Guzzirider

My local dealer is flying to Mandello tomorrow to pick up a Breva 1100 and ride it home- it will then become his test model. Lucky bugger! Guy

It is great that the Breva 1100 is getting good reviews and is priced sensibly. It is not my cup of tea but if it sells well, and makes some profit for Moto Guzzi that will hopefully increase the chances of more new models being developed. Guy

It is good to have a little fear and be worried about breaking either yourself or your bike- that way you will ride that bit safer. Aside from taping up my lights, mirrors and indicators, I ride my bike as is- including luggage rack and techno pannier frames. Have fun! Guy

Bike magazine got 74 rwbhp out of a bog standard V11- of course to get a real comparison with a tweaked bike you need to test them back to back- I believe that there are examples of before and after comparisons on the Guzzitech website. The alloy Mistrals are a hell of a lot lighter than the standard cans on my Rosso Corsa, but as you say the difference may not be as much with the carbon fibre cans. Moto Corsa in Dorset have now got a V11 test bike with all the exhaust / intake mods including custom mapped PC111USB so riders of standard V11s can take it out for a spin and feel the difference. They will then naturally get out their credit card because they will want their own bike to be as good. Guy

For me, it is all down to the feel of the bike- you just get to love that V twin motor. If both you and the Guzzi hit it off, it will be the start of a long term relationship whereas many Jap bike owners tend to chop and change every year to upgrade to the next best thing. Whether you are just cruising, or thrashing the nuts off it, the motor feels alive. Simplicity is another virtue- it will take you 5 minutes to change both spark plugs on a Guzzi- my neighbour has just done the same job on a GSXR600 and it takes ages to strip off all the bits before you can even get access to the plugs. And as for performance? On paper the Jap missles are much faster, especially in a straight line but the reality is that a V11 is fast enough for road riding and the way it delivers it's torque (just over 70ft lbs on a good motor), means that Jap fours are shifting up and down the gearbox like crazy to try and hang on to your tail on twisty roads. Oh- and and you won't be adjusting your chain every month- just change the drive box oil every 6000 miles. Guy

Ben Just had a flick through Guzziology and Color Rite do not list for the V11 silver but Teo Lamers in Holland do- their code is 8973 9120 0838. http://www.tlm.nl/ Alex Thanks for the response- getting one sprayed and colour matched is no big problem- but I was seeking the easy solution and enquiring as to whether anyone stocked them in Burgundy to save me the hassle. It seems as if they are only made in the older colours- I personally would be happy with carbon fibre but Helen does not like carbon. She wants a Burgundy one- you know how girls are with colours! Guy

I have been ringing around the usual spares stockists to try and find a nose fairing for Helen's burgundy V11 Sport. Plenty of black, silver, green, carbon, fake carbon and unpainted versions available but no burgundy. Does anyone know where I can get one that is colour matched in burgundy? If not, I will get the unpainted one and get it sprayed but I want to save the hassle if I can. Cheers Guy

The main problem is that you can buy a brand new one for £16k (maybe less if you haggle) so £14k for one thats been raced a couple of times seems a bit steep. If the seller is patient, he may have more luck if he waited until all the new ones are sold and then his will be the only one available.

Well this ones still stuck- I think this is the third listing coming to an end and still no bids. If he removed the minimum bid and set a reserve around £12k I reckon he would get shot of it- but this may be below what he is willing to sell for of course. I can't see anyone paying £14k for it though. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...4545937951&rd=1 Guy

Nice film- those MVs look great in action.

You could always hire a transit sized van to transport both of your bikes- about £40 a day normally. I would volunteer to ride your MGS01 to the track but you would never see me or the bike again!!!! Guy

I can't blame you there KB- I will fit at least one day in I am sure. I really do hope to see some MGS01s out there in action on the Club track day- from Todd's write up, and the recent win in Italy, it sounds as if it is truly a good sports bike, not just simply an object of desire at bike shows. Guy

Seriously thinking of doing the Folly day at Cadwell- have been there a couple of times, but not yet on my V11 and not since they changed the bit before the Mountain, so I quite fancy that. Also thinking about Mallory- will depend if I can get the day off. Did you see they had 52 crashes there in total over the BSB weekend? Will you be going to either of these KB? Guy

Yes it would be interesting to see how fast an MGS01 is compared to a V11!

