Guzzirider

Here are a few pics of the campsite taken in early April this year when we were last there. Not very exciting pics but may give you a feel for the place.

I know everyone who attended the recent meeting in Sibbe really enjoyed themselves and had a great time. Helen and I are proposing to organise a meeting in the UK next year, possibly in New Galloway Scotland. This location is easy to reach from any ferries from the European mainland (Newcastle / Hull / Rosyth) and Ireland (Stranraer), and reasonably accessible for most visitors from the British mainland, being not too far over the Scottish border. The surrounding roads are very twisty, mainly set in quiet forests which are off the main tourist track so very little traffic. Easy access to the beautiful roads around the Scottish borders and Northumberland too. The place we are considering as a base is the Ken Bridge Hotel- which is in a remote location with hotel accomodation and its own campsite, set next to the beautiful River Ken. We have stayed there before and the landlord is very friendly (he is used to hosting bikers) and the food and ale are good. I will be visiting Ken Bridge next month (while I take my cafe racer to have her tank made at the Tank Shop) so I can talk to the landlord about hosting such an event, but from previous discussions I am sure he will be delighted. I can also get a idea on prices / any special deals etc. In the meantime, I am starting this thread to gauge potential interest for a meeting in April or May. Please add your name if you are interested. I'll start: Guy Helen

Glad you are in sill in one piece Slug!

Who cares? Its not a real bike anyway.

No photos of Slaves I am afraid Mark! They sort of kept their distance when they heard there were Guzzi riders on board- they had heard of our terrible reputation for eating cream teas and drinking earl grey, and I don't think they wanted any trouble.

Great result- it was Honda who originally wanted the change to the 800cc format and look what happened- they got their arses kicked!

I used to quite like the GS when it was a cult bike that everyone hated 'cos it was ugly. Now they are so bloody common if I see another one I am going to puke I saw yet another one on a breakdown truck this weekend- a GS owning mate tells me that they are not as reliable as the image makes them out to be. I saw one of those HP2 thingies at the weekend on the V11lemans.com anniversary ride out- now that looked a bit more interesting but I understand they are massively overpriced for what they are. Guy

I'm quite excited about the new motor, and I wonder whether it will appear in any other new models at the Milan bike show? A question for those with technical minds- does this motor have the potential to go into a higher state of tune for a production bike? For example, could Guzzi use it in a sportyish bike with more power and torque? Maybe something to rival the BMW 1200S? I'm sure that in reality the current 8V is grunty enough but I'm greedy. I like the looks of the Griso but the ergos don't suit me, so I hope it does end up in some alternative models. Guy

Mal, Helen and myself had a brilliant time- the venue was excellent- Paul and his family did a great job looking after us, and we really enjoyed the run out in the Eiffel mountains. We joined in the slow group but the speed was swift enough and as fast as I like to ride- thanks to our guides for a nice route. Was great to meet up with all the guys and gals from all over Europe- and admire all the nice bikes- no two bikes were the same, with lots of personalised machines. Bikes behaved reasonably- my V11 was running a bit rich and spang an oil leak from the alternator cover, Helen's timing cover dribble turned into a proper leak and Mal had some intermittent starting problems, but on the scale of things, not too bad, and they got us home. When we arrived at the ferry port we found 90 Satans Slaves were queuing in front of us- and they were with us on the way back too. If you are expecting tales of outlaw bikers rampaging across the boat biting heads off chickens and terrorising passengers you will be sorely disappointed- they just chilled out, drank beer and behaved impeccably. On the way back we stopped for lunch at Vlijmen to meet an old friend Conny who had sped down from the north on her SV650, and we enjoyed yet another uitsmijter in the sunshine. Our return ferry crossing was quite rough- but we were surprised to bump into Chris and Jane Jessop who were on their way back from the GMG. We got back home to find it absolutely freezing in England and had the usual busy journey dodging the lorries on the M62 Lets do it again in 2008! Thanks again to Jaap and Antonio- and not forgetting the anonymous benefactor from the USA who sent Jaap some money so he could buy us all a beer- cheers mate Now don't be shy- let us know who you are! A few pics:

