1972 Moto Guzzi Eldorado
(Page 3 of 4)
November/December 2005
By Ric Anderson and Richard Backus
According to Field’s book, sales of the Eldorado rivaled those of the Harley FLH. Harley’s poor quality control undoubtedly steered some customers toward Moto Guzzi, but the Italian company didn’t simply live off of Harley’s castoffs: It earned a market share by creating a simple, easily maintained and reliable bike with superior fit and finish — and by responding to improvements suggested by riders.
RELATED CONTENT
Good news comes from Moto Guzzi, which has announced plans to make the new V7 Classic available to ...
“If you were ready to buy a 500cc bike and you happened to stroll into a Moto Guzzi dealership whil...
Nostalgia is a powerful emotion. Bombing down the dramatic roads that twist and turn along the shor...
Motorcycle shops used to be small, friendly, family-owned affairs. These days, a lot of motorcycle ...
Keeping any classic machine on the road is a combination of who you know and what you know, and thi...
Courting the law
Throughout the loop-frame series’ development, Moto Guzzi bent over backwards to make the bikes suitable for law enforcement. Recognizing that the California Highway Patrol and Los Angeles Police Department were national trendsetters in police motorcycles and equipment, the company spent hours working with the agencies’ officers — going so far as to bring at least one to Italy for testing.
“There were some old-school officers who thought that if it wasn’t a Harley, it wasn’t a motorcycle,’’ Field says. “So Guzzi found some younger officers who had ridden British and European bikes during the Fifties and were eager to ride the Guzzis. And that really helped.’’
As an indication of the importance of the LAPD in Moto Guzzi’s plans, the company sold its first two V700s to the department for $1 each. The strategy turned out to be brilliant: Besides selling thousands of motorcycles to law enforcement agencies in California, Georgia, Texas and other states, Moto Guzzi got free advertising on Los Angeles’ freeways.
“That was part of the whole plan: Touring riders would see these bikes on the highway and say, ‘Maybe that’s a viable long-range touring bike,’’’ Field says.
Eventually, you didn’t have to go to California to see spin-off advertising for Moto Guzzi. The Eldorado edged its way into numerous Hollywood movies, sharing screen time with actors ranging from Robert Redford in The Electric Horseman to Cheech and Chong in Up in Smoke.
The Eldo today
Moe Duenner, general manager of Cycle Gardens Moto Guzzi in Huntington Beach, Calif., put 15,000 to 20,000 miles on his first Eldorado — more than a fair return on the $250 he paid for the bike.
“It was just a beast,’’ he says. “One time, I had an oil plug go out on me when it was raining and I didn’t have anything to do but run the hell out of it and get home. When I got there, it didn’t have a drop of oil in it. The next day I worked the crank back and forth with a wrench, put oil in it and it went right back out on the road.
“Later, I had a seal blow out on me. On my way home — which was about 50, 60 miles — I had to go to 7-Elevens and get quarts of oil. But it still ran. It was kind of a noisy, ratty bike, but it ran. But that’s the way those bikes are: The more you beat them and the more you abuse them, that’s how they like to be ridden.’’