I went the other way. I had a perfectly wonderful Honda CB500F and now I have a V85. It was the shaft drive that motivated me. I found myself not riding the 500F because my knees were still hurting from the last time I adjusted and lubed the chain. Service is a concern but I've kept my old but good running Burgman 400 as backup. It's not just a Guzzi problem. Here on the West Coast of Canada; most of the shops that did service work have gone out of business. Those that remain are swamped. There is a two week local wait just for a simple oil change. Keeping a second set of wheels available will keep me riding during our relatively short riding season.
Vogon, sad news indeed! But I understand your decision. I always had a love/hate relationship with dealers, no matter the brand. Money coms first, customer satisfaction second it seems... I live in the Netherlands and the dealer network for Guzzi's is better here; but still: they are dealers, and they are too busy and too focused on making money. There are always little things that annoy me: like preparing a bike for delivery, and not checking everything is locked tight (that needs to be tight that is). I had my throttle/controls block moving when I used the gas handle. It is easily remedied, but you do not expect such issues with a brand new bike. Lucky me: I do my maintenance with a friend who used to be a bike mechanic and has a well-equipped garage. For a crate of beer you have a bike taken care of and a nice day of tinkering with your bike, and beers and bbq with friends too. I probably will ride my 85 till I can't. Hope the honda gives you joy and a worry and frustration free ride!
Cheers, I got quite a few bits and pieces from TML - much better stock and faster delivery over trying to get things direct here in the UK :-/ With older bikes I always did my own maintenance, it's only because the Guzzi was newer that I used the dealer network. So far, the 'local' (ha!) Honda dealer has been great. I will of course report back either way with my experiences :-D
I’ve just spent a couple of months in Italy, over the summer, and didn’t see a lot of MG’s. Lots of Ducatis but the most common bike was the BMW GS. I rode down and back which was quite the ride! I’ve looked at the NC750, is it that one you’ve got? Very handy storage compartment for things like…..I think you know! 😁
Went on a similar journey to you and found your videos very helpful. Glad I tried the bike and enjoyed 6000 miles. Sadly my supplying dealer was incapable of servicing the bike to moto guzzi standards despite charging and lying at every opportunity. I'm sure there are decent honest dealerships out there but not in Leicester/burton area.
Ah man that's really disappointing to hear - I had hoped I was just unlucky :-/ The dealers are such a lottery. I went to two that had excellent reviews and were recommended to me, and had bad experiences at both of them. I enjoyed riding the bike very much, but the experiences with the dealer network made me fall out of love with it.
@@MultiVogon yes absolutely identical experience! Have gone Royal Enfield now service it myself back to basics biking. How very sad and shortsighted these dealers are. Wouldn't mind if I was a lying cheating pita customer but I treat people as I'd like to be treated.
It's not even the fact that mistakes are made, that's normal. It's the way they behave afterwards. They clearly don't want or need any repeat business 🤷♂️
Well I for one will miss your how-to uploads.. thanks for those, helped me out a lot with neat wiring etc. hope you enjoy your new bike. Nothing beats Honda for quality and reliability. NC750?
Hello fellow Vogon! I have just uploaded my first impressions. The standard screen doesn't offer much in the way of wind protection. I fitted the taller Honda screen which is a lot better but still quite a bit of wind blast. I will leave it like that for now - if I do much winter riding I will probably look into adding a spoiler to the top of it, as that helped on the V85.
Hi, great videos, sorry for your loss. I’ve got a 2020 V85tt, 12,000 miles but just love the damn thing. With regards your dealer experience I’m a bit confused over what went wrong. I’ve purposely kept my bike away from any dealer, apart from the first valve check. I did the first two services myself, knowing I’d probably void the warranty, but wanted to do it, and knowing it was done right, I’m no master mechanic but can change the oil. It was a conscious decision to self warranty, thankfully nothing failed, the bike has been rock solid. To sell a bike you loved based on the dealer support seems unfortunate, you really think BMW, Honda, KTM etc. are much better..? As you correctly stated, the quality of mechanics and tradesmen generally is declining.
