Why not a Stelvio?

Main reason for me not buying one is...I've never even seen one....

Right now that's a good thing too, I would love to take one for a spin one day though.....

+1 I don't think there is a guzzi dealer within 500 miles of here

http://www.rosefarmclassics.com/

Make sure you get very recent model with the larger fuel tank, or budget for an auxiliary fuel tank. Older ones had a small tank.

If your touring includes urban riding, that's a wide bike. For the one I looked at, the mirrors measured 106cm tip to tip, and contained the turn signals, so it wouldn't be simple to replace them.

LOL.

Yeah. Took about 10 minutes to replace them with the Euro directionals and put on the V12 Sport mirrors.


I commute in and out of Boston daily and have never had an issue with the width.

Rocker, you made my point for me--why should I buy a bike that I have to go another state to get?

John, That's my next bike. I recently rode a used '10 w/ ABS but did not buy it. However, I am convinced that it is a bike that will fit my riding needs very well. I'm looking to go with a '12 because of the many features it will have over the previously available '08, '09 and '10's here in the US.

I've been to both Rose Farm in Woodstock, IL (260 miles) and Moto-Nexus in Hendersonville, NC (450 miles) and will go talk to Renegade Motors in Toledo, OH (270 miles) while I'm at the Beemer Rally in Sturgis, MI. I don't see these distances as a deterent at all to buying that type of bike.

You said "500 miles".

I pointed out a top-rated dealer well within that radius.

If you saw my NTX thread, you already know my opinion. But I just gotta say it again. Love at first sight. I should have one of the first 2012s to arrive here. And at a $9000 savings over the R1200GS I was looking at, I ain't bitchin.

Oh, I wasn't find fault. I just don't want to go to another state every time I need something:huh
One wonders why every Piaggio dealer--aka Vespa-- doesn't/wouldn't let us order one?

Piaggio kind of tried that a few years ago.

Many scooter shops didn't want motorcycles. The ones that did, didn't really do a very good job with them.

There are still some scooter shops selling Guzzis, but in general they don't get very good reviews from the Guzzi customers.

BTW, it's over 100 miles to my nearest dealer. I actually prefer to mail order my parts from Houston (MPH) or Seattle (Moto International). They usually have the part in stock and it's at my doorstep in 2 or 3 days.

By parts, I'm referring to filters, gaskets, and other miscellany. I've yet to require any major repair parts...

The local Vespa dealer I bought my Piaggo MP-3 at, one day had all these Guzzi's including a Stelvio that I really would have liked to buy but at $15000 at the time (Oct 07) it was more than I wanted to spend. There wasn't really a big market for the bikes and the shop would never have been able to service them to any degree but the owner said Piaggio required him to carry the lines in his shop. Dealer is now long out of business and I don't think he ever sold one Moto Guzzi.

It's my understanding that Piaggio (Guzzi) has now gone to a "build-to-order, on a quarterly basis" for their ordering and manufacturing processes. That means they are going to be paid for any bikes coming out of their facility (which is good for them). Those bikes are going to authorized dealers who will set them on their sales floor (spec bikes) or to authorized dealers with a customer who pre-ordered a specific bike for himself/herself (secured it with money down).

It sounds like the process you describe should not be happening again.

I hope that's not true. One of the reasons I stopped looking at buying an R1200GS was because of BMWs "built to order" packages. Each of them carrying something I really didn't want. And all of them adding thousands to the price of the bike. With the NTX I am seeing the complete package at one price. And a Hell of a price, at that.

Let me clarify -- that means Guzzi is only building a bike if they get an order for a bike. It does not mean they are building anything other than their normal offerings. They are a very small niche manufacturer. This change in their ordering/manufacturing process will allow them to focus on making only those bikes, from their normal offerings, that their dealers and customers want.

Personally, I think it is a win-win situation.

Works for me.

I did that with the used Stelvio in my driveway. I drove up to central Georgia from the Tampa Bay area to get it. The bike was actually in north Georgia but the seller was kind enough to retrieve it and get it to the Tifton area.

I was shopping the GS vs Stelvio. Both bikes will have issues as there is no 'perfect' bike out there. I chose the one that has the least amount of issues, per what I found while shopping.

Since the Stelvio is somewhat a rare bike around here, folks love to look it over. One thing I noticed, it seems that a Guzzi is like a VW Beetle, everyone seems to have owned one 'back in the day'....

I keep thinking about your "another State" comment.

I just don't understand why you wouldn't travel to get something you want.

Guzzis are rare. They will not ever be found on every street corner like Hondas and Harleys.

In January, I drove 650 miles to suburban Indy for a 1991 LeMans 1000. Enjoyed visiting with some Guzzi friends, then drove back home the next day. The bike is a 1 of 17. It's the second one I've seen come up. I jumped on it.

In October 2010, I drove 600 miles to Chicago for a 2000 model California Bassa that is a nice example. Stayed the night. Enjoyed a late-night meal, then drove back home the next morning.

Earlier in 2010, I drove to Holly Springs Mississippi to pick up a '99 California Bassa for a friend. 650 mile round trip. Had a nice lunch in Holly Springs after making the deal, then drove right back home. Was back home for dinner.

Hell, I even drove to Ohio one time to pick up a '95 Ducati E900 Elefant!

I'm willing to do that because if I don't, I'll never have what I want. Plus, I enjoy roadtrips.

If you're wanting something that exists in the tens or hundreds, the odds of finding it just down the street are going to be slim, unless you live the really big metro areas.

I'm out looking for a 12gs, the numbers for a 08 onwards model don't add up... Just for fun I looked at Stelvio's second hand prices... :eek1

6.500 eur "negotiable" for an 08 model with 7k kms, and some others at the same price range... That's embarrassingly little for such a bike... Again all my friends tell me to get real and leave the Italians, they were saying the same when I got the capo, didn't regret it...

I'm off to read the stelvio owners' thread, I think I'm about to do stupid things again...

crossing state lines is not a hastle, I just don't want to buy something that has the nearest support 280 miles away. Just me. Most folks wouldn't care. BMW has a dealer in about every state, but usually only one or two. Yamaha, Kawasaki, Honda has a dealer in about every decent sized city.
I would love to own one of the newer Stelvios.--just not practical for me.