These old skool Guzzi's are the Kings of cool, and yes I own a '71 ambo and am biased😅😅 , all bias aside they are a comfortable old bike and they love chewing up the miles, and will do it day after day , year after year, 11/10.!!
I had a '69 Ambasador in '76. My favorite bike that i have ever owned. Everybody raves about the El Dorado, but i always favord the Ambassador. I loved the right hand shift and the gear pattern.
Love those old Moto Guzzi's. I had a 2017 V7ii but I recently sold it. I liked it a lot, but I wasn't in love with it. One of these days I'd like to get an old Ambassador or Eldorado, such cool looking bikes.
The early '70s ambassador 750 and eldorado 850 are my dream bikes. The pinnacle of biking in my eyes. No matter what other bikes I see I never seem to shake the guzzis. Thanks for sharing this, there's not enough content on these bikes (at least in my opinion). Stay safe during those horrible fires!
Imho, Moto Guzzi big block engined bikes in all their famous iterations, from 1967 to the last of the Grisos, are the greatest road/street motorcycles ever made. I may, however, be biased....
There is a certain level of coolness that old Guzzi's have, that I don't think most other bikes can match. Maybe it's something to do with that completely relaxed sort of gait the engine has - where it just chugs along at a nice easy pace, nothing frantic or urgent. Just keeps going. When I think "Vintage Moto Guzzi", that bike is pretty much the image I have in my head.
Hi Dave, what a beauteful Bike you got. I still driving my MOTO GUZZI CALIFORNIA III and it makes me happy. Keep going. Greetings from Lamspringe Germany from DANIEL.
Update, I found a 1972 850 GT one year ago now. Same Gilardoni cylinders/pistons as this one. So wonderful bike, as long as I live I will keep this one. I buyed another handlebars from Fehline, much lower. Fits much better to the low profile of the bike. So happy that I found a V7 to a affordable price. My BMW is collecting dust.
Hi Mike, awesome bike, practically straight out of Dirty Harrys 1973 Magnum Force. Just watched it again for the umpteenth time, I can’t get enough of all those 70s bikes, Harleys, Triumphs, Guzzies, Laverdas etc. This is an amazing looking bike, I’d freaking love it. I liked these V Twins better than the Harleys, enjoyed looking at the engine , ever since I owned the Honda plastic maggot V Twin. Awesome video Mike. 😎👍👍👍🇬🇧🏍
Thank you Mike!! Really appreciate it. Yes, I haven't seen many if any other Ambassadors before so it was a great treat! Glad you liked the video. Ah yes, that was a really great movie. They don't make them like that anymore. I guess it was pretty violent now that we look back from 2020! Hope all is well. Best wishes, Mike
Yet another brilliant surprise for my Sunday morning cuppa ! Love the Goose and this one sure is easy on the eyes! Glade you are OK and we are sending prays to you and your neighbors that you stay safe.
Thanks Mike for hosting another fine cul-de-sac video and thanks to Dave for showing us his Moto Guzzi! A very noble endeavor keeping these old classics on the road. Ditto on the front brakes, an area newer machines are blessed even my '86 LeMans 1000 if get on them with gusto. Stay safe all you guys in the fire zones.
Greetings from England Mike. Thank you for another Sunday morning cul de sac treat, especially a lovely Moto Guzzi. Wer are planning on buying a Moto Guzzi V50 once 'Norbits' our Norton Dommie becomes a little heavy. It has always been our wish to continue riding after kick starting becomes difficult, and electric start and lighter weight seems to fit the bill nicely. We hope and pray the wild fires are soon brought under control. In the meantime, stay safe, and take care. God Bless, Peter and Jenny Snow
Many thanks Peter and Jenny for your kind note. Glad you enjoyed the video. I thought it was a really cool bike and a great presentation by Dave. Best wishes, Mike
FYI: The chrome on the tank is NOT just a patch. You have to electroplate the ENTIRE tank, tape off the patch to the correct shape and spray the body color. I have a '74 Eldorado and will eventually need to have this done. It makes restoration somewhat expensive. I'm glad Dave knows about the eagle facing forward. The best looking saddle bags for this bike are the Wixoms. Dave's has quite a bit of gear whine that mine doesn't seem to have, but I don't mind the gear whine. It sounds like a sturdy transmission. My disc brake model had the police handlebars, which I didn't like. The steering was too light and vague so I switched mine to civilian bars. (Yes, the master cylinder will fit on the civi bars.) :-)
Too bad that Guzzie has a secret fault of chrome piston liners... surprised they goofed there. Nice ride and a skookum bike!! Nice touch rocking it on take off.. :) If Fiat made bikes I would run but guzzies are great!
Cool bike, I don’t know much about guzzis (I’m a British/American bike enthusiast) but I would be more than happy to have it in my garage 👍 love the Harley pannier bags too they really suit the bike. Thanks for sharing mate!
