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WARNING! if you detest “TLDR,” skim & scan … or just run away now. Paid by the word for 50+ years, I won’t change those spots any time soon. Oh, and I am also a Luddite WRT getting the fonts here right when I cut & paste as I have here from ADVRider where I first posted this earlier today in a V-85 thread. Apologoies. Feel free, Docc, to make it all "prettier." =============== Twice a year, I and others ride to Daviess County in western Kentucky. Why? Mutton. Yes, that’s an acquired taste that not everyone even wants to acquire … but it’s acquired me. But, of course, there’s more to it than that. The paternal “Hagan” contributors of my DNA started off in 1662 in St. Mary’s City, Maryland. In the late 1700’s, when Catholics were no longer welcome in Maryland, Hagans were part of the migration of 200 Catholic families to Kentucky, traveling first by foot and then flatboat to what is now Maysville, Kentucky — then Limestone, Virginia. Led, BTW, by Basil Hayden, they went on from there to settle for a time in central Kentucky south of Bardstown. If you enjoy bourbon whiskey, thank “My People.” If Protestants had settled there instead, Maker’s Mark might be a brand of iced tea. Be that as it may, they moved again in the 1820’s to the better dirt in Daviess County, where their descendants — i.e., many of my Hagan family — still live today. Their church, St. Mary of the Woods, in Whitesville, Ky., was established 177 years ago. Parish picnics started soon thereafter, and mutton has been the common, delicious denominator. I clearly remember the first such picnic I attended in the mid-1950’s. But this post is about the latest such gathering, from where I, Kathi, and two friends just returned earlier this week. Scott (Lima, Ohio) and AJ, (Baltimore, Md.) both longtime Guzzisti, and I rode from the Moto Grappa in Cross Junction, Va., to Whitesville. We took three days, riding exclusively on interstitial backroads. [I only learned that word, “interstitial,” yesterday — thanks, @Pillionviewpoint — and am excited to use it!] Seriously, it was a grand trip. The roads between here and there are made for motorcycles. We even travelled on many — e.g., U.S. 62, a twisty challenge, especially between Maysville and Bardstown — that my hardscrabble tobacco-farming (and distilling! ) ancestors would have used, albeit much more slowly. A six-mile blacktop hypotenuse off of 62 — SR 1504 — between Mount Olivet and Oddville (seriously) is one of the most entertaining pieces of pavement on this grand planet. And, in Ohio, we serendipitously stumbled upon — code for “lost” — SR 348 between Lucasville and Blue Creek, a 25-mile collection of scenic sweepers and a surprise whiskbroom or two to keep you on your toes. My ever-indulgent wife, Kathi, has been to many of these picnics as a pillion and, in this instance, driver of our “support vehicle.” She took only a day to join us in Maysville, and, on the return, be with me at Mount Sterling, Ky., before heading home solo. For some context to the slideshow, below, on Day 1 of the outbound leg, we spent some time with Guzzista @Chethro in Ripley, W.V. [Thanks, Chet] And, on Day 3, we stopped in to visit the Ky. Guzzi Rally near Frankfort. On the return, Kathi and I went to Mount Sterling, where I had arranged to have www.gatewaycycles.com/ do the 6.2K service to my V85. I bought my V85 there on my return last June. I cannot say enough good things about this dealership. Carl, the owner, is an avid Guzzista who went out of his way to ensure that the service would be done without delaying my ride home. For example, though closed on Mondays, he and "Super Tech" Coty, made the service happen that evening so I could leave early the next morning! Enough background. Here are the culled pix (bit still lots) in a slideshow with captions. The link opens in “landscape collage” format, so you can see all at a glance without slogging through one by one unless you want to do that. Hover your curser over any pic to see the caption. [For maddening reasons I do not completely understand, the captions “disappear” if one enlarges the pix and goes through them. On “pure” slideshow, i.e., automatic switching to next slide, the captions continue to appear, but the pace is quick. Keeping the cursor in the “caption area” seems to help if going through manually. As I said, maddening. If anyone knows the code to make it more seamless, please tell me.] The pix? Go here: https://bill-and-kathi.smugmug.com/Moto-Muttoneers-Sept-2023/n-LxVRBJ/ Bill P.S. in the (exceedingly unlikely!) case, you yearn for more tales of Mutton Runs, try these: https://bill-and-kathi.smugmug.com/Motos-Mutton-More-Less/n-HnchJc/ https://bill-and-kathi.smugmug.com/Muttoneering-Sept-2021/n-VzxTGK/ https://bill-and-kathi.smugmug.com/Mutton-Running-May-2018/n-dHftGV/

Specific use. I suppose that would work with wives, too..(running and ducking)

Apologies for that 6 minutes a fellow Aussie has stolen from your lives if you watched it through. The video starts off well when he can't actually get the name of the bike right (he called it a Mondello) On a positive note all the riding was done around my area of the world. The Black Spur and Reefton Spur are my local rides and the Guzzi Museum was built and is owned by Teo Lamers who retired to here and owns TLM Guzzi in the Netherlands. It's just over an hour away. Phil

The most important is that we feel alive....

