p6x

I feel the same. Since VR46 exited, I can't garner much interest. Maybe the Ducati made the expected outcome too predictable. This year, with Mark Marquez able to fight "à armes égales", there should be some more suspense. It is also going to be interesting to follow Pedro Acosta's progression. Although, it takes now one year to completely master the current MotoGP bikes; I am talking about what riders have to operate during the race, especially the suspensions. It is like in F1 now. They continuously need to fiddle with the settings. It takes a lot of practice to not fumble with it.

@GuzziMoto Seeing Valentino Rossi on a R1 again was sufficient an excuse to go there. The Marquez brothers did not install transponders on their bikes, so we don't know how they fared with the other GP pilots. However, they both stopped to provide assistance to Franco Morbidelli after he had a big crash that brought the red flag. Seems like Andrea Iannone had more trouble than he expected to get at the front. Toprak seems to have taken on the BMW pretty well. Bautista is now riding with additional weight on his bike, just like they do in horse races. The more you win, the more additional weight you get; they call it a "handicap". Let's hope this does not come to MotoGP...

Don't know much about Indy, I am not certain it is still suited to MotoGP today. I don't know if Flatrock can be certified for MotoGP quickly...

I have some information to share with those who keep an eye on MotoGP; First, the new Trackhouse Racing owner, Justin Marks is fully committed to MotoGP and is hopeful to add a second GP in the US. We already discussed this possibility in this thread. However, it will not be Laguna Seca which is currently fighting a lawsuit brought by environmentalists, and anyhow, is no longer admissible to host a MotoGP. Trackhouse did his Racing colors unveiling in Los Angeles, and is possibly going to promote an additional MotoGP race in the USA, at the Flatrock Motorsports Park and Motorclub in Tennessee. When? I am not certain. However the Kasakhstan MotoGP is most likely going to be cancelled again this year, and the Argentinean one too. The Sokol race track is about one hour and thirty minutes off Almaty, and there are no accommodation close by. Which would force the MotoGP dedicated personnel to a three hours commute every day. The Argentinean race was financially sponsored by the previous Argentinean administration. A new president was elected in December 2023, and he has cut down all the non-essential spendings. Will we see a second GP in the USA in 2024? The second information that you may not be aware about, is that today was a test day for World SBK in Portimao Portugal. With many MotoGP riders as guests... including Francesco Bagnaia, Marco Bezzecchi, Franco Morbidelli, Fabio di Giannantonio, Enea Bastianini riding production Ducati Panigale V4-S. Marc Marquez was there too, and Luca Marini. However they did not have transponders on the bike they were using. The fastest WSBK on that day was Nicola Bulega, 1:39.932 seconds; the only man below the 1:40; followed by Razgatlioglu and Rea; The fastest MotoGP pilot was Francesco Bagnaia, 3.271 seconds behind the leader. He was just before Bradley Smith. All the other MotoGP pilots were slower than the WSBK counterparts, on conventional bikes of course.

I do too... enjoy the trouble free ride. My 2021 (first year with the V11) was anything but zero hassle. The number one spanner in the works was the "no crank" issue that kept stopping me along the rides. Sometimes far away from my home base. Today, I only experience minor issues which only bruise my aspiration to never dwell upon my V11. But nothing that stops me. Something no one knows, is how well contemporary motorcycles are going to age. My 70's motorcycles never let me down along the way. Today, there is a lot of electronics which may become obsolete and irreplaceable in the long term. Even if we understand that some of the parts are common to many brands. There is a good chance that your Moto Guzzi Ambassador from the 70's will still be running 20 years from now, while today's bikes will be down on parts that can't be found.

Relisted again at $6500; https://www.ebay.com/itm/395167156098 For the last session, the last bid submitted (below reserve) was $4900.00.

I am not a real fan of those "constant babbling" influencers, especially those wearing their video camera coupled to their heads, granting us those full of jerky movement shots. But I respect the solo rider and the photography, plus the dream that some of them can inspire. The Tour de France seems to always showcase some of those itinerary; they have for years since the Tour started, shown the "multitude" where to go for a "forget about everything else" motorcycling trip. Those hairpins would certainly rejuvenate the aging Moto Guzzi V11 rider that sleeps in us....

