PJPR01

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.

Have you replaced the alternator?

A stock original shock? I’ve got my OEM one if that’s what you are looking for. it's in great shape, only had a few years of use before I flipped it out for a Wilbers many many years ago.

He gets it...the V9 is a sleeper...I test rode one for a few miles at the Guzzi National Rally in John Day back in 2016...for a lightweight, around town bike, it would do nicely. I don't think a lot of bikes were sold in the U.S., and besides the one at the rally I've never seen another one that I can recall. There was a nice yellow/black version...bumblebee style that seemed quite catching.

A good excuse to come and ride to Mike’s in Hempstead and then make a run to Round Top or environs! Let me know if you plan to visit…

Geez...that's more than the car itself! I could see a $7-10K range if you wanted something exceptional...but beyond that, seems outrageous unless they were shipping it back to Stuttgart on its own private container ship!

On a related tangent...I was in Scottsdale a couple of weeks ago, and visited for the 3rd time a Museum called the Museum of Instrumental Music. The Museum is a huge and fascinating tour of the world by continent, by country and shows all of the instruments of each country...truly an amazing collection including many rare guitars of all sorts and designs and a section on musicians from the 40's to current (Earl Scruggs, Bob Marley, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Celia Cruz and many other well known artists). They also have special exhibits...and the one this time of year was on Stradivarius...Violins and Guitars. An impeccable collection of items to see in person.

Mefiante la fille!

At this point, it's a 2008 Norge, so I'm not worried about paint degradation...it's already old. The paint has some chips, some wear and tear as expected for a bike of this age. At one point about 7 years ago, I thought about taking all of the Silver parts off, and taking them to a painter. 1/2 way thru the removal of the parts, I realized that getting all of the remaining parts off would be a monster task. So a wrap is much easier to do from an application perspective vs. removing parts and painting them. Even if the wrap degrades a bit over time, that's OK. The bike is housed in the garage, and only open to the weather on many trips...I would need to see if the quality of the vinyl wrap is good enough and also what the cost is...I don't have a quote yet, but I think it would be a lot easier to do a wrap than painting/disassemble. The painting quote was also not reasonable vs. the value of the bike....so I am hopeful that a wrap might be more economical...we'll see! At any rate, it's not a Stradivarius...so I can be a little less concerned about quality.

Brown color is affectionately known as Mahogany or Espresso...it's a lovely color in person. A few folks have brought them to rallies...had it been available in the earlier years I would have bought one. Had to settle for the plain Silver one... I have been thinking about doing a wrap however on the Norge to freshen it up....a few color choices are: 1. Black Cherry 2. Deep Purple (Porsche GT3RS color for example). 3. Italian Police Blue Now to find a good wrap shop here in Houston and get a reasonable quote...

Having read thru all of the technical items....I would try draining the tank of the old gas completely and put in fresh gas. Once on my Norge the bike started sputtering very badly leaving a rally in Kansas about 15 minutes after tanking up...it took me about an hour to get to a new gas station in rural Oklahoma and I put in some gas treatment and within a few minutes, the bike was firing smoothly again. Since you're at home, try draining the tank completely, and load it up with some 93 Ethanol free if available or at the very least a can of gas treatment. Since you've checked all the fuses, it's sparking and fuel is squirting out of the injectors, I'm guessing your gas is not igniting.

Thanks Pascal…I missed the $5.00 discount email apparently also…but I did register last night a bit after watching the fireworks in the neighborhood. i opted for Plan B on the off chance I can swing those extra stops and get the new patch! Maybe we’ll ask David to give us the refund or credit towards some other merchandise or a free sticker!

Correct…no emissions test as in the past for motorcycles…I have even heard no inspection from my place…but we’ll see as mine are Sep and Nov renewal dates….so no immediate concerns. One other good one is no more inspections for Diesel cars so my Rover is now exempt too.

It’s a well taken care of bike by the looks of the pipes and other items already mentioned. You can easily get a high quality wrap on the parts you would like to make red (tank, side pieces)…and it has the rare factory side bags which are also expandable and very nice and not cheap! Definitely worth a visit to ride the bike. A well tuned Griso is a fast bike indeed…plenty fast for our tastes on the road to be sure…it also makes a great touring bike, you may need to modify handlebars or add risers, lowered foot pegs or even a Cortech tank bag with an Onur ring. Lots of goodies there to work with…and to make it yours by personalizing it to your tastes. Those front and rear blinkers are kind of cool if you decide to return them to stock, I’d buy them!

I saw this jacket in Rome back in October while wandering some streets with a gelato from Giolitti…was tempted also but ultimately decided that red leather is not my preferred textile of choice! Similar to the one you found!

Very nice…thanks P6X for the map update! This year's config makes it definitely easier for getting 25 for newcomers based in Houston or Dallas areas. I hope to maybe do a 2 week trip to Idaho/Montana in early or late summer so I might be able to squeeze in the Wyoming one on that route…otherwise maybe a route to Custer park or the Badlands and the Black Hills in South Dakota with a stop at Devils tower in Wyoming could be another route after the Cedar Vale rally in May or September. The fun is in the planning!!

You would be surprised how easy to ride the bike is…even at slow speeds. But aesthetics are important…no point buying a bike that one hates to look at!

I’m thinking that a long weekend starting in Bandera for the flag pick up and then head out west may be a way to get the Big Bend and West Texas ones…weather permitting. Easy pickings coming back to add another 10-15 stops. Central and East Texas will be easy pickings in Springtime…