What a story Bill even for your high standards. SR 62 to Mt Olivet is a northern KY ridge road made for a V-twin, nothing short of brilliant, fun to ride. Glad to hear you had another successful mutton run. By chance did you eat at Old Hickory or Moonlite while in town?

Congratulations!! 50 stops…super well done! I’m way behind at only 30 stops but good enough to earn a patch!!

...and therefore, all the 2003 models had the most common, dual-plate clutches.

Fast enough….

You get a rocker patch with the year's millesime; the patch has either one or two stars to distinguish 25 or 50 stops completed. I found it is a good incentive to ride. Even if this year, the temperatures made any venture challenging and the tropical rains are posing a problem from the safety point of view. I use the Radar app, and I plan my rides carefully. When you see what happened in New-York and New-Jersey, you need to be factoring the weather seriously. The current infrastructures were never conceived for this kind of rainfalls.

They do send you a medal or a trophy? A "sticker", at least? Welldone, there, @p6x! Re: "In Pecos, I lost idle briefly. I think it had to do with the extremely high temperature +100 degF, combined with multiple engine starts in a short span of time (I was relocating the bike). Apart from that, the Le Mans was perfect. " > The V11 ECU operates a fuel rich mapping at each start-up for some 4,000 revolutions of the engine, regardless of ambient and engine temperatures. This is particularly compromising in such high ambient temperatures when the engine is already at operating temperature. A nuisance, but something to be expected. "In Pecos, there was a ribbon of plastic flying that got caught on my left turn indicator, and overheating on my exhaust pipe. It melted on the pipe and left a black streak which is very hard to get rid off. " > Try buffing the stainless steel exhaust with some steel wool, perhaps 00 or finer to remove the melted plastic. Again, welldone! And thanks for sharing venture!

Ha ha Wouldn't a get outa jail free card be a godsend..... Stuff of dreams that. Cheers

This has certainly been my experience. After using aggressive HH front pads (along with my characteristic Jackrabbit-on-hot-lava riding style ), my front rotors reached minimum thickness at an embarrassing 50,000 miles/ 80.500 km. (The replacements are at 82,500 miles now and holding up fine.) I learned to use pads spec'd for the Brembo rotors (FF, GF, or GG) and also changed my service by restoring the piston movement at fluid changes, and my rear rotor made 114,000 miles/185.000 km before reaching minimum thickness. Seriously YMMV . . .

Thought I had a pic in there of Moonlite. I have to say that for years I was an Old Hickory fan over Moonlite. The last several times we've been there, I've found the mutton less than I had remembered. This was a shorter visit than most, so we didn't have time. Will give OH another try next May if not sooner. Another option we'll try again is olesouthbbq.com/. The BEST mutton -- by far, IMO -- is that at St. Mary's Sure, some of that is parish pride. That said, of the many church picnics in the artea, I think that ONLY St. Mary's doesn't parboil the meat before grilling over a slow fire. Many restaurants that claim to be BBQ specialists do that, too. Have you tried the Green River bourbon yet? Bill P.S. Am working (yes, finally) on the pix of SSR XIX.

It’s always a bit of a hit or miss with Harper’s. Their website is non-functional for the most part despite Curtis repeated claims of upgrading it over the years. Otherwise Harper’s is a great vendor that can sometimes get you parts you cannot find anywhere else. Best way to deal with them is to get Curtis on the phone before you place an order. Edit/PS: I do not know what is currently going on with Harper’s but being an old school family business they have had some hiccups in their service in the past. Good luck with your order!

Something I always wanted to understand from a multiple vehicle owner. How do you decide which one you are going to ride on any given day? What is it based upon? specific use? itinerary? pillion? It is a serious question; I only have two vehicles, one with four, the other with two wheels. To me, it is always easy, because four wheels is only a back up. Two wheels are superior in every compartment of the pleasure rank. Even if a 911 is its own kind of reward, nothing beats a Guzzi. Note that I did ask a similar question to my Saudi friend, when I worked for Aramco... (he had multiple wives)

At least you do not need to provide an email and a password to log in... I always preferred analogical instruments personally. I still do. I love looking at the dash of my 911 after I switched on the ignition, witnessing all the vitals of the cars coming to life with the engine.

I did the last 10 stops to complete this year's Grand Tour last week-end, 22/23/24 September 2023. I have updated the report consecutively with maps, roadmap, fuel management and photos, if you are interested. I am extremely happy to have not suffered one single problem with the V11 this year; it is the first time since I got the bike in April 2021.

Passport helps, but petrolhead and 25 year old with diplomatic passport in the US. How many pullovers ? Wish l had it here. Cheers Tom.

Actually, not the Ballabio, but: yes, 2002 Scura and Tenni had aluminum flywheels with single plate clutch. As well as the 2001 Rosso Mandello.

4000km on the Verde V100 now. I have a serious sweet spot for all my bikes, and the V100 is D staying. She is SO rideable. The seat will bite like most seats after enough km, better seat on the V11, super on the Duc. Had a trip to the dealer last thursday, they took care of the tirepressure sensor problem. Happy with the dealer so far. Cheers Tom.