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As usual, if you watch using a YouTube app., you should be able to enable the automatic translation into English. He is extatic about the new automated braking system, which leaves the rear brake slightly applied after you release the front brake. He says it is really nice and working perfectly.

A quick note before I head out on the Quota in this blissful winter temperatures which I have longed for. Winter riding brings its own joy in many aspects... A bunch of changes are going to be implemented in Europe starting 2025. Some are welcome, others no so much, but hey, there is nothing we can do about them. If you travel to Europe, and you don't have a Schengen country passport, you will have to apply for an electronic visa. Same as what everyone else does to enter the USA. It will be valid for three years, or until the end of your passport validity, whichever comes first. You will be allowed to have a 90 days stay over a 180 days period. This is to avoid those that reset the clock by exiting to nearby non Schengen countries for one day. The good news is, with your Schengen visa, you will be able to travel to Romania and Bulgaria without any need for more immigration requirements! These two countries are beautiful in their own rights, and have plenty of incredibly beautiful places motorcycle friendly. Part of the good news, Europe is implementing facial recognition machines to replace the long lines we face when we land in Europe. My last entry to Paris, it took me +180 minutes to clear immigration, and I have a EU passport! crazy! In the bad news section, some of the very popular places are introducing a Tourist Tax; I did not really look into this one closely, but since many of us like to travel to Italy, including recently, I am aware that Venice is leading the charge. Remember to stay in Mestre if you want to visit Venice. Since I am at it, UK too is introducing its own Electronic visa system. Let's be honest, all these electronic visas sfuff is one more way to get money out of travellers. In any case, I highly recommend to put Romania and Bulgaria in your bucket list of things to do.

It is a true statement; that being said, the world has evolved a lot since we were young. My parents, grandparents, did not go to college. Back in these days, they had to work already to provide food. Especially after both wars. Education was a luxury then for many. A lot of them were already working at 16... We got better education than most of them did. What about technology growing up. I had a black and white TV, with only one channel, programs started at 8:00 pm during the week. Earlier during the weekends. Today, I don't feel obsolete; my parents probably did, but I do scratch my head wondering how did we get where we are today, with all the nonsense happening around us. I don't know what the young people are thinking, because they spend most of their time watching screens.

It appears that this is no longer the prime objective. Possibly because large dealerships are impersonal. The sales' assistant you are dealing with has no skin in the game, other than getting his bonus if he closes the deal. Besides, there seem to be a lot of turnaround in the staff. There is another big question mark: as we are progessing in this A.I. powered world, modern vehicles require less skills as they have integrated diagnostic firmware. The mechanics no longer need to have the same skills as before. Nothing is being fixed any longer, but replaced. We are the witnesses of the end of an era. Electric Motors are very reliable and can run for decades. Once they get the batteries and the recharge sorted, reasonable pricing, the EV market will really take off. ICE mechanics will slowly wane.

I know that as me, you keep an eye on the market. So far, I have seen a lot of 1200 8 valves powered Moto Guzzi around the 6.5/7.0 mark; Griso, Stelvio, Norge. There is a 1,800 miles 2013 Griso for sale in OK... 6.5k. Owner has passed, and being sold on behalf of. See the pic herewith. This one is completely original unlike the Houston one. There is another Norge like the one I reported above, same year, same color, same mileage give or take 30 miles, sold 1,500 USD more in NH. The cheaper Norge I have seen (Griso too) are the 2 valves one). Around 4kUSD. I don't know, besides us, who is in the market to get an older Moto Guzzi here in the USA. Except at the dealership, I am yet to see a V100 in the flesh around.

My guess was based on what I see in France, where I return regularly. So maybe I should not have made a blanket statement for the rest of Europe. But in Paris, and I was there last in November last year, throughout the day of the week, you see a lot of motorcycles and scooters. My son lives in the Western part of Paris suburbs, commutes to his job by motorcycle every day. Uses his car only in the week-ends. Maybe it has to do with that in Paris, motorcycles can split lanes. My son says it saves him 40 minutes each way compared to commuting with a car. I have to realize that times have changed, maybe. Even here, it is -1 degC this morning (30 degF), and I still went to get the Epiphany "Galette des Rois" with the Quota....

