Guzzirider

A woman is lying in bed, when her husband marches into the bedroom carrying a sheep under his arm. He looks at her and says "This is the pig I have sex with when you have a headache". His wife frowns at him and says "Don't be so stupid- that is a sheep not a pig" He replies "I wasn't talking to you!"

Justa droppa da sump!

Bar height will be adjusted when I have finished- its easy to push it around with the bars like that. And yes Antonio- the Cali forks are 45mm Marzocchis which are being rebuilt by the same man who built the forks for the TT Tenni a few years back. Guy

What a exciting day- the World Cup is really warming up- two shocks in one day! I thought France were excellent- you can never write them off and they came back really well. I wonder how the other semis will go? I can't really see another shock with South Africa- they must beat Fiji. The Scots have a chance of upsetting the Argies maybe? Next Saturday Helen and I are are hosting a post wedding party for friends who could not make it to our ceremony (we only had a small bash) and I will have to find some way of watching the England V France which kicks off at 8pm. Can anyone suggest a suitable excuse for me sneaking out for an hour and half is there is no telly at the venue? Feel free to join us if anyone is in the area- Huddersfield Ukranian club at 7pm! Guy

You are not alone Jaap- the great thing is nobody really understands all the rules! Maybe this will help- some of the terms used are listed in links on the right hand side of the page Laws of the game Looking forward to the France V NZ game tonight- NZ hot favourites but the French can be special and they will have plenty of fans in Cardiff. I hope France win as I think England will front up better against them in the semis purely because they are French, and we will always want to beat them. Guy

Beginning to take shape- long way to go.

Its is actually very good fun- here are a few pictures that a friend took last February when we last camped in Dent- it was minus 5 degrees but that is ok if you are expecting it, and pack accordingly. It is a beautiful spot to watch the sun rise in the valley- and the farmer who lets us camp in his field makes a great breakfast! Guy

I find the best way to deal with the long winter is to keep rallying- then the season never seems to end. A few of us in our local bike club are camping in Dent, Cumbria on 1st December- the idea is that you get so drunk on the local ale which is called Kamikaze you don't get cold. We will probably go back in February too. Feel free to join us if you are brave. Guy

Hi Keith! Thanks for the advice. I will try the Pirellis as you suggest- I fancy something different to the usual BT45s I run and you have given some good feedback about the Sport Demons. I think you may have a point about the black rims- they look ace on the Ducati sport classics but I can see the local goriila at the tyre shop scratching the rims. I have used Keihan pipes before- when I used to run a 1000S as my daily transport (before I took a car test) I replaced the rusted originals with Keihans because they were well built with an excellent guarantee. At the time, they did not make rorty pipes- do they do throaty versions now? The Mistrals look good and have a nice bark to them. I am probably going to leave the battery and electrics in situ- to save hassle and to keep them out of the elements. With the forks, I will take them to Maxton and they will build them to spec based upon my weight and riding style- they did a fantastic job on the forks from Helen's V11 so I am happy to use them again. They are used to converting low spec classic style forks- basically they throw away all the internals and fit new cartridges, springs, adjuster etc. The forks are 45mm Marzocchis and look quite butch and chunky and I trust Maxton to make 'em work better. They are in Cheshire so only about 80 mins drive away. I chose to use the Jackal as a base for a Tonti cafe racer as it was cheap (I bought it back from my Mum's husband for around £2500) and most of the ingredients were already there- most importantly the frame inc braced swinging arm, punchy 1100 motor and modern brakes and suspension. I guess you could use any Tonti but may have to throw a bit of cash at an 850 if you want a fastish one. round barrels would look nicer though. I think the LMIV is a bargain- nobody wants one and they are quite cheap- about £1500 for a decent one. The LMIV / V has big valves, 40mm Dellortos which help it chuck out a reasonable amount of power and torque. I think the 1000S is overpriced- many are over £3000 because they look nice. I think framewise, the LMIV / V have a slightly different frame with upswept rear upper frame to go with the swoopy seat. The 1000S has the more tradional flatter rear upper rails to go with the flat classic seat. Probably best to start a new thread 'cos I am sure there is plenty more knowledge out there! Guy

Been doing a bit more fiddling- the Tarozzi adjustable high rise clip ons arrived the other day from Disco Volante- I whipped off the front wheel, dropped the forks and fitted them under the yokes. I am really glad I bought these as you can adjust the riding position from full on racer to high bar touring. Now that I have taken off the big handlebars and risers, she is now beginning to look like a cafe racer. I think I may have twisted a fork around in the yoke when I had my spill in Scotland because the bike feels much straighter now when I push it out of the garage ever since I fitted the clip ons. Wobbling the forks about must have fixed it. I was going to take her up in a van to Dumfries to the tank shop but the proprietor John has very kindly arranged to pick her up as he is driving within 50 miles of here at the weekend- what a nice guy! He will then have the bike for a while so he can fabricate a long classic styled 24 litre alloy tank, triangular side panels, shorty mudguards and a humped seat. In the meantime, I have bought some used Le Mans V lower frame rails to make finishing fitting the Tarozzi rear sets much easier- I will leave this job until the end so I don't have to whip off the centrestand because this makes the bike easier to work on. When I get the bike back from the Tank Shop, the forks will be delivered to Maxton to be rebuilt to fast road / race spec and the wheels to Central Wheel components to have new alloy rims fitted (powder coated in black with stainless spokes) including a larger 18" rear to replace the cruiser style 17". I will then need to put it all back together, sort out the electrics, cables, instruments and lighting- I am tempted to get a mate who is an electrical engineer to help me because I want a proper job rather than my usual bodging. I need to borrow a mate's upswept Mistrals from his 1000S to see if they fit, and if they do I will buy a set from Agostinis. Once the rear sets have been finished, it will be a case of seeing how she rides and making necessary adjustments- my gut feeling is that she will be a beauty- I have just been sitting on her in the garage and she already feels so right- and the increased rear ride height, top suspension, reduced weight, lighter wheels and revised riding position should make her steer sweet as a nut I reckon. Too dark for any pics- will take some at the weekend before she is shipped off to the Tank shop. Guy

