By Joe Berk
The saying is “if I was any happier there would be two of me.” The photo above kind of captures the feeling. It’s how I feel every time I visit with the Cycle Garden team in Indio, California.
When I first heard that one of Moe Moore’s custom Moto Guzzi motorcycles went for $40,000 to $50,000, I was shocked. Then I realized a new Harley full dresser inhabited the same realm. Per Google’s AI:
A new top-of-the-line Harley-Davidson (CVO™ model) generally costs between $45,000 and over $50,000 for the 2025/2026 model years, with models like the CVO™ Street Glide® and CVO™ Road Glide® starting around $44,999 to $51,999.
Then the question became: Which one would I prefer owning? That’s a no-brainer. It’s the Guzzi. The one featured in this blog is a case in point. It’s not a stock motorcycle by any stretch of the imagination. But wow, would I ever love to own it! More than a Buell, even.
Before I get into that, though, I need to tell you a little bit about Cycle Garden and what they do, and what I’ve been doing with them.
I am in the process of writing a series of How To articles for Motorcycle Classics magazine (and I’m loving every minute of it). I did the first on how to lace a wheel (with help from good friend Kenny Buchanan of Buchanan Spoke and Rim). The next was on drum brake servicing, and it will appear in the March/April issue of Motorcycle Classics (due out any day now). And I have three more that are written and awaiting publication (things have a long lead time in the print publication world). I’m really enjoying the plant visits, the interactions, the photographing, the writing, and the ego-stroking that accompanies seeing each of these pieces in print. I’m especially loving being around the vintage motorcycles. You’ve seen the blogs on Emma Booton’s Triumph. Don’t tell this to the magazine, but seeing the vintage Guzzis at Cycle Garden is so cool I’d almost write those How To pieces for free. I’m especially enjoying hanging around and learning about Guzzi maintenance from Moe, Steve, and Lindsay.
This resto-mod 1974 Guzzi police motorcycle is beyond stunning. I’ll let Moe tell the story on it. There’s a YouTube at the end of this blog in which he does that, but first, a few photos…
Here’s the promised YouTube. There’s more Moe Moore coming up on the ExNotes blog and in Motorcycle Classics magazine, so as the saying goes…stay tuned!
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