N. 38 - 8 febbraio 2007
by Alberto Sala
Recently it’s not too hard to find Moto Guzzi on the press as reviews, tests, news releases, or interviews. No doubt someone is working hard out there. This has always been more or less widely pointed out in our forum.
Nevertheless some time I’m a bit dismayed by some blows of enthusiasm for extremely positive articles. I mean, no question that the passion we have, the deep love we feel for Moto Guzzi can naturally shift, with something like an osmotic process, from our bike to the entire Company, and for sure we all wish we can find our beloved factory in coherent positions in the selling rates, then every little bit helps.
Any how some times I’ve the impression we are loosing our status of MG’s customers, not stakeholders (the most part of us at least). A customer that, until proved otherwise, pays with banknotes maybe slightly faded or wrinkled but for sure perfectly working and in change he should expect and claim to get a correspondent amount of metal, gum, plastic and charm which works perfectly. No questions.
I’d be glad if the product defect rate could became public. Every serious company analyzes these data which gives the features of a Company value, efficiency and profitability far more than the mere productions rates to released journalists. If the factory could produce for example 10.000 motorcycles but with a defect rate of 50%, 60% maybe 70% or even worst what would be the real profitability in your opinion? What could be the real value? It can be a way to take advantage of dealers work often forced to fix the problem somehow or of the blind love of customers who buy the full optional Norge version and get the standard one, without all that full optional just because not available at the moment. On magazines you will never find a word about how many bikes need to be repaired during warranty or the number of motorcycles delivered without side luggage but these data, though less pleasant, are far more useful for us, the customers.
Now I wonder what is the sense in leaping upward when this reality is hidden. I can understand that love is blind but at least the blinds, developing the other senses are able to understand everything better and earlier than the others. I would rather prefer their condition facing the quality of today MG products and of the only project of the new management, the 940C.
Is this the highest expression of creativity of the motorcycle brand called Moto Guzzi? Moto Guzzi which has created eternal myths as GTV, Airone, Falcone, V7, Le Mans. Moto Guzzi which did the North Cap raid as a real and hard test instead of a teenager exam. Is the riding “pleasure”, claimed by Daniele Bandiera as the main feature of the brand excluding again competitions, the highest expectation for our brand? A brand which has won in all and any field, which has produced the most amazing and astonishing racing bike, the V8, as well as two of the most famous sport bikes for all, V7 Sport e Le Mans, not to mention the other models which had made the wildest dreams of the enthusiasts come true. A brand which even today can be proud of the efforts of obstinate enthusiasts to keep on accepting the never-ending challenge of circuits (sometimes even with success, as Gianfranco Guareschi did this year).
To conclude, no sportsbikes for us, there’s already Aprilia for that, (so why going on with Aprilia’s moped when there’s already Piaggio for that?). No competitions, just the 940C, and 4 vales engine (unfairly and obstinately called 8V), are you happy whit that dear customers?
Where is the difference with the two past management? Better, the pre - Beggio owners intended to come back on tracks and they even realized a new engine, the VA10 but they didn’t have enough money to produce it. Now Piaggio has the money, and the engineering too. The group is considered the biggest in Europe, its engine developing centre is widely seen as one of the most advanced in the world so I expect, apart from the respect of the delivering terms for 4valves Griso, something more for the most successful and famous sport brand in the world and not just for sportsbikes. I’m expecting to shake at the basis the real, disappointing selling rates and overturn the idea that Guzzi means low quality and high weight, something which can enlighten the fact that without new lymph the tree will die, without the idea of changing the world nothing could open the mind (and the wallet) of bikers customers all over the world.
Translation by Ugo Canepa
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