I got two makes that make me smile by their caracterial matter, their ease off maintenance, I don't look at hp's im a low torque maniac. Old Harleys and the refine gudzzi's (the v85tt). Those Gudzzi's are nice and strong road runner. Im a simple man. My bikes to. All the rest off gismos are thrown in garbage. Seat, shocks, Inutilitys, automats, Electronic is a naa for a gudzzi, but I have to live with it. She gona run until she dye. Old Harleys and gudzzi's are one off the last living ting on the market. All other lost or don't have that animal characters. Noting is perfect. V twin are the way to good rock n roll motors! My taste. Example off killing a reputation. I had gs's in the end of 80. Those wear the tupheses and the more reliable machines. In mid 90 they start to play marketing with those electronics. Today Gs's are the biggest marketing trap. Complex, expensive, and reliability throwed in the garbage. A bike is a utility and a pretty sport. Keep them simple and they fell, that it. We are trap in a marketing matter. industrial and dealers in general are moneys junkys.
Cheers, yes I got into Guzzi because I wanted a simpler life, not even oil cooling. All modern bikes have loads of electronics, it's just the way now sadly. Although at least I don't have to clean out float bowls and balance carbs any more :-D I've only ever owned one 4-cylinder bike in my life, otherwise it's always been singles and twins for me!
Cheers! I miss the long-travel suspension and comfy seat when bouncing down the poorly maintained local roads, that's for sure. So far though in the last couple of months I've done twice the mileage that I did on the TT in the last whole year.. I guess I fell out of love with it, through no fault of the bike itself. Maybe I will pine for some Italian quirkiness before long :-D
That's not ideal! On the Guzzi the issue is that if the cable comes out of the bracket, there's no easy way to get the seat off. I blame accountants overruling engineers ;-)
Actually got a trade in I was very happy with which is one reason I just went for it. Huge variation between different dealers though, some definitely offered very low.
I went the other way. I had a perfectly wonderful Honda CB500F and now I have a V85. It was the shaft drive that motivated me. I found myself not riding the 500F because my knees were still hurting from the last time I adjusted and lubed the chain. Service is a concern but I've kept my old but good running Burgman 400 as backup. It's not just a Guzzi problem. Here on the West Coast of Canada; most of the shops that did service work have gone out of business. Those that remain are swamped. There is a two week local wait just for a simple oil change. Keeping a second set of wheels available will keep me riding during our relatively short riding season.
I am definitely going to miss the shaft drive. Got a chain oiler sitting on the work bench for the new bike, but haven't got around to fitting it yet.
Vogon, sad news indeed! But I understand your decision. I always had a love/hate relationship with dealers, no matter the brand. Money coms first, customer satisfaction second it seems... I live in the Netherlands and the dealer network for Guzzi's is better here; but still: they are dealers, and they are too busy and too focused on making money. There are always little things that annoy me: like preparing a bike for delivery, and not checking everything is locked tight (that needs to be tight that is). I had my throttle/controls block moving when I used the gas handle. It is easily remedied, but you do not expect such issues with a brand new bike.
Lucky me: I do my maintenance with a friend who used to be a bike mechanic and has a well-equipped garage. For a crate of beer you have a bike taken care of and a nice day of tinkering with your bike, and beers and bbq with friends too. I probably will ride my 85 till I can't.
Hope the honda gives you joy and a worry and frustration free ride!
Cheers, I got quite a few bits and pieces from TML - much better stock and faster delivery over trying to get things direct here in the UK :-/
With older bikes I always did my own maintenance, it's only because the Guzzi was newer that I used the dealer network.
So far, the 'local' (ha!) Honda dealer has been great. I will of course report back either way with my experiences :-D
I’ve just spent a couple of months in Italy, over the summer, and didn’t see a lot of MG’s. Lots of Ducatis but the most common bike was the BMW GS. I rode down and back which was quite the ride! I’ve looked at the NC750, is it that one you’ve got? Very handy storage compartment for things like…..I think you know! 😁
You might think that, I couldn't possibly comment ;-)
There will be a moment in the future, when you realise you're missing something, and everytime you hear a Guzzi rumble by, you'll know what.
Maybe... maybe not - time will tell!
Went on a similar journey to you and found your videos very helpful. Glad I tried the bike and enjoyed 6000 miles. Sadly my supplying dealer was incapable of servicing the bike to moto guzzi standards despite charging and lying at every opportunity. I'm sure there are decent honest dealerships out there but not in Leicester/burton area.
Ah man that's really disappointing to hear - I had hoped I was just unlucky :-/ The dealers are such a lottery. I went to two that had excellent reviews and were recommended to me, and had bad experiences at both of them. I enjoyed riding the bike very much, but the experiences with the dealer network made me fall out of love with it.