He's a hard man, Søren, he races a Daytona!

Great stuff Gyles- you really are a hero for wrestling that fat motherlover of a Guzzi around those tracks and getting great results. Looking forward to supporting you next year. Regards Guy P.S. Is Chris going to enter next year?

You will be most welcome Gyles!

Well I'm up for it David- and am happy to trust your local knowledge when it comes to great roads and nice countryside As you know, I am a regular visitor so could combine it with a trip to the relatives. How about a date in late summer to combine with one of the smaller road races rather than the NW200? Guy

Room update- just 2 family rooms (each sleep 3) and 1 single room left. Guy

Just spoke with Dave at Ken Bridge- rooms are getting booked up fast so I would reserve asap if you want to stay in the hotel. He also mentioned that several rooms have been booked in single names- if you have already booked a double or family room in just your name, it may be an idea to put a post on here so you can find a buddy to share with you. Please let the hotel know who will be the other person. For anybody who has yet to book, please try and find someone to share with before making your reservation. Hope this makes sense! Campers don't need to book. Cheers Guy

There is a true air of quality about the current guzzi range- they look very well finished. That euro friendly silencer on the Griso has to go though.

Sounds like an ace trip Bertie! did you make it to Mandello?

Great pic Gyles! And congrats on winning Rookie Of The Year!

Well its been an interesting weekend- Fiji playing out of their skins and showing lots of attacking flair in beating the Welsh, and Ireland getting beaten by a strong Argentinian side. Quarter finals are as follows: Australia V England New Zealand V France South Africa V Fiji Argentina V Scotland England have slightly improved since the South Africa game, but will be huge underdogs against the Aussies who will be super confident of getting revenge for their 2003 defeat. I would not give England any hope at all if it was not for big mouthed ex-Aussie winger David Campezi who has been shooting his mouth off big time again, slagging off England- he really knows how to motivate the opposition! Best game to watch may be NZ V France. Form book says that Australia, NZ, SA and Argentina will be in the semis- but who knows what will happen Guy

Hi Freya! Was good to meet you in Sibbe the other day- hope you can make it to Scotland next year. Regards Guy

I remember Guzzi used to use a photo of a bike parked in front of a biplane with the pilot's goggles hanging off the handlebars for its 1000SE advertising campaign in the early '90s. They definitely wanted to make everyone think about the Guzzi / classic plane connection. When I lived in Hampshire I sometimes went to the Goodwood circuit which also used to be a Spitfire base during WW2. In between the racing, there would often be displays by the Spits, making an awesome spine-tingling roar as they took off just a few feet above your head. Sounded even better at full chat- I defy anyone with red blood in their veins not to be thrilled by the sound of a Spitfire being thrashed!

Ok- good news- I have today spoken with Dave Paterson who is the hotel landlord and have arranged for us to have our meeting there on the 16/17/18 May. There are 8 rooms left which will sleep 18 persons as follows: 4 x twin / doubles 3 x family rooms which sleep 3 1 x single room Dave is holding the rooms for us, so what I suggest is that if you wish to book a room, you buddy up with a friend(s) first, then give him a call directly and make a reservation quoting "Guzzi" group. If you buddy up first before booking, this will save the large rooms going to a single person. There is an email address too on the website if you wish to save the price of a phone call, but phoning may be easier if you don't mind. The sooner you do this the better, I would suggest, as interest for this event is high. The room rates on are the Ken Bridge website and if you book soon you will pay the 2007 rate before the price goes up. I forgot to ask him whether campers need to book, but previously we always have done, so I recommend you give him a call and make a reservation to be sure. One final thing- Dave said there may be a Ceilidh (a traditional Scottish dancing night) while we are there so please bring your dancing shoes! Please PM me if you have any questions but for bookings please do this direct with the hotel- sooner the better! Regards Guy P.S. I think Jaap is in for one hell of a birthday!

Great stuff- I've just been chatting to Mal in the pub and he's up for it too. So provisionally, we have so far: Guy Helen Gary Ewan Søren Jaap BFG Klaus Pille Mal Would it help if we tried to set an exact date soon? I know many of us lead busy lives so maybe sooner the better. How does 16/17/18th May 2008 sound? If there is a general concensus I will phone the landlord and see if we can get something booked. Cheers Guy