MG Booth at US MotoGP...What the ?@#*!

[droydx]

I just got back from Laguna Seca....enjoyed the show, tons of good things to see and do, lots of great people (maybe too many). Next to the Aprilla display Moto Guzzi had a few well worn models on display. A shoddy Coppa' Italia, a Breva 750 and maybe a Calif, or Stone. All the bikes were in need of a cleaning/polishing, none of the cool new models to check out, no handouts, no back drops, illustrations, just two guys sitting in a couple lawn chairs paying no heed to interested bystanders.....

It was a travesty of a tragedy of a mockery of a sham....

[orangeokie]

I just got back from Laguna Seca....enjoyed the show, tons of good things to see and do, lots of great people (maybe too many).  Next to the Aprilla display Moto Guzzi had a few well worn models on display.  A shoddy Coppa' Italia, a Breva 750 and maybe a Calif, or Stone.  All the bikes were in need of a cleaning/polishing, none of the cool new models to check out, no handouts, no back drops, illustrations, just two guys sitting in a couple lawn chairs paying no heed to interested bystanders.....

It was a travesty of a tragedy of a mockery of a sham....

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With MG currently operating in the red, it's a wonder they had any presence at all. I would be suprised if that was an "official" company sponsored display. I would love to see someone like Michael Jordan get some investors together and buy MG, do a total make-over (much like John Bloor did with Triumph) and really put MG back on the motorcycle map.

[Orson]

I dunno...I think that part of the appeal of Moto Guzzi is that it isn't a slick operation. No chi chi boutique showrooms a la Ducati. It's almost like a homemade motorcycle.

 

brochures?...we doan need no eh-steenkeen brochures!

 

although, I agree with you..I'd like to see them in the black.

[tomsp]

Moto Italiano, at the last minute, was called and asked to send guys/bikes over -- no advance warning or stuff like that. They were all swamped working on bikes (mine included) and were pretty exhaused by the time they got to motogp. I'm not making excusses for them, but that looks like the lay of the land....

[Alex-Corsa]

I dunno...I think that part of the appeal of Moto Guzzi is that it isn't a slick operation. No chi chi boutique showrooms a la Ducati. It's almost like a homemade motorcycle.

 

brochures?...we doan need no eh-steenkeen brochures!

 

although, I agree with you..I'd like to see them in the black.

 

Yep , all the above

[gh67]

droydx....you beat me on starting this thread....ditto to all. Unfortunate that Moto Italiano got drug in at the last minute and gets the bad press. It absolutely boggled my mind that MG didn't have a Corsa to show off at a GP race...what a missed opportunity to show the crazed GP world such an awesome "production" bike. There wasn't a Breva 1100 either for that matter. To make things worse, I talked to the booth guys a few times, they said that there was dealer meeting in town also and the Corsa was over at the meeting area instead...I don't get it. I have an unsettling feeling that Piaggio is just going to let MG fade away in a marketing screw up.

 

Michael Jordan?...I hope not, but yes someone needs to step in....I won't say the "D" word.

[robbiekb]

i could only manage 5 minutes there myself before i gave up and went to look at the Buells. Ingrid got to sit on her Paul Smart that is apparently now showing up in November over on the ducati island, so the marketplace was fun and interesting, just not the Guzzi prescence.

[orangeokie]

. . . Michael Jordan?...I hope not, . . .

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Please explain. I don't get it.

[gh67]

Please explain.  I don't get it. 

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don't get me wrong, I respect what Jordan is doing for racing.....he's just not at the top of the list of people I would like to see own MG. guess I'd want someone with more of a history in European cycles and heritage. but maybe im asking for the icing too.

[mikie]

I too was going to start this as a new topic when I spotted this thread. Truely, for those of you who didn't see this display, it was (or at least should have been) embarassing for Moto Guzzi. Rather than have a few dirty bikes on display, they should have just foregone the whole deal and had no display at all. As Droydx stated, not only were the display bikes shabby, but the representatives really looked as if they couldn't be bothered with questions or discussion. Now maybe that wasn't actually the case, but it certainly appeared that way to me and various friends who visited the booth. One of my buddies commented that the only display that was marginally worse was that of MZ; but at least their bikes were clean.