Well done Gyles- some more cracking results!! Looking forward to supporting you again next year- and Chris if he has decided to race too! Regards Guy

Got back about an hour ago- had a fairly rough crossing, but thankfully my bike did not fall over onto the 2 Satan Slave's bikes that were parked next to me on the ferry! Great venue, great people, nice roads, beer and food- and I caught up on my sleep!! A big thank you to Jaap and Antonio for organising this! I'll post some pics later. Guy

I don't care what journalists think whether it be good or bad. The only person who can tell you whether a bike is good or bad is yourself, after a very long test ride. Guy

20 mins gone and the Argies are beating the French....long way to go.. Edit- stunning win by the Pumas- great defence in the second half standing toe to toe with the French stars! France are in big trouble now.

No its genuine. Its the famous mountain at Cadwell Park.

Nice Triumph too!

I think its neither- looks like one of the last batch of V11 Sports. Nice bike though.

Hi Van Canada are playing too if you wish to back your home team! There wont be any Lions there as such- the Lions are a combination of the best players from Britain & Ireland and only play on special tours every few years. Regards Guy

The motor looks a little differnt to the spy photo we were treated to the other day- wonder if that white bike is based on the original plastic mock up?

The Rugby Union World Cup kicks off in France on Friday- who do you think is going to win? I'd obviously love England to retain the trophy which they won in 2003, but our form has been appalling and we are only ranked number 7 in the world, and our start player Johnny Wilkinson is injured yet again. Will all our American forum members be glued to the TV on Saturday for the first game against England? Loads of info on Rugby World Cup Guy

Guzzi made a half arsed attempt to do the HD clothes things a few years back- remember all those "sign of the tribe" T shirts and the launch of the Guzzi World Club, their version of HOG. The Guzzi world club never really took off because it was so hard to join- you had to arrange a bank transfer to an account in Mandello, and some of the big existing Guzzi clubs did not want to affiliate. I assume it still exists- is anybody in it on this forum? The gear was not very good, and even if you wanted something, chances are your local dealer did not stock it. The thing is nobody buys a Guzzi for an image- unless you just want the "boring old fart" look! I just hope that they never necome over popular and hyped like the BMW GS- they are so bloody common and all the riders spend shedloads on gear and accessories trying to mimic Ewan and Charlie. Guy

Alex If it was not for the clanking noise I would say it may be clutch slip- happened to me when I used to own a Sport Corsa, and would give the symptoms you describe when trying to accelerate. Get underneath the back of the motor and take a really good look at the rear of the crankcase- can you see any small drops of oil leaking? If so, your seal may be leaking, and contaminating the dry clutch with oil, causing the slip. May not be this at all, but its easy to check. Hope you get it sorted Guy

Hi Gyles Early days yet! I've stripped off all the cruiser bodywork, pegs, airbox etc just to leave a rolling chassis and motor. I've fitted some huge K & N pods, and started to fit the rear sets, although these will need some bodging to get them to fit, as they are from a 1000S. I've left the big bars and centrestand on at the moment to help me move the thing around and work on it. I'm due to go up to Dumfries at the end of this month so that John at the Tank shop can measure up for the tank, seat unit, side panels and mudguards. Several people have warned me that he is slow, but also that his work is excellent, so I may have to be patient, even though he reckoned he could have it all done in a week. I need to start selling bits of Jackal now to help fund the project! Regards Guy

Ok, I think the helicopter wins but only just! Karl Harris, British Superbike Championship, Cadwell Park. I think some of the Moto GP prima donnas would crap themsleves if they had to race here!

Sounds ace! Mal and I could probably bore you senseless with our recommendations of where to visit! Guy

Another use for the wire- when my V11 fell on my knee the other day, I was able to gently pull the K and N pod back into shape (had a big knee shaped dent) using a pair of piers gripped around the wire. Guy