Ok. Well best of luck to you
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Play nicely please.
Chris
MGCGB Forum Moderator
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What have I said that’s unpleasant or wrong ?
Time to move on? Not sure there is anything further to be gained in this thread? Just sayin’. 
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Yeah, you’re right Phil.
I was Sat watching footie with my nephew this afternoon, one minute we’re chatting, the next he’s in increasing pain and clutching his head before shaking and talking complete jibberish.
He has suffered an acute brain injury and this happens quite often, today’s incident was 8/10 on the Richter Scale. He’s early 40’s with a young son, but this is now his life. While it’s terrifying to see for us, it’s monumentally painful and exhausting for him, and renders him utterly incapacitated.
Sometimes it’s easy to lose sight, but life is definitely too short to waste time.
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Do I regret making this post, wow.
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Pax vobiscum..
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Et Cum Spiritu tuo
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Bit like Swiss watches - they can declare Swiss made based on “volume” so if the case is made in Switzerland for example - they can declare it a Swiss made watch with the rest of the gubbins made elsewhere !
The only cars / bike now having true “country of origin full pedigree” can you guess ?
Its Chinese !!
I work with the automotive industry, most of the tools to produce the parts are made in China and many of the parts, made in the said tools, are now from Asia (Vietnam / Thailand etc) its all down to economics & Globalisation.
One thing though - your bike was designed in Italy and assembled there, if they didn’t use the far east for some part procurement or tooling you might not have a Guzzi to purchase. Laverda being a good example of a recent failure and Benelli being a success story.
The Benelli TRK 502 /702 has been a best seller in Italy at a fraction of the price of a MG , the Italians can see the value of the brand and the quality that now comes from Asia …. enjoy your Italian “Chino” bike !
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I also worked in automotive engineering, in development of suspension bushes and active engine mounts. My experience of Chinese parts is they can be perfectly fine as long as the manufacturer using them stays tight on their quality control and testing. When Chinese suppliers think your quality control is slipping, they’ll send any old tat. We had parts from all over the world and the Chinese parts certainly weren’t the worst by a long way.
My employer didn’t use Chinese tooling for their UK plant because by the time they properly polished the molds and got them right, it was no cheaper than having them made locally and much quicker if they needed extra tooling.
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Hi Steve - for diecasting, its very rare a new tool is made in UK or Europe now - the bolster and inserts are mostly Chinese made , but often the European automotive tool user will specify high quality European steels to be used in the make up - I work for such a company - often repairs are made in the uk tool shops though -saves cost and delay of returning tools to Asia, in the last 6 years they have got better and better at this game and its reflected in the cars now being sold, Asian cars are now very popular, the Germanic automotive industry is playing catch up - especially with electric vehicles. I have a Bennelii TRK 702 X and to be fair its good quality and a nice machine, the price equated to super value compared to other bikes of the same Ilk…
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I think one of the reasons fewer tools are made in the UK is a lack of skills. My father had a tool making business until a few years ago and the demand far outstripped his capacity and he just couldn’t find skilled tool makers, mostly because no one has been trained for years and most of us who were (I was) got out of it for better paid work doing something else.
I remember even when I was in tool making, 20+ years ago, we were using far eastern made bolsters for our press tools and just adding our own dies and punches. We even did our own hardening. Those days are sadly gone. The factory I worked in has been derelict since the mid 2000’s. I’m now working in mechanical design of plant equipment and I miss that hands on, skilled work.
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My old man worked in the toolroom at Rolls Royce for many years when I was a lad. What I learned from him working on old bangers of cars especially respect for tools and how to respect metals.. priceless. Changed days indeed.
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Best post I have read on any forum in a long time.
A wake-up call for many.
I wish you and your nephew ( and family ) all the best.
Life is unpredictable, occasionally much shorter than we ever imagine, and sometimes with huge problems to live through or with. I too have had more than my fair share.
It pays to live each day in full, and as best you can and take pleasure in the many small things we all take for granted. I am not a religious person at all but the Buddhists have a great mantra:
- May you be happy.
- May you be well.
- May you be safe.
- May you be peaceful and at ease.
It does put things in perspective.
Ride your motorcycle/s, be kind and enjoy what you have.
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Decided I felt robbed and sold it, zero regrets
What you got now.?
I have a Royal Enfield Shotgun 650 which I love and a R1200rt. I regret buying the Guzzi, depreciation was shocking, servicing costs and hassle are a joke and not to re litigate my initial point , I thought I was buying a piece of Mandello history but wasn’t, that just really tainted the whole concept for me. So it’s done and I’m glad 
What did you get for it in the end?
Way less than I paid for it, but no regrets, that bike is compromised all over the place, it’s 100% not an off road bike, on the road it’s noise from wind is just awful. the screen is useless in any position, the fueling is nothing short of dreadful in any mode at low speed, I was prepared to a degree to accept that Guzzi charm ( see garbage) for a piece of Mandello history, only I didn’t get that either it turns out. The servicing costs are just a joke and it requires 4 trips to get it serviced due to dealer network. I now have a Royal Enfield Shotgun 650, it is the best bike I have owned and I have owned a lot, rode to Scotland 9 hours on Friday with only short fuel stops, lovely, comfortable, no tinitus from the useless screen of doom, rode back Sunday, same, lovely enjoyable ride and didn’t burn a litre of oil in the process. Each to their own but I won’t touch a Guzzi with a barge pole ever again, for example to do valve clearances on the Shotgun they give you L and R marks at TDC so you know where you are you can do the left side then right side, no guesswork or faffing with straws tubes or the rear wheel shuffle and it comes with a centre stand. and it’s half the price, So lesson learned, and it’s goodnight from me, Wish you all the best
Well after reading this, I bought a V85TT, I don’t know or care where it was built, somewhere in Italy. I know its not an off road bike, every review and a test ride confirmed that, Im not finding the screen noisy but that could be rider height dependant and the fuelling seems pretty good, certainly better than my old Tracer 9GT, Tracer 7 or Bonneville T100.
Dealer network is rubbish and service costs are high but I knew this before buying because its really not difficult to find out.
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