I completely concur with @gstallons. NZ has imported V11 Guzzi, so the regulations should not require any specific that did not exist when the motorcycles were certified there. Besides, if the motorcycle in question is the 2000 V11 Guzzi in your profile, it is 25 years old. In most countries, including in the US, it means the vehicle is considered "antic", and should not be subjected to the same regulations. For example, in the US, any vehicle 25 years old or more can be imported, even if it was never sold here before. I did a quick search on importing a vehicle in NZ, and it seems that one of the requirement is for the vehicle to not have been modified. Installing ABS on a vehicle that did not have it would be considered a modification. Depending on the circumstances under which you are moving to NZ, you are authorized to bring your personal possessions, including vehicles. It is also based on the import type: temporary or permanent, and of course your citizenship. I read a bit about the formalities required, and I must say it would seem easier to purchase a V11 there, than importing yours. With all the inspections and even quarantine for a vehicle?! that have to be done by third party providers, it is a very expensive endeavor!

I went through a lot of internet material, and it appears that the last models were only made in "Bianco Madreperla", in commemoration of the Moto Guzzi little escapade to the Artic. I found one for a steal price: 5000 USD! 11,000 miles, 2016 model! it seems like in immaculate conditions. I am thinking the Griso is very much like the Le Mans; the Quota is the Dual Sport representative, so one more Guzzi should be more geared towards long distance. I think the Norge is a better representative than the cruiser bikes such as the California, Flying Fortress. If it was not for the lack of space, I would have already purchased it! I need to resist to that temptation.

This one is for sale in Colorado; 1976 Moto Guzzi Convert. This is a Pittsburgh Penguin themed Guzzi. All graphics and stripes hand painted. No decals. Bike is located in Littleton, Colorado. Full price offer includes shipping to your door. Bike is a 1000cc Convert which has an automatic transmission. Just give it gas to go. No shifting gears. Runs fine, no issues.

This is good advice... Any shop likes to get the easy jobs, not exclusively the ones that nobody else can do, which are rarer even if they earn more. The shop needs to continuously be busy to survive, it will welcome any kind of sustaining activity. Being a returning customer is what helps. I go to Sealy, 50 miles away, to change oil on my 911. I could do it around the corner from where I live. I have built a solid relation with Rennsport Porsche Works there, they are family owned, they are very reasonable price wise, and accomodating in any other way. MPH has done all the heavy lifting on my two Guzzis; but these guys are unique, and they have more work they can handle. So they would rather not do oil changes. Every time I go there, their atelier is full of motorcycles waiting their turn on the elevator tables.

Were you aware of this one? I found one for sale on Facebook, and I had to look it up because I had never heard about the "Convert". Did you?

As I am scanning the opportunities accross the web, a lot of Guzzi Norge have popped up. I have noticed that only the early models come in the color I favor (). The latest issue, powered by the 1200 8 valves appears to only be in white, or in black. Anybody knows anything different?

Still no reply from the seller; I guess he disregarded my query as not serious enough to justify an answer.

As MPH said to me recently, they have one Moto Guzzi dealership in Houston that brings the new Guzzi for maintenance rather than doing it themselves. I am not certain if this involves the V100. There is a YouTube channel that I follow, "Bus Grease Monkey". This guy specializes in fixing, maintaining old buses. He is subscription based. I do not know how much it costs, but when you subscribe, that gives you the possibility to use his services for your vehicle. You still have to pay for spares and labor, but you, at least, have the assurance that someone will bail you out in case of emergency. You can easily find his channel on youtube. I don't know if this is the future business model for maintaining your vehicle, but if the EVs are going to ramp up, eventually, sometimes in the future, there will not be enough business for workshops to sustain their workforce, hence starting a subscription base system. Going back to MPH, Mike and Davey are both the wizards that make the shop reputable. But they are not getting any younger, and I see no apprentice with them. I asked Davey about it. Passing on the knowledge so someone continues. So far, I have not seen any changes. MPH is supposedly moving to Hempstead, and I am going to lose the convenience of having them 10 minutes from where I live. Iron Power Supply is my next bet for maintenance that I won't do myself.

There was recently an open house at one of the dealership which I like to go to as a ride reason. I asked and got permission to visit their workshop. All the mechanics are very young. But since they are an Indian dealership, I would expect that they could work on my Guzzis. They said they would, providing I bring whatever spares required, so they don't have to spend time they would not know how to charge. I found that going to places in person, and speaking face to face may break the ice. I know, business is business. But you don't know who you spoke to over the phone. Maybe a bored clerk that will just repeat over and over what he has been told to say: If "Bike" = > 15 years age Then "No" When you get some time, go to these shops and maybe speak to the owner directly. When I was on the verge to purchase a Honda CBX 1000, we have a shop here in Houston that does restauration. The guy was very friendly, and honest. He told me that he had no experience on the CBX 1000, but he did not see it as a problem. He said that he knew where to get information from people that he knew that had that experience. This guy: https://wolfsmithsheights.com/ Now he said right away that his hourly rate was $175. You ought to find someone that is going to accept to work on your bike. Just don't take no for an answer.

