Guzzirider

Your rallies seem a lot more sensible than the European equivalent, where fireside chats normally involve talking complete drunken bollocks!

Been using them for years no problems whatsoever.

No way. I have watched it several times and his foot was very clearly in the air when the ball was grounded and his knee was ok. No doubt about that whatsoever- the beauty of recording it on sky plus! No point in dwelling on it though- its over.

What a tense close game- South Africa win- and congratulations they are worthy champions. England go out heads held high- we were the only team to cross the game line which the video ref inexplicably disallowed- but its all over and South Africa were the best team. Till next time! Guy

Not long now until the next EICMA- may be a bit more interesting this year- Stelvio and Griso with 4v motors- updated Breva with 1200 motor (ok not that interesting!). Will there be a surprise bike launched in addition to the machines we already know about? Another wooden mock up maybe?

Hmmm I don't think either of our 2 nations are that popular around the world these days for various reasons!

Interesting- looks like the 4V motor, radial brakes and I would guess a low seat height option, looking at how the rider's seat does not blend exactly with the pillion. Bodywork looks pre-production- I am sure it will look smarter when finished. I'm not sure if it just the camera angle but the Stlevio looks a fair bit sleeker than a GS. Contrary to some of the doom and gloom merchants, I have a good feeling about this bike- now that it has the 4v motor I think it will be more powerful, reliable and less vibey than the 1200GS. Guy

There is a wealth of bracketry and fasteners involved- and I'm not sure if you would get the full benefit of the fairing's protection if you were riding in the more upright Coppa Italia riding position with the big handlebars. I personally did not like the look of the Le Mans fairing and took mine off but am keeping it in case I ever need to sell the bike and revert it to standard. It does work quite well but is butt ugly IMHO but everyone's tastes are different- and mine are weirder than most! When I converted my Le Mans into a naked sport, I fitted a Ducati Performance carbon nose cone which is quite tall and wide and gives an acceptable level of protection from the elements- but I can take it off in 5 minutes to make her naked again. Good luck with the conversion but you may have have a tough job in finding a Le Mans fairing and all the other associated bracketry. Guy

Well the answer to original question posed in this thread will be answered tonight! Its not looking good for England I think- they've beaten Australia and France but I think the Springboks will be ready and not take them too lightly like the other teams did. Win or lose, I just hope its a closer game than last time when the Boks thrashed England- thankfully I was in Sibbe and missed it (was it that long ago?). Paris is being flooded with tens of thousands of English fans and the chunnel is fully booked and has made a profit for once! One thing is for sure- our forwards will give the South Africans a bloody hard time whatever the result!

The FBFs are made by Wiseco as well.

Ferraris used to look good before they started getting caked in sponsors stickers.

I can understand the lust for one of these things- BMWs are for squares who iron creases in the front of their jeans!

Yes- wll make a very positive improvement to your mid range but they like good (high octane) fuel- not a problem in the UK. check out the price at FBF in Italy- may be cheaper than the USA- the iItalians are happy to haggle and give you a discount. Guy

Thanks again Orson- yet another great trip! Jealous as ever!

Try either Corsa Italiana or Motomecca Teo Lamers in the Netherlands will deliver as fast as any English firm, and Agostinis in Italy are also pretty quick and only 5 mins walk from the factory. It's good to have a few choices because between them they normally have what you want in stock. If you have the part numbers, you can check on TLMs website to see if it is stock. Guy

An estimated 40,000 English fans have travelled to Paris- should be one hell of a piss up, win or lose! Guy

Cheers matey! I can Gyles's point- someone else's expensive bike which is a lot lighter and with an extra 45bhp then probably best not to go too mental on the mountain! It is great fun though- and the fact you are turning at the same time is ace. P.S. I tried to hang on to Gyles's tail around the circuit while he was on the MGS- once he warmed the tyres up he just disappeared into the distance!

My local dealer got 2 recently- he says Guzzi build them to order in batches of 10. Still plenty around new so no need to pay through the nose for a used bike. Guy

Thanks Bob I've actually settled on "I don't really give a toss about being sociable so who's going to join me in the bar and watch England get beaten by France?" Guy

You are quite right Antonio in as much as I need to think carefully before wading in with any more mods- I'll have a chat with a respected tuner before I go any further- but in the meantime I am concentrating on converting the Jackal so that takes up all my time and cash.

Still on the "to do" list Richard! Have spazzed too much money on other projects but will get there one day! Have got the valves still in a box in my garage and will get round to it eventually. I've now done over 10,000 miles on the FBF pistons and they are just fine. Guy

Sad News- RIP Norick