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Like a hot potato, Italy’s Moto Guzzi has been handed around to various owners for years due to its frequent financial difficulties. Today’s Nice Price or No Dice V7 Classic harkens back to the marque’s heyday, but could it also prove financially fruitful for a buyer?
There’s no more dangerous implement in the kitchen than a dull knife. Fortunately, for our purposes, the same danger can’t be ascribed to dull cars like the 1993 Chevy Corsica we looked at yesterday. That rental spec sedan may have been a time capsule of tepidness, but a $2,500 asking price still managed to raise some excitement and, along with that, a hefty 82 percent Nice Price win.
It’s common practice in many industries to slap a “Classic” badge on products that continue in production or are revived after having been superseded by newer editions. We’ve seen that with “Coke Classic” and other products whose replacements have stumbled out of the gate. It’s surprising that upon the introduction a few months back of its electric wagon, Porsche didn’t rebadge the continuing ICE edition, the “Macan Classic.”
In the case of today’s 2009 Moto Guzzi V7 Classic, the last part of the name refers to a revival of a name and style of bike that the Italian motorcycle maker first introduced in the late 1960s. It’s not just old school in its looks but in much of its design.
For a frame, the V7 features a throwback tubular steel architecture and dual-shock swing arm. Moto Guzzi’s immediately identifiable longitudinal 90° V-Twin motor is nestled below the bike’s sculpted tank. Mated to that is a five-speed gearbox and shaft drive. From the factory, the fuel-injected twin displaced 744ccs and made 49 horsepower. This one has been enlarged to 820ccs and dispenses its exhaust through custom pipes, so it likely makes a bit more. Bowing to modern safety demands, the brakes are discs front and rear.
V7s of old were Café-style bikes, and this revival edition keeps that roadster lineage alive in its bare body style. The handlebars are mustache style rather than clip-ons, and lip service is paid to two-up riding by way of a pillion saddle and rear pegs, but the bike’s size and arched pilot position mean those are only to be used in a literal pinch.
The bike looks pretty good for its age and reasonably substantial 16,700-mile odo reading. There’s no evidence that it has ever been laid down at any time, and the subtle brightwork makes the “Golden Hour” shots in the ad look all the better. Some pitting is noticeable on the aluminum fins of the cylinder jugs, and there’s rust on the head bolt caps, but aside from those minor aesthetic issues, nothing seems amiss. Any astute buyer would likely want to look at the tires’ date code since the bike could easily be on its original meats. The title is clean, and this retro two-wheeler’s asking price is $3,900.
Since the original V7 roadster’s introduction, Moto Guzzi (the brand) has been owned variously by the Società Esercizio Industrie Moto Meccaniche, Alejandro de Tomaso, Aprillia, and now Piaggio. That seems to be par for the course for any small Italian manufacturer, and it’s laudable that the company has managed to stay afloat this long at all. Perhaps more amazingly, it still offers the V7 Roadster in a similar form to our bike to this very day. That one will set you back $9,590 plus tax and license. That’s more than twice what this 2009 asks, so we need to get down to business and decide if that price is, in fact, a bargain.
What’s your take on this two-wheel retro machine and that $3,900 asking? Does that feel like a good vibe for a bike with an engine that makes some good vibes? Or does old age and an even older style demand an equally old-school price tag?
You decide!
Los Angeles, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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