Quotes about Bikes & Guzzi

[nobleswood]

Docc,

Here's a quote for you;

'And that is exactly what the proponents of Moto Guzzis like so much about them. "They have character," they always say; shorthand for "cantankerous," sure but if that were all, Guzzis would be rusting in barns and not plying the roads twenty or thirty years after their births. They are like us - receptive to extraordinary improvements but never made perfect: full of torque and rumble; requiring a fair amount of care but always returning the investment in full. '

And my favorite:

' Guzzis appeal to the middle - aged rider who is not too racy, but plenty individualistic...They attract tinkerers, people for whom good enough is never good enough, for whom the rituals of necessary maintenance are secret joys, and for whom a professional mechanic is a figure out of a story book'

And the last one:

'When you buy a Moto Guzzi, you don't just buy a machine that goes fast, looks handsome and has a one year warrenty on parts and labor. You buy a thousand friends.'

                                               The Perfect Vehicle, by Melissa Holbrook Pierson

[docc]

I, of course, love this, by gstallons :

 

"You don't own the V11 because it does anything better. It doesn't .

  You own it because it defines you."

                                                                                                                                                                                              - gstallons,  2017     

[docc]

And from Goofman (1200SPORT):

 

"To know a tool, and to use it well, in the service of others, perhaps that is enough."

[Scud]

                                               The Perfect Vehicle, by Melissa Holbrook Pierson

 

That's an excellent book. 

[Scud]

"Driving a car is like sitting in the living room; driving a motorcycle is something like riding a horse -

it's driving and controlling something that is almost alive." 

 

                                                          - Soichiro Honda, as quoted in Honda: The Man and His Machines by Sol Sander (1975)

 

If you can find a used copy, it's a great read and an interesting view of Honda in 1975, when they were not sure how well the whole "car thing" would work out.

[docc]

Help me out here. y'all;

 

I ran across a post by czakky with a YouTube link to music video of Tom Waits/ "Hold on St Christopher" while restoring PhotoBlockit images, but cannot relocate it. I loved what czakky said about the V11. Anyone remember where that post is?

[luhbo]

"Guzzi - going out of business continually since 1921"

and

"Guzzi - evolving drivers into mechanics since 1921"

Both found here, the second being my favorite quote. Just forgot who earns the kudos.

[Chuck]

Actually, I did the going out of business on WG years and years ago. Ed Milich was going to buy Mark Ethridge a tattoo for his birthday, and they had a contest for what it should be. I said, the red Guzzi oval with eagle, and around the bottom "Since 1921." Around the top.. "Going out of business."   Most thought it was funny.. some were upset, mostly dealers. 

Kiwi Roy came up with Moto Guzzi, making electricians out of riders since 1921. That one is good, too.   There has to be some truth for comedy to really work. 

[docc]

Actually, I did the going out of business on WG years and years ago. Ed Milich was going to buy Mark Ethridge a tattoo for his birthday, and they had a contest for what it should be. I said, the red Guzzi oval with eagle, and around the bottom "Since 1921." Around the top.. "Going out of business."   Most thought it was funny.. some were upset, mostly dealers. 

Kiwi Roy came up with Moto Guzzi, making electricians out of riders since 1921. That one is good, too.   There has to be some truth for comedy to really work. 

Moto Guzzi    

 

Making electricians out of riders

 

Since 1921

[docc]

I learned to snap up this guy's prose when I have the chance:

 

"Somehow, though, the challenge of riding a more analog machine is more romantic . . ."

 

                                                     czakky, August 2017

[czakky]

"A gentleman's sport bike"

 

A quote that I really don't like and is said about a lot of bikes and somehow the V11 Sport and Lemans get called this too.

 

Nothing against gentlemen but I really feel like the v11 is a blue collar machine. For the self sufficient who in my case need the help of a great community (v11lemans.com).

 

Arguments welcome....

[Scud]

Well, if gentleman's bike is used as a compliment, it can mean that the bike is somewhat civilized and suitable to everyday, real-world use - as opposed to a hyper-sports machine that really belongs on the track. The "Distinguished Gentleman's Ride" has some fun with this concept. Sporting BMW airheads (S, CS, and RS versions) were often referred to as gentlemen's sports bikes. The old-style Krauser saddlebags looked like briefcases that a gentleman could remove from the bike and carry into work. I confess to having done that while I was practicing as a CPA. The little BMW roundel gave my motorcycling (R100CS) some legitimacy in that conservative 1990s culture.

 

If gentleman's bike is used as a pejorative term, it can mean that it is somewhat underpowered, plain, and boring (criticisms also levied at BMW airheads). At worst it could have connotations of pretentiousness, or weakness. Think of characters Hugh Grant has played in movies. If that's the personality of a gentleman's bike, I want nothing to do with it.

 

I think that whoever said "Last of the hairy-chested Guzzis" about the V11 series was more aligned with the blue-collar theme than with the gentleman theme.

[docc]

Seriously, a V11 is like a musical instrument. You'll never be *finished with it*.

 

And that's a good thing!

[Chuck]

V11 Sport.. the last of the *real* Guzzis. 

[footgoose]

 

Seriously, a V11 is like a musical instrument. You'll never be *finished with it*.

 

And that's a good thing!

 

 

 

 

I like this. You care for it. You 'play' it, and it makes beautiful music. But, you have to keep practicing.