HRC_V4

I finally got her home, the GF and I took off Saturday morning about 9:00am for a ~300 miles to my buddy's house, I put on my gear and rode ~300 miles back through North GA and Western NC and got home about 8:00pm. No issues, enjoyed the ride so much I got up Sunday morning and went for a 30 miles ride. I got 41 mpg and 38 mpg, latter with more highway speeds. I have a few new newby questions, is there any real trick or technique to checking the oil? I know it is good to be a little higher than full. I have been reading up on the balancing, but the vacuum nipples are plugged and not connected by a hose, one was unplugged, and when I plugged it most (75%) of my vibration went away. Is it ok to leave them plugged or should I run a hose inbetween? I am planning on changing all the fluids, I have considered changing the return spring while I am at it, one to not worry for a while, but the other is to learn to do it in case I need to do it on the side of the road, is this a good idea? I put the Knight lowering pegs on, but it moved my feet wider and now it seems my brake lever does not stick out enough to get to comfortably, any ideas on this? My battery light flickers at idle if I don't leave it on the charger over night, goes away once the rpm's pick up, I have read this is nothing to worry about and to clean grounds and connections, does this seem right? I guess from the picture below shows why I need to check the boots... That is about it, here is a picture of part of my collection.

Thanks, it is hard for me to think it is now 30 years old, I've owned it for 21 years (2nd owner) and it now has over 240k miles on it. It started my love affair with things Italian, and also got me into working on cars (and other fuel fed items).

And I have the Shindy on order, so that will go on next time I see her.

Very good, a Milano Platinum, aka Alfa 75. That is my buddy's, and half the reason for the trip down to ride my Guzzi, I helped him swap one of my spare clutches in, or at least was the plan, but a leaking shifter seal stopped us. I own a Verde, aka 75 3.0 America. I also have a another 116 chassis car, an '86 GTV6.

Thanks again! Do you have the part # for the Shindy damper? And I will check out the rubber boots. Red Line is good stuff, I will plan on that when I get it home. I run the 75w90NS is my Alfa transaxles and it made a huge difference in them. Mine is a 78, I enjoy it, but I could never adjust my riding to it. I am sure I will get there one day, but for now this is a better choice, and will be for a while. The fall ride sounds good, but I have a trip planned for mid Sept to NW Arkansas, it will be the first major trip on this one and one of the reasons for the H&P cases. The lower pegs sound good too, I was thinking my knees seemed a little high compared to the tank, I will give them a try.

That is my buddy's 800, I have a couple of 750's and a 700. Compared to my '95 750, the sound is better, much more torque and engine braking, more of an upright seating position which is keeping my throttle hand feeling much better. It seems to have a lower center of gravity which makes it more maneuverable at low speed. The little screen seems to do a good job of wind protection up to a point. So far the only down points are vibration, which I have to admit is getting better on this bike the more I ride it, and the transmission gives me false neutrals, I think I am just going to have to be more deliberate with it. I guess the other would be MPG's, 45-50 on the VFR, This is actually a replacement for my old GL1000, I like having a standard/touring, but I live about 45 minutes from Shady Valley, so I tend to push the Wing a little too much on the curves. Also going to use this as my touring machine, the hard luggage and a better feeling throttle hand fits the bill.

Thanks all, she has a few nicks here and there, but is over all pretty nice. And I plan to go through her when I get her home. She seems to run better and better the more I ride her. With the low miles, she needs more time on the road. First tank was abut 33mpg of around town and back roads. The valve covers are another issue, I don't don't mind the red, but I wish it matched the other red on the bike. When I do the valve adjustment, I will strip the paint off. Any one have a red paint code that is close, or a better idea on the valve covers?

Other pictures.

I have about 200 miles of seat time on my V11 Sport, and i love it, but it is still in GA at a buddy's house. I put the Hepco & Becker hard bags on it, road about 100 miles with them this weekend, I did not have much in them, but really did not notice them. My questions are about the modifications to this bike, a previous owner made some changes, or what I think are changes, and I just want to know about them. He removed the steering stabilizer and there were a few times this weekend I thought it would have been good to have. Any opinion on the removal? Any idea where to get one? The bar conversion was done, I really like it, but just wondering what brand it is and if I can get a throttle lock to fit it. Is this the original seat? It did well, but after about 2 hours, I needed to move around to get my butt to wake up. Not bad at all, just more an FYI question.

Good to see an Alfa fan, I got three, Milano Verde (75 3.0 America), GTV6, and a Spider Quadrifoglio, plus a Jeep Grand Wagoneer and the daily is a W124 300d, long term project is my first car, '70 Olds Cutlass Supreme Convertible (Dad bought for Mom in '73).

I think it is a complimentary motorcycle to my VFR's, more of a standard I can ride very sporting. I like that with the bar conversion makes it comfortable and slightly upright. I am putting the hard bags on it. I have always had a pull towards Italian machinery, I own a couple of Alfa Romeos, a few Lombardini diesel powered garden tractors and few Oleo Mac/Olympyk chainsaws. A few weeks ago I rode it around the block and enjoyed the engine and the maneuverability of it. When I picked it up I rode it a few miles and almost changed my mind about buying, the vibration was a bit much. But later in the day my buddy and I went riding, he lead me down a bunch of old roads I used to drive when I was a teenager growing up in the area, and after about 2 hours of riding I did not want to stop. The vibration was there, but did not bother me much, the engine won me over and it was comfortable and I found myself looking around instead of staring at the yellow and white lines on the road. Now I can't wait for Spring.

I picked up my first Guzzi the day after Christmas, and what do you know, I had a good afternoon of riding weather, it was a great first long ride!!! Really fell in love with it, just what I was looking for.