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@audiomick You should try to make next year's edition of the Alpes Aventure Moto Festival in Barcelonnette France. I saw a Moto Guzzi stand in the background in the video below at some point. They have all kind of workshops, based on your ride.

I think it is a question of mentality. When I got my first motorcycle, I was 16; then it was the legal age to get your motorcycle driver's license. Today, it is 18. My bike was my main mode of transportation. Not leisure. I was going to school with it during the week, and spending my week-ends away from home on it too. Rain or shine, winter or summer.... it did not make any difference to me. Now, compared to the tropical rains we seem to experience each time in Texas, the drizzly cold weathers of my hay days felt easy. My biggest concern when riding storms here, is the lack of visibility. Your visor becomes opaque and grey due to the high density and flow of the water hitting it. You are blind and everything you need to look for is blurry or invisible. As far as residual wetness, the people at the Pioneer barbecue helped me dry my gear. Obviously, I smelled like brisket the rest of the road back home, but it was good to open up my appetite....

This week-end was supposed to be the one when I would complete my Texas Tour stops; However, we had heavy thunderstorms predicted to take place over most of Texas, so I decided to delay. Nevertheless, yesterday I opted to have lunch in Brenham: I said bring it down! It did not disappoint. I got there completely drenched! The Le Mans loved it though....

Personally, the GS never did it for me. I remember when it first came out and it did not inspire me in any way. The Yamaha 500 XT however..... I guess I was in the wrong, because the GS has turned into a religion. Ditto the Gold Wing. Anyway, these "Trail bikes" as we call them on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, are a bit like utilitarian cars that had an extended back, giving bigger families a chance to fit all their luggage when making their vacation run. They bore the moniker "break", what you would call "wagon" in English. I have no idea who came with the idea of naming the longer version of a car "break"; maybe referred to as a "break" from standard? a break had a lifting fifth door to access the trunk. Here's an example with one of the most ugly French car you could think about: the Citroën Ami 8 To me, today's "Adventure or Trail" bikes are comparable; some people purchased those four wheeled "Break/Wagon" just for the extra cargo space. Also, those had often a larger gas tank for an increased autonomy. In my situation, that's what I am looking for. That and the ability to carry more photographic equipment with me when I visit Texas. As far as going on trails with them, I would rather walk with a back pack.

Back to the V100 Stelvio, I would have thought they had incorporated all the usual crash protections which are never required because these bikes never see terrain. Or maybe it will be part of the long list of options?

I would beg to differ; as with anything that was conceived as a compromise, the "Adventure" Bikes, or at least some of them are able to do better than the proverbial trip to the Supermarket; in French, we say "only good to get the croissants", alluding to what traditional French used to do before. One in the family made the run to the Boulangerie to get the fresh bread and the croissants. Not the Baguette, but the Ficelle, which was the one used for breakfasts. I was recently reviewing the Triumph Tiger line up. They have two distinctive lines: the GT and the Rally. The GT obviously for those who are more touring oriented; the Rally for those who are serious about being able to travel the non paved roads. We do have lots of those in Texas. I rode them on my Le Mans, and while not impossible, the riding is cumbersome. Here, in H'town, almost everybody has a SUV, which are mostly very large vehicles. Having been working in countries with deserts and no roads, I did experience the runs with Land Rovers and Land Cruisers when those were real 4x4 vehicles. I have never ridden an Adventure bike per se. However when I was in Sicily, I had the opportunity to ride equivalent of the XR650L in the remote villages there, and on the beaches. But I think those are named "Dual Sports" in jargon? I don't know if a GS or a Stelvio 1200 can be effective on sand, probably only with experienced and fit drivers. But as far as SUVs are concerned, I am with you. The initial purpose of the 4x4 vehicles has now been completely mutated into comfort and asphalt.

There is an intruder in your roster.... This is the one that you need to swap for a V100? Seriously though, the "Adventure" bikes are those that are selling like hot cakes, or at least in Europe. The BMW GS is top of the listings. I get your analogy with SUV's though. This year is the Stelvio, next year we can maybe imagine they will come up with a V100 Le Mans? They even have their own events, such as this one in the French Alps: unfortunately, the subtitles are in French too. They have a display of the Yamaha Ténéré that won the Paris-Dakar with Stephane Peterhansel.

