PJPR01

Let's hope he doesn't crash out inadvertently!

One of their best!! Every time I ride thru La Grange…mysteriously I’m listening to ZZ TOP!! How does that happen!

Excellent plan John...hope you can make it! Riding the Greenie? Was just thru Lockhart a few weeks ago on the Tour of Texas coming back from Bandera of course, had to stop at Blacks! Mandatory stop in Lockhart as one of the stops was the Grand Courthouse just a few blocks away.

I've been lucky over the years I've gone 5 or 6 times, I just show up and buy a ticket at the box office when I get there. If you ride a motorcycle, parking is also free! In prior years I've had seats in the Grandstand, Turn 1, Turn 15/16 and general admission. Very rarely does it sell out completely so it's more how much you want to spend. Although it's a hike to get to the top of the hill ( you get your cardio activity in), Turn 1 is fantastic to see the long stretch and then tight bunching around the almost 140 degree turn. Turn 15/16 is great to see the backstretch at full speed, full braking and lots of turns with the bikes fully inclined over. One year I went with my wife and son and bought tickets in advance on Turn 15/16, so we could guarantee a seat since it was their first time. If you go by all means pay a few bucks and ride to the top of the Red Tower...it's an amazing view from the top!

I'm planning to go to COTA on Sunday morning for the race...my annual tradition to ride up on the bike early morning and enjoy the day. Nice easy 2.5 hour ride, see some great racing, look at demo bikes and ride home. As long as the weather holds as it is now, it should be a spectacular day to be at the races again. I think there will be some bumping and grinding, maybe a crash or two...but no doubt the King of Cota is favored again!

The Griso is a more acquired taste riding wise. Styling wise, it's a beauty, but it took me a while to "bond" with the bike, after doing the right ergonomic modifications, it became a wonderful fit. The Scura, straight out of the gate, both stylistically and ergonomically was perfect.

That's a nice piece of jewelry! Only 105 Octane should pass thru that gate into the Greenie...anything less is not worthy!

A little minor maintenance…decided to install new ignition coils…had them in the box for a year now…and since the tank was off…might as well. No difference vs the originals so that’s actually good! Ran a wire for my TomTom under the airbox to the battery since I had the tank off, I had an extra mount so now fully wired. Resealed the fuel sender unit at the tank with some Hylomar blue…no more leaks ( last leak was two years ago)…had some very minor drips over the last couple of weeks. Did a valve adjustment…a lot quieter…would like it quieter still but will run as is for now. Bike running beautifully…out for a ride with friend today…lent him my Griso.

Excellent…well if we’re in town when you come thru, let me know and hopefully P6X and I can meet you nearby for a quick get together. If you need any help in the Houston area let us know!

Most excellent!! That makes 3 of us then on the board doing the Tour. If you're near Houston anytime, send up a flare and we can have a small Spine Raid reunion at Classic Rock in Navasota and pick up that stop for you! My flag is 108 this year - 13 stops done so far on the weekend of the flag pickup, hopefully another 3 this weekend and another 5 or so next week. P6X and I picked up our flags in Bandera...did you make it there also or just got it in the mail now?

Yes....it's in Datil/Pie Town area, usually in August. There are a few folks in Arizona and Texas who go there occasionally. Matt Forslund I believe is still the guy who runs it...I think he's still the New Mexico rep. Will have to see if there's a link somewhere on the other Guzzi forums. It should also be posted on the MGNOC events page...

Yup...a 10mm wrench!

That's cool Phil...similar experiences in a different part of the world! The front hood of my vehicle had a slight wrinkle in it that my Dad had hammered out (not perfect, but good enough!) I can't even recall the hundreds of hours spent on maintaining and modifying the 122S. Upgrades from IPD here in the states, a short shifter, some added guages, upgraded needles in the SU Carbs, rebuilt the gearbox with new bearings and synchros, new clutch, new shocks and springs all around, and then a fabulous stereo system installed with 4 6X9 speakers and an equalizer and special wood cabinet panels built in the rear area to replace the soft carpet like panels...plus so many other fun little items. Mine was the original Pearl White, I had painted it a lovely burgundy, blacked out grills/rings around the headlights...upgraded FIAMM horns hiding behind the grills. Geez...far too many hours and $'s spent...but for a 16 year old it was decent but not fast transportation, and lasted me until my mid 20's. I used to drive it every trimester up and down the California coast from Palo Alto to San Diego (500 miles each way). One memorable event, the engine blew coming over the Grapevine north of Los Angeles with oil scattered all over the engine compartment, and I had to nurse it the remaining 100 miles to San Diego by adding a quart of oil every 20 miles and driving it only about 25-30 mph the whole way...a long and tortuous return to school. Found a guy in San Diego to help me rebuild the engine, and it lasted for another 100K running as smooth as silk. I think I put close to 150K in total miles over that time...was glad to finally upgrade to an Audi 4000S...but it served faithfully for all of those years.

