po18guy

That Guareschi Faux-mans has the most butt ugly fairing. C'mon, it's Italy. You can do better! Looks like this fellow's helmet painted red and hi-viz.

A quirky bike is enough for me. A quirky battery is over the top. I believe that a Reading Pennsylvania Yuasa AGM will go in its place. Got 9 years out of the last one in a Kawi.

A lot of Japanese forks are the same. What is often done to the new clip is to bend one of the end out just enough to get a grip onit with needle nose pliers. Alternatively, one can grind a small relief on the outer perimeter so that the pick will find home easily next time.

Regardless of venue, Guzzi owners seem to favor big jugs. I've said it before and I'll say it again: To all the men who love large breasts, be patient... You'll get them.

Well, it's certainly a few bidders' cuppa tea, as the bidding is edging close to 9K. Twice the price and twice the mileage of Big Red. I'll settle for what I have, thank you.

The real problem arises when the firing order is 1-1-1-1 or 2-2-2-2. In ('03 >) bikes(?) the forward crossover helps, but it helps one cylinder more than the other. If the exhausts were entirely separate, the temps and tuning would be closer but probably still not identical, due to the amount . 360º British twins have that 1-2-1-2 every 360º firing order and interval. The heavy flywheel helped make up for the odd firing interval, but dampened not only crank speed fluctuations, but rider enjoyment. As in politics, everything related to internal combustion is a compromise.

First takeoff was in a 1941 Luscombe 8C. Dad bought it in flying condition for $500. Yeah, it was decades ago, but the plane is still registered and flown by a club in Vancouver, WA. Dad was among the post WWII aviators, so I grew up smelling like avgas. Grew up in the Luscombe, a Cessna Bobcat (think: Sky King/Kirby Grant - who I met in Hermiston, OR at a fly-in), a staggerwing Beech, a Bellanca, a Monocoupe, the odd 140/170 Cessna, a Stinson 105, an Ercoupe and IIRC, a 125HP Swift. Forgetting a few, but it was a really tight brotherhood. Bro and I played in the derelict fuselage of a BT13 trainer. Pilots in general aviation seem to gravitate toward the air-cooled, hands-on bikes, and even cars.

Well now, you certainly advance quickly for a bona fide Luddite!

Guzzi: the Stradivarius of shift mechanisms.

But it's Holden-based. What could possibly go wrong??? OK, kidding there. French 'things' are often designed by committee. Italian things are a reflection of a single man - genius or nutter that he may be. Whose name will be on this new bike?

Well, there is a certain 8-vave V that is fully developed and Piaggio can buy the whole company for a song. No need for a major name change: Motus Guzzi. This model is tentatively called the Norge Carolina.

To the right of each pic (once you have clicked and enlarged it, is a list of three options (below). Click on the "Copy", use the BBCode for a test, and it will provide a web address highlighted in blue. Copy that address (Command + C on Macs) and then paste it into your post (Command + V on Macs) and it should attach.

Tonight it is: Nonsense of the highest quality.

I heard that the Lambo tractor gurus were consultants. Just a rumor.

Q: Will it blend?

I was lucky enough to stumble onto a 4500 mile '04 Ballabio with H&B bags/rack, Motobits pegs, Staintunes and a ROPER plate for $4,950. I tried to negotiate but soon came to my senses and said "Yes" , or was it "I Do"? I forget, but it is certainly a marriage of sorts. A commitment for sure.

OK, osteoporosis, hypertension, diabetes, suppressed adrenal function, chronic kidney disease, 4cm clot in R outer jugular, immune suppression (just got my final baby shots), cataracts (now gone), two lumbar spine surgeries, knee surgery, two sinus surgeries, chemotherapy induced+diabetes-induced+transplant-induced autonomic peripheral neuropathy (the triple crown!), and possibly the heartbreak of psoriasis. I forget the rest. Oh! The worst of all: Progressive curmudgeonitis. So, if I am times obtuse, I hope you can forgive. While I could not get doctor to prescribe it, I find the V11 to be therapeutic.

I shall watch with amusement, if not shock and horror.

You mean its powered now by water wheels from Lago di Como? OK, maybe a little cheeky there...

Forgot about the apparently benign tumor in my frontal lobe that they are watching. And the hits just keep on coming!

3 cancers. Stem cell transplant. Staring at 70 with a wheelbarrow load of co-morbidities. Might live to 100, but better to live like I'm going tonight.

As to what the "new bike" is or will be, I have no real opinion. I have bought the last bike of my life, which is quickly winding down. Reading between the publicity lines, if it is high-tech and high-performance, then it seems that it could be nothing other than Aprilia's 660 270º parallel twin in Guzzi guise. The cost to produce a Euro-5,6,7? standard bike is way beyond Guzzi's capability. It is almost certainly beyond tiny Moto Morini's ability. Thus, we may very well be presented with the same bike wearing three different suits of clothing. Anyone have a better, clearer idea? When you are cash-strapped, cost savings, platform-sharing is everything. Motori Generali, anyone?

Well, it appears that you just go to their home page and click on the blue "sign-up for $11/yr" button. i did it, so i am certain that you will be able to.

Well... you could subscribe to Imgzeit and relax. About $1US/month, it is by far the best and easiest image hosting service I have seen. A certain forum member developed it, I am told.

'Sposedly, the Aprilia 660 makes 100bhp and weighs what, 400 pounds? That's 600 super sport territory. Still, they were advertised well ahead of delivery.