I agree! Thanks a lot for your note. Yes, that was a really cool bike! It was a pleasure to see Dave and the bike, even with the nasty air. Cheers, Mike
Nice bike, nice bloke, nice story! Thanks for continuing to make these videos, the "cup of cocoa on a Sunday night" is a sorely needed break form the rest of everything that's going on these days. I'm glad that you and your family are safe but sorry to hear that some friends haven't been so lucky.
Thank you Brendan. Much appreciated. I'm glad that you like the vids. I have a few more in the works and even more invitations sent out. Best wishes, Mike
Hi Mike, I've been watching news reports each night about the wild fires in Northern California, Oregon and Washington State, and I've been thinking about you and your friends. I hope you're keeping safe. You're going through what we in South-Eastern Australia went through last Christmas. Thanks for another installment from the cul-de-sac. I love the Guzzi. Cheers Peter
Thanks for continuing the vlogs, Mike, despite the difficulties you are all facing. Hopefully the skies will clear soon. Nice bike - looks like it could be ridden all day without breaking sweat. As I have found out, twin leading-shoe front brakes are not to be feared and are quite adequate, but leaving a good gap is always a good idea...👍🏻
Hi Mike! I hope your family and friends are out of the reach of the fires. I was formerly also interested in a Guzzi V7, but in the end it was "just" a Royal Enfield Interceptor. Nice videos and nice motorcycles from your cul-de-sac. Thumbs up!
Hi, I love these old machines as well and I also settled for an Interceptor for now. There is definitely that vintage vibe to it. I am very satisfied as for now, they nailed it. My next dream bike would be a triumph Bobber. Will see when that yould be possible ahha. Regards
@@TheMightyGarage I wrote a little article about the Interceptor on my homepage,( www.joebiegert.homepage.t-online.de/home.html )with a little Google translator built into the top of the pages. Cheers, Joe
Very nice Guzzi! Yeah, bike purchases on ebay can be interesting. When I bought my '78 BMW R100RS on ebay, it was the last day of the auction. I figured I'd better go for it (sight-unseen, except for photos), took a deep breath, and pushed the "BUY-IT-NOW" button. It turned out that another guy was very interested in buying it - and I had unknowingly bought it out from under him (literally) while he was out test riding it!
I was fifteen in 1970 and even then I thought the Ambassador just exuded character. Even though I bought Japanese because I raced motocross, the euro bikes made a connection with you that can't be explained to most people. And that connection is stronger now in our reverence of the vintage years.
Great Bike, the round barrels guzzi’s are definitely the nicer looking. I have visited the guzzi factory, what a place, it is situated on the banks of lake Como in a small place called Mandello del lario which is as picturesque as lake Windermere with a motorcycle factory on the shore. Great place but surreal! As you know I’m a real Italian bike fan and I have a Moto Guzzi 250 Airone Sport, love it. Stay safe.
That smoke is concerning I bet. One a nice example of a Guzzi, very pleasing lines that go together very well and yes, those hardbags are Harley bags made for XLT Sportsters. They are smaller than the BigTwin versions. I have the same set on my Old Sportster and they are hard to find. You could get them as an option as well.
Thanks Dave, once again although not a lover of 'Moto Guzzi' the Ambassador 750 comes over as a 'nice' bike a bit like the nice owner .. As soon as I saw the first view I thought 'Police Bike'. I enjoyed the bikes history story so please you are keeping that alive. Hope 'fog' soon clears & folk stay safe Mike. atvb t ..
Lovely Guzzi! Great video...hope your air clears soon. Those fires are horrible. Our friends near Coeur d'Alene have only about 200 yards visibility. Keep your lungs safe Mike!
I confess that I was pretty concerned if the fire was dangerously near to your house. Here in Brazil we got some information that make us have the impression that the situation in Oregon is something in between catastrophic to apocalyptic, with massive eviromental and material losses plus some human deaths. I'm happy to learn that as bad as it can be, the fire does not seems to be a menace to you, to your family and your bikes. It's great to know that you are safe enough to continue to have the Cul-de Sac mornings going on. The Guzzi depicted on the video is realy a beauty. I always got amazed how much great caracters and fantastic machines you're capable to congregrate. Best regards from Brazil.
Hi Felipe! Thank you very much for your kind words. Yes, we are really lucky in our area that the wildfires are not too close. But it has been terrible for so many people in Oregon. I did make sure that Dave was comfortable coming over and was fine riding to the cul-de-sac. I promise that I wouldn't put anyone in danger. We are very lucky and blessed to have such great friends in the motorcycle community. Best wishes, Mike
Awesome Ambassador! Always had a soft spot for Moto Guzzis. My first (road legal) bike was a 1967 125. It had the same hand grips as Dave's. Stay safe, Mike. Cheers!