The popular catchphrase of the spotty kids who work in a very well known fast food chain is "I've Loved In It!" (very similar to the advertising jingle). I'll let you work out the rest. Guy

The Scottish Rally turned out once again to be a good bash on the Isle Of Bute. About 20 of us from the MGCGB Pennine Branch made the journey across the border to enjoy the usual riding, drinking, dancing and falling over. A fair few V11s there including Mal (with his friends from the Netherlands), Helen and myself. Nice Magni Sfida plus a few 4 valvers as well. Plenty of traditional Scottish rain too which forced us to spend Sunday afternoon in the clubhouse watching Rossi in the rain. A few pics:

I used to keep my 900SS in the living room over winter and use it instead of a tree at Christmas, decorating it tinsel and placing all the christmas presents around it. Shortly afterwards, I was divorced. Guy

A mate of mine has got a ticket- lucky bugger! If you ever get the chance, check out Creamed- a very decent tribute band- tickets normally less than a fiver!

The more bluer the better I reckon! Its one of those Guzzi things- when you see those blued downpipes you know the owner has enjoyed himself! Guy

Alex Firstly, if you want to see a decent varety of brackets take a look at http://www.ram-mount-uk.com/ There are a variety of pictures on site giving you some ideas as to what sort of bracket would be best. If in doubt, drop them an email- they are really helpful. With regards to the dyno run, you can find it on www.guzzitech.com. Regards Guy

Nice one Alex! On the subject of speedo accuracy, I held a speedo indicated 130mph on my V11 (209kph) for a couple of miles, and my GPS recorded 121mph (195kph) as my top speed. I was riding on a long uphill straight with my Techno bags on and I reckon I could get the speedo to indicate its maximum of 140mph (225kph) as I could feel there was more to come. Assuming the same margin of error, this would estimate the true top speed as being around 130mph, which is not too far off the 132mph max that my dyno run showed. I was riding on a private airfield I hasten to add!!! Guy

Autoglym motorcycle cleaner works brilliantly on tough grime- I have just returned the brake calipers on Helen's bike back to brand new condition after removing the deeply imbedded black grime that had stuck on. Available from Halfords- its strong stuff though so be careful to rinse thoroughly and don't leave it on the bike for too long. Guy

The helmets are an official Guzzi accesory so in theory you should be able to find a dealer in the States who can let you try one on. You do not see them very often in the showrooms in the UK. Guy

There is a theory called risk compensation thats basically says, the more safe and secure you feel, the faster you drive / ride and therefore the more likely you are to have an accident. When seatbelts were made compulsory for the first time in many countries, this theory was proved when accident rates actually went up. Probabaly also explains why so many Volvos get crashed because everyone thinks they are really safe to have a smash in. When I ride through town with my chinbar raised and my face exposed, I know that logically I am less safe than if I was wearing a full face helmet and I fully agree that the Roof Boxer is not as sturdy as an Arai full face. But that feeling of exposure sunconsciously makes me ride a little safer, and I get the fun of the wind on my face, hopefully some ultra violet rays and I can hear and see better, not to mention the odd fly going up in my nose! And yes I know my face would be a right mess if I headbutted a Volvo. I do wear a Quantum F for track days though as the Roof is not passed as safe by the ACU. Guy P.S. DeBenGuzzi- how does this grab ya? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...ssPageName=WDVW

I know from reading this forum Brian that you are a high mileage rider and it is a shame to see you part with your V11 but I can understand why. I am sure you will find that your R1 will be fine for high mileage use- round the world record breaker Nick Sanders uses one (albeit a freebie from Yamaha) and last time I saw his 2002 model, it had about 60000 miles on it. I believe he is off for a new attempt at the record next month- this time on the newer model R1. He will need the beat the existing world record of 19 days 8 hours and 25 minutes- over 19000 miles. Good luck on your new machine! Guy