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The A1 Teepee Rest Stop on FM170 is really isolated. That's a shame because FM170 seems like a real scenic route. Yes indeed, the planning! this year I am going to spend more time at each outing.

@PJPR01 I updated the original post with the map for the 2025 tour; 50 stops, 5 alternates, 5 Republic of Texas stops. As before, you can copy the map and save it on your google drive to build your own itineraries. The Wyoming ROT #5 seems very far away... 19 hours one way without the stops.... Stop #25, which is any Veteran of Foreign War post, I picked the one in Navasota, since we have already one stop there. But of course, there are others.

As you know, aesthetics are sometimes not the best criteria to help you decide. We usually learn to accept that something that may not have been the most "hit it off", can grow on you with time. But it needs to have something else that captures you and helps you forget the looks. The K1600 has that six cylinder engine that I always dreamed of, but it is not properly encased in the right ring. You may have the best diamond, pure and all, but if it is not properly cut, it loses its initial attraction. it needs to be cut to enhance all its properties. I think the Goldwing flat six does a better job to properly fit the bike.

I can relate to that; I would tentatively say, it is a universal feeling. A guy working for my company created a site named "Brothers Reunited" in 2003! a long time before any social media even existed! Anybody having worked, works could join. Sort of an exclusive club. Obviously, the enrollment rate has subsided since people have other way to assemble. https://www.brothersreunited.com/brothers2/index.jsp Same when I was in the Army. We kept tabs on each other initially. But it was in 1976, so back then, it was really an anual gathering of the people of our platoon, from the 5th Squadron of our Unit. Now they have created a Facebook page; but the older recruits are not there. Yesterday I saw a lot of various patches relating to Marines, Mechanized Infantry, Navy and what not. That, I completely get. What I found different, is that need to create a motorcycle club about it. I still keep in touch with some of my work colleagues, we do anual gatherings in various places in the world. https://www.allianceschlumberger.org/ Now, nobody ever had the desire to make a motorcycle club; here in the USA, it seems that you are an ex army guy, then you ride!

There is one for sale at the Wild West Motoplex, 21k miles, 2015, 13k USD. It may be very comfortable, versatile, but it is very ugly in my opinion. The sheer size of it makes any maneuver a perilous task; I think. That being said, the clutch lever felt like there was nothing behind the actuation. I don't think I ever checked one that required so little effort to actuate. I am going to start on the google maps for the stops.

I was about the only "non patched" rider; I also noticed a lot of these members support a specific cause. There was an entire chapter dedicated to cancer fight. But what really surprised me, is the amount of army guys in those clubs. That makes me wonder; some create a motorcycle club based on what regiment, platoon they were in. I read that this is how the Hells Angels came to be. Vietnam veterans getting into motorcycles. We don't have that in Europe for all I know. Not sure where is this coming from, to be a veteran and getting on a motorcycle afterwards? what is the relationship? freedom sought?

I participated to my first Toy Drive with the Quota today. I felt a little bit out of place; except a very few, all the riders belonged to motorcycle clubs. Some of them with interesting names... It was the first time I rode in a herd, guarded by the Police. Staggered and going through trafic like VIPs. The Police were on Harley Davidson, except for the lead guy, on a Goldwind. The entire pack of bikers were riding either HDs, Indians, Victory. There were three exceptions: one Moto Guzzi Quota, one Triumph Tiger 1200, one Honda Goldwing. This was fun, especially meeting the kids that were impatiently waiting to get the toys.... I shall do it again next year...

I keep telling around that riding a motorcycle is better than therapy. This guy is just the proof...

According to the administrator of the brand, following the first reunion that took place yesterday, KTM will survive and will continue. Obviously, major changes are programmed. As usual, they will delocalize more of the production outside of Austria. Typical. Similar to Audiomick, I never liked the chiseled looks of their motorcycles. Personally, looking at the KTM bikes yesterday, I think they have too many models built around the same engine. Such as the 390cc; they have at least four or five different variations on that same powerplant.