It is a concours de circonstances... I was initially looking for a Stelvio; either red or if not, at least orange. Then I got redirected to the Quota, and found one that I liked in Boise. But it was black. Back from Idaho, I went to consult with the people running MPH Cycles in Houston. Mike and Davey. Mike was not really encouraging me to get it, because of the scarcity of spares. There is a 1200 NTX Stelvio orange which I am tracking since the beginning of the year. The price has already been reduced once, to just a tad below the 8k mark. It is a 2016 model, 29k miles, one owner. I have worked out how much it is going to cost to replace the bearings of the CARC, about $1200 USD, so I would like to ideally get if for below 7500. However the seller is a dealership, and they seem to think that it is going to eventually sell for 8k. Now if a red Quota was to materialize, I may change my mind again. But you see, I am really drawn to the 320 miles autonomy of the 1200 Stevio with the large tank. I have now experienced the anguish of running out of gas while riding the back-roads of West Texas. So much that I had to refill with 87 Octanes because that was all there was available. Most of us live in large cities, or close by, and here in this part of Texas, I don't even need to look at my trip. The light comes on, there is a gas station around. The same does not hold true in rural Texas. There people have trucks, with gas tanks that go up to 36 gallons and autonomy in the 700 miles. I took the US-90 from Alpine last year, and I refilled each time I saw a station. I did not want to risk it. They only have gas in the larger cities. Nothing in between.

Here's the next V100 which will be presented at the EICMA this year. At least they got rid of the foldable slats. There will be other colors I am certain. I can't tell why, but I am still very fond of the V11 and if I can get more space, I will get a Stelvio but the 1200 NTX, not the V100.

I would have laughed, but I think that it does not do anything to sell the brand.

I did observe that my oil pressure warning light stayed lit longer than usual.... now I understand why!!!! Typically, it goes out right away.

Which one for you?

Right; I think we are all in agreement. We agree there are two TDCs, only one should be used to adjust the valves' gap. Spinning the engine either direction achieves the same, while it is preferred to turn it in its normal working direction.

Here's the Mouser company link: https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Panasonic/ERT-LG12N714T?qs=TI15CVqcli2ywRPZTXVDGQ%3D%3D They are located in Mansfield Texas around the Dallas / Forth Worth area. From the look of it, they are whole seller, but you never know. @LowRyter I have used the actual mileage to refuel during each of my outings. Only at home do I ride till the low fuel light comes on before I refuel. If my thermistor was to fail, other than disturbing my sense of having the bike is proper order, it would not be a big deal. My way of riding the V11 is predictable so I know how far I can go between refills. Besides, with the kind of sun light we have here, depending time and orientation, that light can be invisible.

The Panasonic seems to be unavailable everywhere I looked. However, I found some US companies having it in their listing, with a zero stock. If you can't find anything else, one of these company is in Texas, and I could try to check with them. I would not get my hopes up though. It is easy to understand this product is obsolete. Refrigerators use thermistors still; not that kind though. But there maybe a possibility to fix it?

I also found out from an other forum, the Panasonic ERTLG12N7 is a replacement for the stock Guzzi. It only requires adapting the holder for a perfect fit.

I suppose you have made certain the fuel sensor is the root cause of the problem. I found this on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/153094025684

https://www.rugbyworldcup.com/2023 Watch the Haka!!! opening match....

According to an article I read about this movie, which has been seen at the Telluride festival, the actors had to take a riding course to be able to ride: I have personally ridden old bikes, albeit when I was in my teens, so about 50 years ago. Mostly British and French. What I am certain, is that the movie will do what they normally do with vintage cars movie. The real vintage cars are for normal shots. If there is going to be stunts of falls, they will use modern bikes in disguise.

I have read a little bit about it, and although we cannot really know until we see it. It's inspired by a photography book from a guy named Danny Lyon. It follows the transformation of a motorcycle club over a decade. I must admit that i kind of like the lead cast actor, Tom Hardy. I also liked Jodie Comer in the Villanelle show. That will change me from Yellowstone or Longmire. I don't know if Texas has anything to do with it, but I am drawn to the cowboy way of life.

I did some more investigation into the reason why one may want to spin the engine in the correct direction. Something that we have not discussed here yet? During our four cycles, the piston goes up twice, but there is only one TDC. The true TDC happens between the compression and ignition phase. The other piston up is apparently called "the overlap"; between exhaust and admission. This is because the exhaust and admission valves are supposed to have a very small overlap when the exhaust valve is closing while the admission valve begins to open. It makes sense to turn your engine in its natural cycles direction, to differentiate TDC from "Overlap", as if you are in the "overlap" position, the piston will still be at the top, but either exhaust or admission valves could be actuated.

Got you! My new spring only has two coils and not three. I will complete my Texas tour and switch the springs then. By the way, I did my trip home in 1st gear, because when I got stuck in second gear, I managed to shift down and that was the end of it. It gave me more time to appreciate the landscape.

I have seen how those springs are manufactured. Or at least, back in the days. I am guessing the build in quality control has improved considerably. Before, the quality control was done by picking a spring every X number, and checking that it was still within manufacturing tolerances. If out of specification, the machine would be adjusted and the production would resume. The new machines are probably able to check accuracy during manufacturing, and adjusting without any human help. I am not going to wait until the spring breaks again. I am going to do 15k miles, and I will check it out.