We were just a bit after you in the line up. My Dad had a 66,67,68 122S station wagon all at the same time. He loved Volvo’s and had a friend with a Saab dealership. I learned to drive on these Volvos as a kid and had the 68 model until my mid 20’s! Rebuilt them completely at times as needed. We later added a 73 145 that my dad bought from the factory in Goteborg and brought it back home to California. Years later my Mom bought a 1982 245 DL. All 5 station wagons and all 5 stick shift. They were slow but reliable and super easy to work on and roomy. The newer ones are reasonably stylish but never enough to want to buy another one.

Suggest adding one of these to your battery, and letting the lead out so you don't have to take the seat off each time. Connect to battery charger and you're good to go....no need to disconnect anything. I've got these installed on all of the bikes...no issues at all. It also has an inline fuse as protection. https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-081-0069-6-Terminal-Disconnect/dp/B000NCOKZQ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1C5NN0XIEKJ67&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.1kw7eVxyyt_fzzhpk3OpY72ATHCOib0l_xY4nsMR0gjCuhAAcZkWs4hCAVzqkdCEC_TwD7NETK4UyHC2vlAexvPZiEUtQi1-Gg7lUB2SfmaUIT9D_Dh24tZpHiEUJSrdRwKYrBZjev7Sd-aaGS4NSClHT3DxORHUDvx8v5sDGrD3atzaiVrlxWMJ3hP_K3l7QfMlg-pKrgdXgv6AotrKvtzfjVG4iNgspN3qYVUDWjQ.m3HNzRijFvkQVYGMAkhTlcvDSTRu1Q7DBzQ1318oLkw&dib_tag=se&keywords=battery%2Btender%2Blead&qid=1740276627&sprefix=battery%2Btender%2Blead%2Caps%2C183&sr=8-1&th=1

Wow…no love for the Scura…now we know more about Docc’s tastes!!

Pizza - not so hard to say...one wonders why Guzzi is such a challenge? Peetsah Gootsee Phonetics are not so difficult I imagine...just requires a bit of awareness!

I love my 2008 2V Norge, have had it since new, and it's a spectacular machine. I also love my 2015 4V/8V Griso, also had it since practically new with just a few hundred miles on it. Both are outstanding bikes. Mileage wise...I get about 40-42 mpg on the Norge consistently and 42 MPG on the Griso, although having recently put on a Termignoni pipe, for some reason I'm now getting 45 mpg...not sure why yet...but it sounds great, and getting better MPG...why should I complain? Both bikes are set up for touring with side bags, tank bag and rear bag/case. Both are running Beetle maps and are properly tuned with Guzzidiag and regular maintenance which is spectacularly easy to do. If I had to describe the difference, I would say the 2V engine has to work just a bit harder at higher speeds, but is an all day bike and loves to run, never gets tired, it does like higher octane gas or preferably ethanol free or Top Tier gas. The 8V engine has gobs of spare power, lopes along very easily so you're never really using all of its capability. The "sweet spot" on the 2V engine is around 4k rpm, the sweet spot on the Griso is 5K and above. Norges are spectacular touring bikes...you will need to customize it a bit with the proper windscreen, seat, possibly Helibar risers on the earlier models, maybe lowered foot pegs (not too low or it will bump into the side stand). Both models are keepers, if you're truly interested in a Norge, and you're reasonably mechanically inclined, it would depend more on the quality of the bike cosmetically and mechanically that would make the difference in buying between the 2V or 4V models, but I do give the 4V a slight edge in terms of performance. Prices are very reasonable on both models. Range wise...the Norge easily gets 220 on a tank...one time I stretched it to about 240...I was on fumes by then. The Griso I believe has a gallon less, so 160-180 is probably realistic...I usually tank up around 150...have never pushed it to the limit completely. Either way, by then I'm ready for a stretch!

That's quite funny! Well...a British Flat = A European/American Apartment...I can see why the Translation engine didn't quite work as planned. The Orange Bomber/Beemer looks great...would love to drive one and see how it sounds. A friend at work has one of the limited edition or anniversary edition R9T's...lovely bike....it's a pity it's only used as a commuter bike, never for longer rides. Maybe we'll see one of these Orange BMW's around town...next week is a Guzzi Demo day at a local dealership...maybe someone will ride in on a Beemer to test ride a Guzzi!

That is a GOOD looking bike in Orange...love the lines....very stylish, and nice use of the retro color scheme. The fairing is very much like a Scura...not mini, nice medium, flowing...beautiful. Would love to see one in person!

This certainly levels the field considerably...now it will come down to fitness, injuries, crashing, recovering and how many race incidents or starting position penalties. Could make for a more interesting season more based on skill, rather than technological differences.

Thanks Docc...I stand corrected!

Another thought…how old is the alternator belt? Is it hard and cracked…perhaps it’s actually slipping on the alternator and not rotating the pulley rotor constantly?

I can see why someone would change only the stator instead of the whole alternator due to cost issues...but it doesn't make sense to me that the conclusion is that the alternator is working properly...otherwise, the battery would not be draining. If while the bike is running (not just at idle), but also at revs, and you're only seeing 13 V and not 13.5 to 14.2V, somehow the charging system is not working. Unless you have some serious chafing somewhere, that points back in my experience to a failing alternator, so even with a good stator, the charge is not developing. I'm probably wrong...but if you can't find any smoking/burnt wires or loose connections, I'd try a new alternator.