I remember that one of my colleague purchased a Honda Goldwing the first year they came out. We were all proud of ourselves on our various Kawasaki triples, Suzuki T350 or T500, Yamaha RDLC... But the Goldwing is still here today, and going extremely strong. Same for the Yamaha 500 XT when it came out. Nobody thought it would be a success. Of course, the GS took everyone by suprise. Who knew it would become what it is today... Those could have easily been a nanar too...

Today was the first reunion of the KTM creditors with the administrator; Amongst various cost cutting measures, the creditor's consortium have called for exiting MotoGP; they did not offer any time line, so at this point, nobody knows if this concerns 2025. Two days ago, the owner of the Tech 3 team, Hervé Poncharal, gave an interview to a French specialized media, and said that for all he knew, everything would continue as programmed. He, however, understands that development will necessarilly be impacted. He said that if push comes to shove, he hopes they will at least have the possibility to race with the 2024 bikes, modified to suit the 2025/2026 regulations. He also said that he continues to be commited to the KTM project as the partnership between KTM and Tech 3 runs until 2026. There have been some rumors that Ducati was trying to snatch Pedro Acosta to put him on a VR46 bike, axing Franco Morbidelli in the process. Anyhow, if KTM was to not participate in MotoGP from 2025, it would certainly be bad. Tech 3 would be furloughed, and four top riders would be without a machine. I read from an unconfirmed source, that Ducati could step in to provide Tech 3 with two GP, not sure if 23 or 24, should it come to that. Dorna is more than likely working on a plan B. Last, the deal from Liberty Media to purchase Dorna did not close as expected today. The European regulator said that he wanted to continue to look into it.

you guys are in the South hemisphere.... you can't brag about it lol....

Angelique? ah, ah, your partner has a French name... lol! Meilleurs vœux pour les fêtes!

First, let's define what a nanar means in French; it is a coloquial adjective that is used for a variety of contexts. For example, you could say that a movie is a nanar (nobody went to see it). In the context of motorcycles, a nanar is not necessarily a "bad" product. So what is a "nanar"? -a motorcycle that did NOT reach any commercial success; -because of its look; too futuristic, too retro, too strange, -inadequate technology, engine architecture, capacity, -good product but launched at the wrong time, too early, too late. Feel free to give your own examples of what you deem is a nanar: Honda Pacific Coast, Münch Mammut (some of you may remember this one), Yamaha GTS, Honda VT Keep in mind that a "nanar" is not pejorative in this case. It is mainly a product that did not encounter success. I think in the US they may call it a failure, but maybe a "dude" would be a better analogy? In any case, the Moto Guzzi Quota is in this category. Guzzi launched it after Laverda released their OR Atlas, Cagiva its Elephant. Confirmed by Mike Haven when he saw my Quota, he was a Guzzi dealer at the time, nobody wanted them. They had to discount them heavily to clear the stock.

As long as you don't get stopped by the authorities, or caught in an accident, or going at really excessive speeds, you should be safe from prosecution. However, be aware that rental companies usually provide the authorities with your address, and country of residence. There are a few caveats as the driver is the one that should be fined, and for a motorcyclist, they can't prove it was you under the helmet. But if the Gendarmes/Carabinieri stop you, depending on the fault, they may fine you on the spot. Now they can't remove your driver's license since it is from the US. The last time I rented a car in France, Hertz automatically debited my credit card a few weeks after my stay, invoking a fine from the French authorities, without providing any tangible proof that the vehicle I had rented had was involved. I disputed the amount charged by Hertz USA on behalf of Hertz France, and the charge was reversed. However, one of my neighbor did receive a letter from the French ticket collection company, for overspeeding. The car he was using had been rented in Spain, and he said that he was in France that day, on the highway where the radar caught him. He was not charged by the rental company, maybe because the fine was French and the rental Spanish. He did not pay the fine, because all the narrative was in French, and he is not supposed to understand it. Maybe in the future, with AI, they will be able to send the same collection letter in various languages. Also, as an aside, I was stopped at the frontier between Germany and The Netherlands, because my head beam was not working. I was not fined, but I had to fix it before they let me continue.

