It had to happen eventually… In fact it may be the same Guzzi Quota I sat on and loved a bit over a decade ago at Caswell Cycle, then looked at the $10k price tag and test rode an $8k Jackal instead. The Jackal and my ergos did not agree and the date ended quickly.

So here I am, deep in depressing Airhead rebuilds with marginal results, when a Quota with only 12k miles on the clock gets traded on a new Guzzi at The Motocycle shop in Watertown, SD. Take a test ride and unlike the Jackal, everything is located, in the words of the princess, “just right”.

For those unfamiliar with the Quota, imagine a full framed (the easier to ‘hack, my dear) dual sport bike like an R100GS but without the stupid failure prone paralever and a tranny that can handle more than a 750’s torque. But all the good stuff like the same Nikasil/Galnikal cylinders right out in the airstream and shaft drive like an Airhead. What’s not to like? The price was reasonable and the Quota will be my frontline sidecar “tug” for the next several years… ‘Til it probably gets replaced by a new Guzzi. They (Guzzi) still build airheads, don’t they?