@@MultiVogon yes absolutely identical experience! Have gone Royal Enfield now service it myself back to basics biking. How very sad and shortsighted these dealers are. Wouldn't mind if I was a lying cheating pita customer but I treat people as I'd like to be treated.
It's not even the fact that mistakes are made, that's normal. It's the way they behave afterwards. They clearly don't want or need any repeat business 🤷♂️
Well I for one will miss your how-to uploads.. thanks for those, helped me out a lot with neat wiring etc. hope you enjoy your new bike. Nothing beats Honda for quality and reliability. NC750?
Cheers. Hopefully you'll stick around, if not, thanks for watching :-)
@MultiVogon well, I'm interested in the NC750 so... yeah, sub still in place. I'm looking forward to the new 🏍
It looks like the NC750X, if it is then it a cracking choice but you cannot go wrong with a Honda.
🙏 Here's hoping!
As an ex MG owner (V7) and now NC750X DCT owner welcome to the club from a fellow vogon. How are you finding the seat and the standard screen?
Hello fellow Vogon! I have just uploaded my first impressions. The standard screen doesn't offer much in the way of wind protection. I fitted the taller Honda screen which is a lot better but still quite a bit of wind blast. I will leave it like that for now - if I do much winter riding I will probably look into adding a spoiler to the top of it, as that helped on the V85.
Ironically I'm considering swapping nc for a v85tt.
We could have swapped 😂 V85 great bike, definitely more comfy on terrible UK roads.
Hi, great videos, sorry for your loss. I’ve got a 2020 V85tt, 12,000 miles but just love the damn thing. With regards your dealer experience I’m a bit confused over what went wrong. I’ve purposely kept my bike away from any dealer, apart from the first valve check. I did the first two services myself, knowing I’d probably void the warranty, but wanted to do it, and knowing it was done right, I’m no master mechanic but can change the oil. It was a conscious decision to self warranty, thankfully nothing failed, the bike has been rock solid.
To sell a bike you loved based on the dealer support seems unfortunate, you really think BMW, Honda, KTM etc. are much better..? As you correctly stated, the quality of mechanics and tradesmen generally is declining.
I got two makes that make me smile by their caracterial matter, their ease off maintenance, I don't look at hp's im a low torque maniac. Old Harleys and the refine gudzzi's (the v85tt). Those Gudzzi's are nice and strong road runner. Im a simple man. My bikes to. All the rest off gismos are thrown in garbage. Seat, shocks, Inutilitys, automats, Electronic is a naa for a gudzzi, but I have to live with it. She gona run until she dye. Old Harleys and gudzzi's are one off the last living ting on the market. All other lost or don't have that animal characters. Noting is perfect. V twin are the way to good rock n roll motors! My taste. Example off killing a reputation. I had gs's in the end of 80. Those wear the tupheses and the more reliable machines. In mid 90 they start to play marketing with those electronics. Today Gs's are the biggest marketing trap. Complex, expensive, and reliability throwed in the garbage. A bike is a utility and a pretty sport. Keep them simple and they fell, that it. We are trap in a marketing matter. industrial and dealers in general are moneys junkys.
Cheers, yes I got into Guzzi because I wanted a simpler life, not even oil cooling. All modern bikes have loads of electronics, it's just the way now sadly. Although at least I don't have to clean out float bowls and balance carbs any more :-D
I've only ever owned one 4-cylinder bike in my life, otherwise it's always been singles and twins for me!
Congratulations for the new bike. But, you are going to miss the V85...enjoy
Cheers! I miss the long-travel suspension and comfy seat when bouncing down the poorly maintained local roads, that's for sure. So far though in the last couple of months I've done twice the mileage that I did on the TT in the last whole year..
I guess I fell out of love with it, through no fault of the bike itself. Maybe I will pine for some Italian quirkiness before long :-D
th-cam.com/video/CJdhwr2bHCQ/w-d-xo.html had the same plastic break on a brand new Benelli...
That's not ideal! On the Guzzi the issue is that if the cable comes out of the bracket, there's no easy way to get the seat off.
I blame accountants overruling engineers ;-)
Exactly. With mine it was the cable tension plus a twist to the cable that exerted more force to the bracket.
NC750? Bet you got a crap trade in.
Actually got a trade in I was very happy with which is one reason I just went for it. Huge variation between different dealers though, some definitely offered very low.