The European environmental legislation is slowly but surely enforcing major changes to what used to be an "ad-lib" development for motorcycle manufacturers. Previously, the engineer could start from a blank sheet of paper, and let his/her imagination take the lead. Today, everything is contingent to what the regulator let you do. Since the brands have to stay global, they design around the most stringent set of rules. Those are found in Europe for the most part. I think vintage motorcycles have good days in front of them.

Interesting also, is the rationale on why we are seeing new twins to replace what used to be four cylinders: unburned fuel!

I agree with you. I will only be able to make a final decision once I am there.

The one in Arizona. Exactly! in the USA, you find many cities with the same name.

@audiomick I made contact with a dealership in Peoria, "go AZ west", they are supposed to contact me to let me know if they have suitable tires in stock. Although I gave him the sizes, he asked for the model and did not even know that Quota existed... Once I see the bike, I will be able to determine if I can ride it back straight away. I also need to check the brakes, the lights, the suspensions.

The distance from Peoria to Houston is 1200 miles. The owner sent me the pics of the tires today; would you say that in their current state, they have enough thread left? The rear rim reads Takasago EXC; the rear tire has some cracking showing.

@GuzziMoto I think common sense should prevail. There are riders who don't give a toss about being followed, others have a strong view upon it. I remember Jorge Lorenzo who had a specific sign when he was being followed. I read a commentary from Mike Doohan about this very topic; he said that this was not new, and pilots trailing existed before. However, he said the gentleman's agreement was if the frontman did not like it, and asked you to not do it, then you would stop. Clearly, times have changed....

As a subscriber, I got the email too. I am hopeful they will sometimes publish a book about the Moto Guzzi Le Mans over the years. Although the V11 Le Mans cannot be considered a real Le Mans, was I told by a purist.

I may be wrong, but like everyone else, the stores are all turning to Internet based orders. Zero stock, and when you want an exotic size, or less on demand brand, you now seem to have to wait more. This is exactly what happened to me with the Michelin Road 6. I don't know what is going on with the supply chain nowadays. But as far as choice for sizes and categories, I find there are lots of brands that manufacture tires for our V11. Including the "GT" moniker for many of the same model tire. The Dunlop Roadsmart IV can also be had in V11 sizes standard or GT.

One may argue that purposely waiting in the pits until the rider you are targeting exits could be considered "interfering". You know what Jorge Martin was doing to Francesco Bagnaia and of course, MM93 with Franco Morbidelli, who actually sacrificed his Q1 because Marc was trying to get a free ride on his tail. There maybe a safety aspect to it too. If you decide to abort your lap for any reason, you may induce the pilot following you to hit you; this has also happened before. In certain occasions, using the slip stream of a pilot may result in you beating his lap time. I think I like @GuzziMoto suggestion to have the pilots setting their quali. time on a single lap, and alone. One sighting lap, and go. This format would also eliminate the yellow flag issue, when someone crashes in front of you while you are making an attempt. We have seen many aborts last season because of it. However, I believe this would be less spectacular than the current prequalification, then Q1 to get into Q2.

I suggest you read the above thread until the end. I am currently having Michelin Road 6 being fitted to my V11 Le Mans. I had Michelin Road 5 all 2023, and I put more than 10,000 miles on them. When it comes to tires, we are all pretty opinionated on what we think is the best choice for our V11. I personally liked the Road 5 from Michelin because they have dual compound front and rear. Now all choices are subjective. Michelin is about the most expensive available on the market.

The bike did not sell, Kaplan has relisted it with a slightly lower purchase price: $6750; initially $7500. Just in case someone would be interested: https://www.ebay.com/itm/395152071269?hash=item5c00e61a65:g:oM4AAOSwIellnyD~

My only wish, is that he stops his antics such as taking the slip stream of other riders, even after they clearly show they do not want him to do it;

We just had the Gresini presentation of their motorcycles for the 2024 season; staring the Marquez brothers... You can find the show on YouTube. Needless to say, that bookmakers are already putting MM93 as their favorite to win the 2024 world championship. Marc is trying to temper the exuberant expectation, however I believe he will be the most motivated to win the season. With only a one-year deal, and with the necessity to equal Rossi's number of world titles, he will absolutely make everything in his power to come on top. It is all speculations, and he said that all the existing Ducati riders have a lot more experience with the GP than he does, but I would not be surprised to see him win the first outing, either the sprint, the race, or both. The oncoming tests will probably give some hints of where he stands, the first one being in Sepang starting on February 1st. The answer will come on the 8-10 March in Qatar for the first GP of the season.