Retro bikes, comparison.

[rboe]

It seems to me many of the guys that bought then sold their CB's were expecting a Camaro but got a Caprice instead. With resources like this forum that is just not doing due diligence, no fault of the bike at all. She is pretty much just what Honda wanted to put out there; and for many of the folks that bought her, just what we were looking for. I'm a bit surprised, being aging Boomers, there aren't more of us.

If Honda built a classic vertical twin like the old CB450 I'd be quite keen on getting one of those too.

Another "retro" bike but with EFI is the Moto Guzzi V7. Shaft drive, light, screw adjusted valve tappets - and right out there in the open so easy peasy to work on. Many complain about its' "low" horse power but she is a light bike and if your belt still have plenty of expansion holes, it will put a big grin on your face. My old 550 KX only had about 50 horses and she put me in the hospital several times and one speeding ticket.

There are lots of bikes out there to choose from; if a particular machine does not do it for you I'm sure one of the others will. It's also very hard to find a bad bike. Most are built very well and complaints typically revolve around nit pics, not true debacles. I submit that in general there are no bad bikes, just riders that picked the wrong bike. Get divorced and keep looking!

What has been your experience with reliability and maintenance on a Moto Guzzi? I live in a large metro area but there's still only one Guzzi dealer. I know of a used V7 for sale but I worry about getting a nasty surprise when it comes time to work on it.

What has been your experience with reliability and maintenance on a Moto Guzzi? I live in a large metro area but there's still only one Guzzi dealer. I know of a used V7 for sale but I worry about getting a nasty surprise when it comes time to work on it.
I picked up a new 2012 SE Griso (well, ALL US imported Griso's were the SE model). Leaving the side walk at the Elks club the height was miss judged and I slammed the bottom pan on the concrete. Didn't notice until I got home, about 6 miles away - on the freeway and surface streets - that I was leaking oil through a good sized hole. I did suspect something as on my second righthand turn the back end felt squirelly. What a POS, can't take a little knock on the pan! Who knew? Ordered and installed the pan myself. Didn't take all that long.

Locked up the front wheel while coming to a fast halt off a freeway. Hit gravel, ended up meeting some nice guys with the Highway Patrol, EMT's, some cute x-ray tech and ER docs. Broken collar bone. Sent the bike to the dealer and in about 6 weeks or so he had rebuilt it without totalling. Surprised me. But no ABS, no steering damper. What a POS!

A buddy bought a used 2014 that had a pourus casting on a cylinder. Moto Guzzi did not have one in stock in the US, it was August and Italy shuts down for a month so it took him a long time to get that part. He was frosted. Meh, that's Italians for ya.

With Moto Guzzi's you should be willing to do a lot of wrenching on your own. Mostly because dealers, good ones, are few and far between. Wildguzzi forum is a great resource for you. If you are the sort of fellow that at the most does oil changes and the Guzzi dealer is not in the same town I'd say pass. That said, they are pretty darn easy to work on. Valves are right out in the open, screw and lock nut. Pop the valve covers, open the flywheel inspection port and if you are slow it's a half our job. Experienced guys can do it in a few minutes. No shims!

My first Guzzi was a 2000 Quota, had an offer on it so I sold it, mainly because bits like tupperware were becoming unobtainium. Basic mechanicals were easy to source though.

A word of warning. Guzzi's are slow to warm to you. Short test rides don't seem to be favorable, but longer ones, 50+ miles seems to convert folks hard. Well, if you are the Guzzi type. Kinda cool not to see your bike everywhere too.