ferguzzi

Why on the left I wonder?

Just got home and checked the bike. BOTH eagles are pointing backwards! Damn you Jaap!! So, either: 1......I admit I’m an idiot and take off the decals and fit two more, or: 2......embrace the difference like the true maverick I am and bask in my bike’s individuality. I think I’ll sleep on it, I’m a little jetlagged...

It does on the left side, smartarse!! Anyway, I like looking backwards, it’s the fighter pilot in me....”check six”, and all that....

I found MCS to be really good to deal with. It’s a smallish 4-5 man operation in a boatyard, and they had several interesting projects on the go when I dropped in to pick up the tank. Various car and bike parts. Lee is the man I dealt with. Very professional, and honest. I got the polished alloy, it’s lovely, but I’ll never stop polishing it because the sheen isn’t mirror-like(like that v7 tank?), but it still looks great. he has an old external fuel pump tank in the workshop so he got the dimensions from that. The fit isn’t exactly perfect, but almost, and took a little fiddling to fit, but I’m happy. i think he would have painted it, but I specifically wanted the polished tank, which cost a little more. cost probably varies, but expect about £1100 plus delivery. I didn’t haggle. It’s much lighter then the original, and does give a more individual “cafe racer” look. The pork chops are the only things that didn’t get painted, the nuts were a bastard to loosen, and there’s still one I haven’t gotten to,I think I’ll get a local engineer to loosen it for me, then I’ll paint them. Another winter project. I quite like that the colour doesn’t match anything else, but there was too much variation in the other colours on the bike for my liking, so I’ve simplified it a bit. You’d need to compare with another tenni to see what I’ve done. I’ve owned this thing since new, it’s got 26000 miles on it, and has let me down more times then I care to remember. ( pawl spring, exploding clutch, regulator failure etc.). I’m actually in the middle of writing an article for the UK Guzzi club magazine describing some of my adventures...I’m a long haul airline pilot so have a lot of spare time on my own at the moment. I’m still flying, but get locked in to my hotel room for the duration of my time abroad now. I’m writing this from an airport hotel room in Johannesburg..... The thing is, even though I have a few other lovely bikes, there still isn’t anything out there that has the V11’s combination of all day comfort, speed, and, I suppose, style, that I’d replace it with. So I didn’t feel too guilty about spending some cash to revitalise the bike a bit.

Thanks for all this, I’m still a bit in the dark to be honest. it might be only a coincidence, but I don’t really get why painting the engine casing and a few other bits would suddenly trigger the fuse to melt. Twice. the fuse holder is now damaged beyond repair where the 30a fuse is held so I’ll have to separate the 30a fuse away from the original holder. I like the CB idea, but probably won’t be able to get hold of one. (I fly 787s, and we don’t even have access to them in the cockpit anymore!) I thought maybe I’d find a damaged or disconnected wire somewhere due to my clumsiness, but nothing obvious so far. may be time to call in a professional.....

Maybe a little better...

This might be a little better...

I’ve spent most of the winter and following lockdown giving the Tenni some love. I met a fellow Tennisti in St. Louis on a trans America trip in 2018(Iwas on a triumph)and his bike put mine to shame.A mixture of shit Irish weather, bad Italian paint, ethanol and me being lazy meant it was starting to look sad. The tank was suffering from severe measles, so that was the start, and it grew from there. I had one built by MCS in brightlingsea, UK, took about 5 months, not bad considering Covid had just hit. I had various bits of plastic repainted by a pro, the Tenni paint came from Holland(rocking horse poop). I powder coated wheels, triple tree, cylinder and alternator covers and a few other bits. Taking the wheels apart was the hardest bit, all nuts and bolts had turned to cheese, so a local engineer used his box of tricks to help. Apart from a small electrical problem (see technical topics, “thirty amp fuse failure), she rides exactly the same. she just looks better. Here’s to another 20 years!

So I spent the winter and spring doing up the tenni as it needed some TLC. I didn't touch electrics, it was mostly painting and fitting stainless where ever I could. I also fitted a new alloy tank. Amazingly, it all worked when I stuck it all back together again, but the 30amp fuse has melted. Twice. Never done this before. So, all things being equal, I’ve done something wrong. I though maybe I had painted over the ground behind the seat release keyhole, but it’s clean. from what I’ve read above there’s a ground from the alternator via the regulator to the battery? Or did I get that wrong? Where would it be attached to? any other thoughts? electrics aren’t really my thing.....

I got 147 mph indicated on the final straight at Nurburgring. That’s apparently 137 true, or 220kph. ish.

No issues with Ohio, it’s just I’ve been there before! I rode across the states back in the nineties, and have rented a few bikes since then on a few short trips, so I’m childishly ticking off the states I haven’t been to yet. It’s down to 5 now, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, Alaska and Hawaii. Not too bothered about the last two, to be honest.

Hmmm. Maybe my camera was upside down. Or I was drunk.

Canadian Rockies...

