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Do you think she is a passenger only? being the pillion on such a bike must be so uncomfortable that I am saying it is her own bike.... it is not specified; of course, someone took the photo. It would have been wise to take a pic with another bike in the shot, to dissipate any doubt. What do I know.... I have doubts on how she manages to fit her hair in that helmet, and not looking tousled. To those of you who have a Panigale, is there any room in the tool kit to store combs, brushes, eye liners, lipstick?

@Scud Nice! I appreciated that you had not installed your camera on your helmet but on the bike. I can tell your know that road quite well. I did spot a cyclist coming the other way, in a climb. When I road the Twisted Sisters, very early in the morning, dawn, I came upon a group who were in a steep climb, spread enough so I had to use the opposite lane as a runaway escape. I was within the posted speed limit, but these guys were going so slow, and invisible until they were no longer. I have a plan to do a video cast of the sisters, but I am now going to be extremely careful. Even at 15 mph, finding a cyclist in the wrong spot is dangerous. I like there aren't any guard rails for the most part of the road you rode on.

You should use flickr.com which does not watermark your pictures when you embed them like photobuck does. It is free for the first 1000 photos. But you can create several accounts if you go over.

When I lived in Europe, a lot of my friends flew to the USA, purchased motorbikes there and rode the States. I remember one in particular, this was back in the late 70's. He stayed for the full legal duration of his visa, e.g. 90 days. He even brought the bike back. I thought about doing something similar myself; flying to Europe, purchase a used bike there, and ride away across the Schengen area. It is even possible to find a reasonably priced V11 for sale in Italy. Leave it at a dealership on consignment, to recover some of the costs when you return to home base. The major issue will be insurance, unless you can get your US insurer to cover you. Is it even possible? temporary registration in Europe is not as easy as in the USA. Problem is you have to have an address. On my bucket list is a trip to Alaska from Houston. I hope I will get to do that before I croak. All the rest is your typical Route 66.

@Bill Hagan @LowRyter Since we are at it, we may as well bring "Amaro" into it too.... Having spent time in Sicily, I was partial of Amaro Averna... the strangest one that I ever drank was Cynar, or Artichoke's liquor.... where else but in Italy can one drink strange stuff? Amaro Averna is very syrupy and sweet, but "riscalda la vita".... This would go well on a Guzzi reunion; not even sure you can purchase it in the USA, can you? So now after we brought "gli Amari", we have rounded it.... makes me nostalgic of Italy...

I watched MotoGP Grand-Prix on various channels, and my favorite journalists were the South Africans working for ESPN. These guys were former motorcycle pilots, and they knew their craft. Unfortunately, I could only have South African commentaries while watching ESPN in Africa. Can you choose who comments the races on CNBC?

A la notre! or if in "aparté" A la tienne! although I never heard this said in Italy. Salute!

This is a steal at that price.... and the guy is even willing to transport the bike within 200 miles of his home, for just gas money... Even with the modifications, the bike looks tidy and the owner trustworthy. I think we are so lucky that nobody has yet started to preempt motorcycles from private sellers the way it is happening now with cars. Outfits like Carvana, Vroom, are hoarding certain types of cars. Just try to search for a SMART Ev or FIAT 500 e and you will see that Carvana seems to be the only outfit to feature them, with prices two to three times more than their value.

Another fascinating topic of conversation about Italy! It seems Italians have so many different aperitifs with funny names, and "bizarre" tastes. I am sure most of you heard: Martini, Cinzano, Campari? Well, when I started to work in Ravenna, we had Crodino every time before lunch... Anyone of Italian descent knows Crodino? it is a non alcoholic beverage though..

Noted!

Ouzo is not anything like Grappa or Marc; I was based in Kavala for a little while. I was very fond of the Thassos Island... by the way "Marc" is pronounced "Mar" not like Marc Marquez. The "c" is mute. So you can order it from a bar the next time you are around there. Ouzo is more like Ricard, Pernod 45, Pastis 51; what is better known as "French Pastis". Pastis is a long lived tradition from the South of France. This is an aperitif that precedes any lunch. You can add some other liquors into it, to give it an accentuated licorice taste. The Mauresque; you get it by adding Orgeat Syrup in Pastis.

Thanks for the vetting! I remember watching MotoGP on Fubo TV several years ago since I no longer want to have anything to do through MotoGP.com subscription. Should I understand that Fubo TV does not provide any mean to watch MotoGP any longer? ESPN? EuroSport?

