Right , so first thing first . It ’ s pronounced “ Moh-toh Gooh-tzi ”, not “ Mowda Guhzee ”. Now that ’ s out of the way , let me state it is common knowledge among motorcyclists that Moto Guzzi riders are the submariners of the motorcycle world . Like real submariners , they live a truth denied to others . Brave or crazy , or chunks of both , they ’ re fun to have a drink with until they ’ re not . Then you have to use a chair to subdue them . They are perfectly suited to the marque they have embraced – one-eyed and fanatical , they truly believe they ride the greatest two-wheeled creation ever made . No evidence to the contrary will be accepted . Their cognitive dissonance is complete . They have mainlined that soaring Italian eagle into their grospy veins , pledged their
undying allegiance to the most unique engine configuration in all motorcycledom , and the rest of us can piss off because we just don ’ t get it . Which is when you should start smashing them with a chair . With the obvious exception of Harley-Davidson , no other brand instils such devotion into owners . Those latte-breathed Ducatisi aren ’ t even close . Laverda owners can only admire the Moto Guzzi obsessives from a much lower mountain . No Japbike rider would ever be as wedded to a brand as a Guzzi rider is . And every BMW or KTM owner just knows better . Moto Guzzi owners and riders are in a class the good Reverend Jim Jones would have been proud to share the Kool Aid with . But I do love me a fanatic . I have my own zealotry to cope with , and I easily identify it
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