Dakota badlands...

No guesses where this is....

So, trips over and I’m home in Ireland again. 7800 miles in 17 days, 23 states 2 countries. Longest day was 530 miles. The bike ate both tyres, developed a fuel leak from one of the carbs towards the end, but otherwise performed perfectly. It’s an imperfect bike, the fairing isn’t very aerodynamic, so wind turbulence and noise was a factor,so I’m going to have to reconsider a better screen (and better earplugs). It now lives in Vancouver,which I visit every year so, Oregon, Montana etc will be in it’s future sometime. Highlights were the roads in Virginia, Tennessee, the scenery in South Dakota and crossing the Rockies in to British Columbia. The lowlights we’re coming off the bike in a thunderstorm in Virginia (hurt pride more then anything), and riding at a constant angle because of the crosswinds in the prairies.(now I see the reason for a Harley). Not a single boring day, from the cold in Manitoba to the 96 degree heat in Kansas, there was always something new. And I ate my body weight in barbecue.... Back to real life now, I’ll post a few photos,as soon as I figure out how!

Not bad, it’s quiet and rural, the town’s nothing special. But when I’m visiting it’s a holiday, so beers and g+t’s can cheer anything up!

All good ideas, I was thinking the ice fields towards the end of the trip. I guess it’ll depend at that stage on time available. The in laws live outside Duncan. I keep a ‘65 corvair there when I’m visiting, but I wouldn’t trust it for any longer trips, like Oregon or Montana. Should be fun on a bike though!

Actually, the states I mentioned are pretty much where I’m going! I’ve ridden across the US before, and covered about 30 states. So I’ve done the carolinas, Deep South, and across to California. I know Montana and Wyoming are a real treat, but I’ll concentrate on them next year hopefully, on another trip. The bike will live with my wife’s family on Vancouver island, so I have scope for lots of trips over the next few years like Oregon, Yukon ,maybe even Alaska. So this trip is really about the states that wouldn’t normally get a foreign rider excited? I mean, I’m sure Nebraska is lovely, but, um, I know nothing about it! The same goes for Kansas, Arkansas etc., so the ozarks sound interesting, as does Tennessee. Actually, it all does. There’s something really enjoyable about completely zoning out and riding for hours through a prairie. You don’t get them in this part of the world, and anything different is enjoyable, within reason. Baseball destinations I think I’ll give a miss....! I am a big history fan, but I doubt there’ll be much civil war stuff the further west I go. I was thinking more Native American history like wounded knee, and little big horn(which has a big Irish connection). Of course in 3 weeks, there’ll be a lot of 500 mile days, and inevitably lots of things missed. Lots of great suggestions though, thanks guys!

Hey folks, I’ve managed to get 3 weeks leave in June, and I’ve bought a bike in New Hampshire and am going to ride it to Vancouver, where the in laws live. It ain’t a Guzzi. Dammit, but the griso doesn’t come with a fairing, and I know a Norge or Stelvio would make more sense, but they just don’t light my fire. So I got a pristine 1995 triumph sprint. Now, I live in Ireland, but have ridden a lot in the states, so this is kind of a bucket list of states I haven’t seen, before I cross the border, in North Dakota, to Canada. New England I’ll pretty much do in a day. I’m going to head south after that. I was thinking Ohio, Kentucky,Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas , Nebraska, then the Dakotas. I know the Dakotas will be spectacular, it’s the other states I don’t know much about. So..... Any roads I really shouldn’t miss? Or bar/restaurant/place that I’d be just stoopid not to visit? I know it’s a big question, but hey, it’s raining outside, and I’d feel silly if I didn’t ask....

Oh, for the love of God! This f**king starter issue is really getting on my tits. I was planning on doing a write up on how I fixed mine, but it's still not sorted. New starter, new regulator, new fuses, new relays, wiring bypassed from the relays to various parts, all the usual bits checked for corrosion etc. It still won't start every time. Next up is to bypass the clutch and side stand cutout lines. I've fixed/ replaced everything else at this stage, so how many other things can it be???? Pissed off in Ireland....

Well, it's not that I used the wrong relays, then. Weird that the fuse would blow only when I replaced them all though. Weird too that the battery is suddenly flat. It's been flat twice in 2 years with all the charging issues, so it's not inconceivable that it would die now. It just seems a bit of a coincidence!

So these issues are still on going. I thought it was sorted, but it seems not. I left the bike at a good dealer, and basically gave them permission to do whatever. So wires were replaced, as was the charger/rectifier. I rode it once, no problem, left it a week, and tried to start it up, and no tacho or battery light. It started ok, but it wasn't charging obviously. So I replaced one relay(the second one), and everything works fine. That was 3 weeks ago, I've since ordered the recommended ombon(?) relays, and just fitted the them. I presume I can replace all 5 relays with the same model of relay? 2 things happened. The 15 amp fuse blew( the starter fuse), and I then noticed the (2 year old)battery was flat as a pancake. Any thoughts?