The "we do not work on old motorcycles" is something I discovered when I came here. In Europe, generally, a Moto Guzzi dealer will work on your vintage motorcycle, as long as you are not asking for restoration works. There are specialized (plenty) shops that do that. So what is different? for instance, if you have an old bike, the dealer may pre warn you about compensating the search for parts, and other difficulties that he may encounter and may need to charge you extra for. The Mechanic which will be assigned to your bike may not be familiar, and may need to spend time documenting himself. All that will need some working for a final price. But what I found, because I asked while in France, they only refuse if the owner does not want to cover the costs that I stated above. Now, we need to factor in, that in Europe, motorcyclists use their bikes to commute and not only for leisure. Having older motorcycles is not rare, and getting the spares is usually easier, faster, cheaper.

I went to Buc-ee's because it was the only place opened on January 1st ; just to see who was there...

If you allude to the jacket I just purchased, then no. The jacket has a label that says: Moto Guzzi Collezione, just above the "Made in Italy". It is not a riding jacket because it has no protections, but I could wear protection underneath. Simply, I don't want to ruin it. I wear my trusty 2003 purchased Ixon jacket. I can still fit inside, although it must have shrank because it is getting pretty tight now.

It is a long video, almost 40'; I am not a big fan of how this guy delivers, extremely high word rate, but there are a lot of factual information, and we have had those discussions here on this forum since I have been here. Which oil should we use in our V11, pre-filling the oil filter, the best way to get our engines to temperature. This guy is presenting some of the answers, backed up by facts, including S.A.E. papers. This is more four wheeled vehicle oriented. Something I got from that video though: he uses some kind of a valve to drain oil. Do you know if those exists in metric sizes?

I finally managed to watch it throughout tonight. I guess the 1st of the year is the time to do that; The beginning of the movie and how the club took its roots was interesting. I also immensely enjoyed the older bikes. I did not like how the story evolved, but since it is following something that did happen, I just have to accept it. The three main actors did pretty well their respective parts. I liked Tom Hardy.

Absolutely! If I only had to choose one motorcycle, it would be a real tough decision between the V11 and the Quota. The Quota seems to be much more rugged than the V11 in some aspects. Of course, it is a lot cruder in many other aspects. The gear box is really notchy and noisy. The fueling is rudimentary at low revs. It is mainly on/off. I don't know if you ever drove one of the first vehicles equipped with a mechanical injection pump? you could never get the smooth output that carburetors offered. Of course, let us remember that we never had direct injection on our motorcycles. It is always indirect. After the full setup, the Quota gives me much more gas mileage than the V11. It never had that 3000 rpm hiccup, because in 2000, there weren't yet any environmental challenges in Europe. There are some other practical aspects that dim the whole picture. The V11 is better at sheltering you from the wind. The large handlebars of the Quota can be tiresome on long runs, but the V11 has your legs folded too much that makes the Quota's imperfection acceptable. The gearing of the Quota is odd too. With only four speeds and an overdrive. With time, you learn to accommodate it. Given how cheap they are in today's market, if you have room for one more, I would vouch for the Quota. I would say that it can do as well as the V85TT. Sure, there aren't any easy accessory to purchase, it just happened at the wrong time.

One of my favorite ballad, bluesy style, played by my favorite guitarist;

I don't think David thought this one through, because you are the third person that I know of who missed it. I registered 8' into the new year and I took Option B too. It is an incentive. I am probably going to do the Pediatric Brain Tumor run too. Option B is within the realm, at least four stops are; the fifth one is a bit of a loner, but who knows, maybe the Quota will feel like going that far...

There is an hospital that bear his name in Paris; they specialize in very rare diseases. They litterally saved my back once, when they identified Plasmodium Falciparum while other hospitals diagnozed me with the flu.

There are some January first traditions. For example in France there is the January 1st, sea swim. it is not as difficult as you imagine. Perhaps we should have one V11 outing on each January 1st? Today is an incredible lovely day in H'town, blue skies and cool temperatures, but not cool enough to make it unpleasant. Time for a ride, on my Quota...