Guzzirider

I had an indicated 140mph uphill on the autobahn which turned out to be 129mph on the GPS. My V11 maxxed out at 141mph on the dyno. With regards to this 1200 Sport, it looks tidy enough but I am not going to swap my sexy V11 for one. Forks look cheap, and the wavy discs chavvy. Bet the motor is strangled to buggery to make it Euro 3 compliant. If it is to sell well, Guzzi need to price it correctly and not pretend its something that it isn't i.e. a sports bike. It is a basic roadster. If this is the "sports" bike that the factory insiders have been allegedly talking about, then many will be disappointed. Guy

I notice that dealers are already advertising discounts on the Norge- you can now buy one for £500 more than a Breva 1100ABS. Not exactly flying out of the showrooms like the Breva did when it was launched. Guy

A couple of pics taken at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham last winter: Barry Sheene's last race bike. I had the pleasure of watching him racing a Manx at the Goodwood Revival a few years back. He still had a lot of talent and won one of the races. Steve Cull's Norton rotary racer. I remember watching these totally dominate at a British Superbike round at Thruxton- they probably had about 15mph top end advantage over the exotic Jap racers (RC30s, OW01s etc) and just breezed past them on the straights. A couple of old blokes bolting a dustbin onto a bike in a shed, then beating the might of HRC (with a bit of help from a sympathetic rulebook!). I must say that the road version of the F1 looks awful though.

Guzzirider

My current favourites (ok I am biased)

A few contenders:

Yes I can imagine its not too much fun being in the front line on a Friday night! As usual, its the minority of idiots spoiling things for everyone else. I was brought up in Winchester, which is an affluent town. But with 60 pubs in the small town centre, an army garrison, and plenty of farm boys coming in from outlying villages, there were literally pitched battles outside the Guildhall often on a weekend night. Since I have moved to rough and ready Huddersfield which is much more working class, I am yet to see a pub fight in the 5 years I have lived here. Although someone was shot in a pub half a mile away on Sunday night so its not all good. Guy

Just been out on the usual Friday night pub crawl round town, combined with take away and taxi. I'm pretty well travelled and have enjoyed my time abroad, but I can't helpbut reflect how lucky we are in England with our pub culture. Here's a toast to all things English!

Glad you are still in one piece. 50mph is one hell of speed to crash at! Guy

The first service on my Ducati S4Rs was £189. Guzzi dealers are charging around £240 for the first service on a Norge. Which one is the more complicated motor? The new generation Ducatis are more maintenance friendly than their predecessors. Guy

Is that a Big Mac?

Jason at Motostrada is excellent- really committed to the marque. He has done all my warranty claims with no quibble whatsoever (including a warped disc!). Guy

Its a spy photo of the new Guzzi sports bike soon to be revelaed in Milan. No expense has been spared in developing this cutting edge sports bike, which will be able to compete on the race track with modern tackle such as MZ ETZ250s and Honda CX500s. Prepare to be awed.

If I only rode a bike when the weather was fine I'd only do about 3000 miles a year- what a waste!

I'm doing some work to my Guzzi so have been riding my Ducati to work every day whatever the weather- its filthy but I am having a hoot!! Guy

I guess the dyno can't be blamed- it would have happened on the street eventually anyway. The motors on our V11s seem to be pretty tough in general- engine failures are probably the least reported fault on this forum. I have banged mine against the redline countless times on the road, track, drag strip and on hill climbs. It has also done 3 dyno runs with no issues. Guy

Magician...

I love that bike hoist! You can always count on a Guzzi rider for a clever solution! Guy

For sure- I will keep an eye on the trackday calendars for next spring. I am a bit healthier now and will enjoy it even more. I am sure Mal will be up for it again, and with enough notice maybe some other forum members will be wanting to join in. Guy

The bike looks ok and from the photo, quite well finished but I am sure most V11s owners will be clever enough to wait to see what it is really like before swapping their current steed. 105bhp? Bollocks more like. Guy

More cushin' for the pushin'!!!

Nice one Keith! Do you fancy taking your Tonti to Angelsey next spring? Guy

Ciao Franco! Benvenuto da un altro proprietario di Rosso Corsa! Guy

Done the deed today- was pretty easy. I bought a used BMW R850R headlight which is identical to the Bosch V11 Sport unit but completely chrome rather than half plastic, half chrome. Took about 2 hours in total to do the conversion- had to put the Le Mans headlight connectors inside the BMW unit and I have used V11 Sport headlight brackets which fitted perfectly. Only problem is that the bottom of the LM fairing has rubbed some paint off the Ohlins, which is now exposed. Now need to give it a good clean and polish, and nip down to my local bike shop to buy some indicators. Will use the same sort of Motrax bar end mirrors that I have fitted to my Ducati then I will be sorted. Guy