Just rode to the new Guzzi dealership to check things out. The nice looking V85TT has sold since my last visit. The one with the Blue Red and White livrée. All the KTM motorcycles have incredible discounts, up to 5000 USD less on the price tag... Even their best sellers have discounts. So if you ever thinking about purchasing a KTM, it seems that now is the time. According to some of the media, the worker' salaries and end of year bonuses will not be paid before January 2025. Things are difficult.

That's what I was led to believe. Maybe he only got the V7's. But I will ask him if he got any V100 too. I am guessing the major difference with those are the electronics. From what I understand, the manufacturers, such as Ducati, have proprietary software and tools that you can't get if you are not a Ducati representant. In a way, we are lucky with our older motorcycles which never evolve and do not require software updates.

The photography is great, the narration just there to punctuate the story. This is a great one...

I will let you know how much the seller wants for it, just in case... The one below sold for 13k USD. By the way, if you look at the pics, it has the exact same black faced Speedo/Odometer.

@PJPR01 I forgot to tell you; Davey said that the Moto Guzzi dealer on the 59 in Houston, brings the bikes for service at MPH. They don't do the service in house. I am not sure if that applies to Wild West Motoplex.

Went back today, and got a few more facts: The Speedometer/Odometer is clearly showing Veglia Borletti; Possibly black faced so it would not be confused with a metric one, on the assembly line? were those Daytona equipped with Koni rear shock? This Daytona is from 1993; The current owner purchased it used, and never rode it. This is why there is no registration. The bike came to MPH because they could not get it started. Davey explained that someone replaced the fuel pump (Weber Marelli), but reinstalling the fuel hoses, they managed to block the fuel flow, and after multiple attempts to start it, they burned the fuel pump. Davey has replaced the fuel pump, and is replacing all the fuel lines. The bike starts immediately now. Davey said that the owner has not requested to replace the distribution belt. The bike only has 8+k miles, but chances are, the belt is the one installed in 1993, 31 years ago, soon 32. He said the owner only wants to spend minimum amount of money since he wants to sell it. I don't know you guys, but personally, if I wanted to sell a motorcycle that has not run for a while, I would make sure I am in a position to confirm everything has been checked.

If you scrub through the best review I could find about the Daytona, at 3:48 into the video you have a view of the instruments. The odometer is not similar to the one on the Daytona at Mike's MPH; However, the bike shown has an odometer in km and speed in km/h. The one at Mike's has dual units, miles and kilometers. I remember from the old days, that one of my friend who had purchased a Commando directly from UK, had to change from miles to km to get it registered in France.

This is my current issue. I am squeezing too many stops within a very narrow time window. This year, if possible, I will attempt to spend more time in between rides.

Mike's own Daytona RS is in the museum I visited in 2023. I took some shots but I don't remember how the instruments looked. A good reason to return there, anyhow. One thing I do remember, is that I tried the clutch lever there too, and it was just as hard as the Daytona at Mike's MPH. He actually did remind me about it when we had that conversation about the Daytona in his shop. He said he purchased it as a testimony to Moto Guzzi's craft ability. I am supposed to go back there today, I will ask Mike about the odometer.

I was at MPH (Houston, Tx) today for an unrelated trip, and I came upon a Guzzi Daytona in their workshop. Speaking to MPH's Mike Haven, the owner of this bike wants to sell it, as its just gathering dust in his garage. It is my understanding that it has not run for a while, don't know how long. Nevertheless, Mike said the bike is in top shape, and they are going over everything. As you can see in the photos below, the bike is not tagged, and has only 8698 miles on the odometer. I thought, well, since it is right there up for grabs, I should indulge. That was until I tried the clutch lever. It requires too much effort for my damaged left hand. So if any of you is interested, let me know. I can go back and take a lot more photos, and ask Mike for the owner's contact.