOL  Getting parts was almost impossible then.  I shudder to think of what it might be now.  The dealer network was not too good in that part of the country (Texas Panhandle).
 
Bergmen said:
My Dad had one back in the 70's, bought it new. This is a seriously "old school" mototrcycle. Maintenance intensive (battery and coil ignition with points), under powered, lots of vibration, heavy with poor suspension and vague handling. Brakes are really bad, spongy with poor feedback.

There were (are) few dealers for support. Parts are very difficult to get, technical support sketchy. It's leaky here and there and uses a very crude "boot" between the engine and drive shaft housing that leaks and needs replacing often.

If I were even to think about getting a Moto Guzzi (which I really never will) I would only consider the LeMans series.

Dan
Click to expand...

Dan, that is a spot on description IMHO.  But the biggest selling feature for the Guzzi was that crazy driveshaft.  People really liked it for some reason. LOL
The one I have back in thirty minutes was for a serious oil leak that it didn't have when it went out, but developed in about ten miles.  But the engine was gasketed everywhere and they all seeped.  Cylinder base gaskets, those huge engine cover gaskets, shifter seals, etc.  They would shake themselves to leakage in nothing flat and if one actually broke down (NOT uncommon) they would sit for months in the shop while we waited for parts from the motherland.
 
There was a former COGger who replaced his C-10 with a Moto Guzzi Norge 1200
APH_3730.jpg
APH_3463.jpg

a few years ago and reported he was quite happy with it.  I would expect the Norge GT 8V would be even nicer.  Rider Magazine gave it a nice write up in the September issue.  2011 Moto Guzzi Norge GT 8V Road Test
nv215666_0_400.jpg
 
My friend Dave has a 72' and he rides it in NYC.  Not sure about the claims made by mad river mark.  But Dave is quite an accomplished rider and wrencher.  Beautiful bike and will hold its resale value over time.

Dave also has a friend who rides a Norge. I looked at them before purchasing Nicodemus.  Think I made the right choice :)
 
Rev Ryder said:
Bergmen said:
My Dad had one back in the 70's, bought it new. This is a seriously "old school" mototrcycle. Maintenance intensive (battery and coil ignition with points), under powered, lots of vibration, heavy with poor suspension and vague handling. Brakes are really bad, spongy with poor feedback.

There were (are) few dealers for support. Parts are very difficult to get, technical support sketchy. It's leaky here and there and uses a very crude "boot" between the engine and drive shaft housing that leaks and needs replacing often.

If I were even to think about getting a Moto Guzzi (which I really never will) I would only consider the LeMans series.

Dan
Click to expand...

Dan, that is a spot on description IMHO.  But the biggest selling feature for the Guzzi was that crazy driveshaft.  People really liked it for some reason. LOLThe one I have back in thirty minutes was for a serious oil leak that it didn't have when it went out, but developed in about ten miles.  But the engine was gasketed everywhere and they all seeped.  Cylinder base gaskets, those huge engine cover gaskets, shifter seals, etc.  They would shake themselves to leakage in nothing flat and if one actually broke down (NOT uncommon) they would sit for months in the shop while we waited for parts from the motherland.
Click to expand...

Back then (early 70's) there weren't many shaft driven motorcycles. BMW and Moto Guzzi and that was it (except for the MV Agusta 750 American and a few other odd, forgettable motorcycles).

2978204990053667879S600x600Q85.jpg


Now I would gladly give $7,500.00 for the MV.

Dan
 
Bergmen said:
Back then (early 70's) there weren't many shaft driven motorcycles. BMW and Moto Guzzi and that was it (except for the MV Agusta 750 American and a few other odd, forgettable motorcycles).

2978204990053667879S600x600Q85.jpg


Now I would gladly give $7,500.00 for the MV.

Dan
Click to expand...

Yeah, Ma Kaw wouldn't have a shaft entry till 78 or 79 I think... whenever they came out with it on the KZ1000... and THEN it wan;t a popular option with most folks.  I remember everone saying that shafties couldn;t wheelie, that shafties were turds, that the shaft wasn't as strong as a chain and prone to breakage... all things that really just aren't true and never were.  I'd guess the Guzzi and the Beemer were why those rumors existed in the first place and it wasn't really about the shaft.  They just didn't have either the reliability OR the power to run like the Jap I-4 bikes of the era were capable of.

Now about that MV...  :hitit:
 
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