I cut the grapes in Bourgogne, Gevrey Chambertin; Dupont-Tisserandot domain. Throughout the day, we had access to Marc and other wines, local food for the entire harvest. Cutting grapes is a real hardship, you are bent continuously, using pruning pliers filling up baskets after baskets. The Marc helped to keep pain in tow. It is actually a good thing the harvest only happens once a year, and depending on the extent of the domain and the number of people harvesting, it can last several weeks. Giving you the possibility to sample a lot of different wines, and foods. Lots of students coming to earn a few bucks, and housed on the domain too... no further comment.

FuboTV shows all the races through BEIN in the USA; they have a seven days free trial, if anyone wants to give it a go; they also have Superbike and Moto America. https://www.fubo.tv/lp/MotoGP/ The Ducati is always the best bike before the season begins and the world championship is won on a Yamaha or a Honda....

The giveaway jacket masks the V50.... sacrilege! Just curious, everyone else seemed to have kept their jacket on, what gives?

Have you tried one of these "Riders Share" sites? Before I purchased the Le Mans, I looked for one in Houston, but did not find any. But you may have more luck in San Diego? https://www.riders-share.com/us/san-diego-ca#! Actually, I found this V85 TT @90 USD/day

I did not see a single bottle of Grappa though... I drunk a lot of the equivalent of Grappa before I started to work in Italy... lol.. For those of you who want to know more about Grappa: https://bespokeunit.com/spirits/grappa/ It is a spirit made from the left overs of skins, pulp, seeds after grapes are processed into wine. Not particularly tasty since it was just a liquor designed to recycle instead of throwing away. However, what initially was only a crude spirit started to be turned into something more refined, and became a more "noble" liquor and gained some fervent supporters. The French equivalent is Marc de Bourgogne. A few glasses help to make the V11 a lot lighter in weight, and a lot higher in spirit.... just kidding.... no drinking and riding... @Bill Hagan Thanks for sharing!!! I liked it a lot.

I did not closely follow Doohan, since I lapsed after Barry Sheene retired in 1984. I only picked up Motorcycle racing with Valentino Rossi. For Jack Miller, I always wondered if by-passing Moto2 was a curse or an opportunity. I know Jack has the speed, but what he lacks is regularity. He is very good at the one fast lap to get a good spot on the starting grid, but not always competitive during the race that follows. He seems conditioned on particular racing tracks than others, and appears to be lacking the overall performance independently of where the race is taking place. We understand that every pilot favors specific tracks for reason, such as Marc Marquez and the anti-clockwise circuits, and places where their mechanical package will be outstanding, such as the long straights race track for Ducati. Consistency does not seem to be within his reach, and I don't know if it is only because of tire preservation. Looking at Fabio Quartararo last year, he managed to beat the odds even at circuits not overly suited to the M1; he also almost managed to qualify well at every track too. But I am certain Jack Miller will try to outdo himself to get his contract renewed, or at least get a chance to migrate to Pramac. As for 2022 prediction, I am going to go out on a limb maybe, but I see Fabio Quartararo competing for the top spot again maybe fighting Marc Marquez for it. No matter how good it looks for Ducati ahead of the season, they will do well and win races, but the ultimate fight? no certain.

If you don't know about the Goodwood festival, you should. One of the best event about motorsports worldwide. Waine Rainey will participate on his racing bike adapted to his condition by Yamaha. But the festival is much more than just that. Just check their website, and if you like West Sussex (who doesn't?) and live within reach with your Guzzi, you should go. It is incredibly friendly and a once of a lifetime experience. One of the things Britons are incredibly good at organizing....

Yeah, I don't disagree about Lorenzo being a prima donna, but he could still make it happen on the race track. Stoner had the in house "Bridgestone"; not that it removed any of his qualities, but that was a major trump card to have a tire manufactured for the bike, and only that bike. What about Mick Doohan? and since we are at it, give me your thoughts about Jack Miller maybe? now that Bagnaia's contract has been renewed, this is going to have an effect on him.

What I meant, is that Marc Marquez will remain at Honda as long as he wants to. They will never lay him off; That is why they signed him a four years contract when the typical max duration of a MotoGP pilot contract is two years or one year with an option for one more. I don't know if Marc Marquez will be the same Marc Marquez we saw before. But he his a Honda and Repsol ambassador. Honda will not repeat the error they did when Valentino split with them. If Marc Marquez leaves Honda, it will be on his own account. Yep, I am freshly retired from MotoGP, since 2021. I am still on top of what has been happening. But I will not follow 2022 unless Johann Zarco does a back flip.