Interesting never noticed the idle is like a BMW Boxer not the V-twin rhythm. Super pretty bike! Hope you guys take care in Oregon! 💙🙏🏼 Just south of you in SoCal.
Love those old Guzzis Mike and Dave is a really nice guy. I hope you're nowhere near the danger zone of the wildfires , there's been a lot of coverage on TV here in the UK. It looks real bad.
Many thanks Bob, we are doing A-OK. It's very bad throughout Oregon, but fortunately our little town was not impacted by the wildfires. We are very grateful for that. Best wishes,
Beautiful Guzzi. I loved my 850 Eldo (1972) but the brakes or lack thereof made me eventually sell it. Wondering who would give this video thumbs down, lol- sad people everywhere.
You're so right James! Everything has a strange red/brown hue to it! And the smoke smell is pretty bad, especially in the morning. We're staying indoors for the next few days. Best wishes, Mike
First time I can remember seeing the Ambassador, I only remember the Californian. Lovely original bike. The sky certainly is different to the beautiful blue of you previous videos, hope you stay safe.
wearing a mask now would make sense for 2 reasons....that's a very clean M G, the size of the front brake drum, very advanced for a 50 year old machine
Wonderful old bike - they pull like a train. Lots where hitched up to small trailer, before Honda gold wings hit the touring scene. Haven’t seen that many with sidecars thou, I guess to preserve their good handling.
The Ambassador is a really nice bike,but i prefer the Eldorado.The Ambassador is 750 cc,4 speed while the Eldorado is an 850 cc 5 speed.I have a 72 Eldorado.a 73 Eldorado plus 6 other Guzzis.You might say it's an Addiction I'll always have a Guzzi.
Sitting here in the UK I did wonder if you would be affected by the Oregon fires. We've been to Oregon a couple of times when our daughter was at OSU, Corvallis. Keep up the cul-de-dac series!
It's wonderful you found the proper exhaust system for it. I cringe when I see people modify their bikes exhaust system and end up losing performance in the process. You can change the jet's in the carburetor's but it's more complicated than that. You've got to change the camshaft too so valve timing overlap matches the new exhaust back pressure. It's best to keep everything stock because there was a lot of engineering and test stand work done to get the exhaust, carburetor's, and camshaft all matching to provide the best performance possible on a motorcycle before it's ready to be sold as a new motorcycle.
I went to a small town college and these former police bikes were always around but at that age I didn’t understand them. I knew some older guys though who were smitten and as a result had several each. Great bike and love the subtle mods. BTW how many Daves are we going to meet? I lose track. 🙂
I have seldom seen a Moto Guzzi Ambassador 750 that is so well cared for - congratulations on this magnificent specimen! I would like to ask a question: Is it possible to add a second, individual spring-loaded seat behind the sprung seat? Klaus sends greetings from Germany.
love the appearance of the squirrel, does it make regular showings at the Cul de Sac episodes? A good friend back in the '70s bought a new Guzzi California........we all thought it was a very large 'American" mcycle.
We called them irreverently Moto Goofy because they were so different. I did own the 1970 Amby Police, but it sold to a chap in Mexico. The Police drive train is the same as the civilian but with shorter final drive gearing for parade service. I have an original parts book for the bike that Dave might like to have and a few spares.
I just bought a 74 Eldorado here in Australia. It’s currently stripped down and in remarkably good nick for a 50 year old bike. Many new parts are on order but the big decision is……….what colour scheme do I choose?
Hi Stoyan! We're doing okay, thanks. We're very lucky where we live in the suburbs that the fires aren't close, but we have a few friends who have been evacuated. They are waiting to hear about their properties and so we're hopeful that they didn't get damaged. Hope you are doing okay. You have me looking much more closely at every Panther that pops up on the internet now and they are such a lovely bike 😜👍 Best wishes, Mike
The Mighty Garage That’s great to hear but I can see from the latest video the heavy smokey atmosphere behind you. We do hope that it’s brought under control soon for everybody’s safety. Funny you should mention thinking of Panthers As you know I am contemplating the Vincent purchase but watching your commando video clips has really made me think again as we both decided that the commando is such a great bike. In fact you’re description of it being your go to bike has stuck in my head and I couldn’t agree more. As I said previously, mine is now in Norvil production racer trim, fully restored but never ridden in 13 years ownership so I have decided that I shall sell the Norvil parts and buy a roadster tank and seat and most probably an electric start kit and just enjoy it. Thanks again Mike and stay safe, Stoyan.
Paranoia over the lack of dealer support and unfamiliarity with the brand coupled with mystique for the Harley brand is my guess. As common as Harley's are my brother waited quite some time for a new drive belt for his 06 Night Train. Proving that American made only counts for so much as far as parts access goes.
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