I have roadside assistance with my Insurance and AMA; however the assistance is limited to transport your motorbike to the nearest repair shop. I do not know how it translates to >10 years old Moto Guzzi. When I am far away from any major town, during the Texas tour, I am not certain what would happen. Lots of the small town I have been to have no service at all, excepted for the usual gas station. So far, all my trips have been short duration, basically riding the bike all the time with one night in between. This year, I intend to spend more time at the Texas Tour stops instead of making it a marathon run. Tire pressure is a very important parameter to me. I intend to shoot videos at the three twisted sisters and three twisted brothers. When I overnighted in Leakey, the famously known Frio Canyon Motorcycle stop does not have an air station. Which I found odd, because most the riders coming there come for taking their motorcycle on those ranch roads. Just that day, we had like a 20 degrees decrease in temperature with the previous day, and I could not do anything. So I may need to carry a small air pump. I have air pumps in both my cars. I have some fuses with me, because they don't take up any space. Tire puncture is a really relevant issue where I live. A lot of the fasteners used to put together our cardboard houses are sowed on the roads; that and the usual ladders and other stuff that fall from the back of the pickup trucks. I have been looking for a Moto Guzzi factory issued tool kit. My Le Mans did not come with one. I use the space as extra storage for the time being.

I will stock compatible motorbike jumper cables at home; but I will not carry them with me. When I go for rides, I expect my motorcycle to support me throughout the journey, whatever the length, the duration, the weather... I put on some serious mileage on the Le Mans since I got it, and if I had known that repeated starter attempts would have eventually been successful, it would still have a clean bill of health. In my mind, the Guzzi will never let me down, and I do not need to carry any spare part with me. I left these days behind me back in the 70's when I was carrying an entire tool box with me. Not only for my bike, but for whoever would be stopped along the way. Hopefully, the Guzzi will never have a major failure when I am out and about. My best prevention against it, is to never consider that it could happen. Call me naive, but I like to think everything is nice and beautiful in this world. I have done a lot of worrying before, and now I have decided only good things can happen to those who keep an objective spirit.

If you are a prime member, Amazon will release its MotoGP Docuseries from March 14th. The documentary will have several shows of 50 minutes each. It is not known if all the shows will be available from the initial release or if they are going to be spaced out in time. The show was shot in 2021, and will center around Fabio Quartararo and Francesco Bagnaia chasing the world championship, Valentino Rossi's retirement, and Marc Marquez' recovery from injury. This is something Dorna wanted as the equivalent Netflix show for Formula 1 brought a lot of audience back into watching F1 Grand-Prix. Personally, I stopped watching Formula 1 after Michael Schumacher torpedoed Damon Hill to prevent him from winning the world championship on the last race. A bit like the Prost versus Senna affair, only there, Michael was leading the race, damaged his car irremediably, came back on track while he should have simply parked, and managed to ran into Damon Hill. Michael Schumacher should have been disqualified, but there was no proof of intent, even if he had no business being on the racing line with a car unable to race. Anyway, back to the topic; here's the trailer!

@KINDOY2 Not sure if you knew, but Francesco Bagnaia renewed his contract with Ducati for two more years already. It was in the works, and had been announced as imminent. This is good in a way, and proves that Ducati learned from its terrible pilot management past, I am referring to Jorge Lorenzo. Speaking about Jorge Lorenzo, I have that theory that Ducati improved its handling notoriously under Lorenzo's guidance. Jorge Lorenzo has been my model pilot in terms of smooth racing. I don't think I have seen any other pilot with the same ability, while alone and devoid of any hindrance, laying down impeccable trajectories lap after lap, without faltering. I am somewhat frustrated that after he finally found his marks on the Ducati, he switched rides because he knew he was going to be phased out. I always thought he had another world championship in him with this bike. Instead, he ended up with a bike built around Marc Marquez that only Marc Marquez could wrestle to reason. What a complete loss, and terrible handling by Ducati; in the end, Jorge Lorenzo almost crippled himself to paralysis. Anyway, I think Francesco Bagnaia's riding style has similarities with that of JL99, and possibly today's better turning Ducati has something to do with JL99's passage.