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I watched a BMW presentation about the R12S, and they have an interesting option; You can elect to have a modern TFT display, as the majority of the bikes now have, or you can get two gauges the way it used to be when the R90S came about. This is neat! I wish the option to have the old analog instruments (no longer analog) would be offered for the 2025 Guzzi V7 sport reedition. This kind of attention to detail is what separate BMW from the rest. I know, the R12S costs a fortune. I found one 1976 R90S in orange for sale, 26,000 USD!!! the grey colored one are less expensive at around 20,000 USD.

lt is not "repartee", but "répartie". It sounds a lot better;

Ah, the Chinese syndrome... Well, I am partial with my wrath; everything got manufactured in China because companies wanted to make as much profit as possible by making it where man hours are cheaper. I have an annecdote. When I was based in Italy, I did a job close to a very well known Ceramic Italian brand. The Hotel where I was staying was full with asian people. I checked, and was told these people where being trained on the craft of making Ceramic, and later, they would start supplying the brand for the most common stuff, such as the ceramic tiles you have in your bathroom. They not only transferred the technology, but the machines too. All that spawned Chinese companies to start competing. During Covid, masks became a commodity; so much that countries realized that all those masks were only manufactured in China. Going back to motorcycles; most of the motorcycles are no longer made where the brand was born, to the exception of a few. All the Triumph sold in the USA are coming from Asia. The mighty BMW has some models made abroad. If I am not wrong, I think Moto Guzzi does the final assembly in Mandello del Lario, but I think the V100 engines maybe manufactured outside. KTM, we will know on February 25th, will transfer the majority of its manufacturing outside of Austria. So Rieju says they own Gas Gas now. Gas Gas used to be in KTM portofolio. What I disliked of the Chinese way to do business, is the obligation to share the technology. Initially, nobody really cared. My company used to manufacture our own proprietary tools in France. They quickly closed down the manufacturing center and exported everything to China. What they did not see coming, is Chinese companies competing for work using similar technology with different names. If they had kept the manufacturing in France, nothing of that would have happened. What I found hilarious, is the occidental world has lost the ability to innovate... did you know, that if you wanted to manufacture your EV batteries, all the machines and technology comes from China? this is now the opposite of what it used to be. Plus, they were smart in securing the rare earth required to make the batteries. I took China as an example, but India is also a target to get things at a cheaper cost. Motorcycles included.

The big advantage is for the consumers, or, let's say this is what Ducati says. The dreadful Desmo valves adjustment that can only be done by a Ducati dealer was expensive. But Ducati is also able to sell the same bikes at a premium, while cutting costs. Manufacturing a Desmo engine is more expensive. Besides, if you take away the nobility of the desmo engines, there is no longer an advantage. The improvement in technology and metallurgy have obsoleted the Desmo. None of the Ducati MotoGP use it. It is kind of the end of an era for us.

If I can make a suggestion, I would propose that you get a Rieju Aventura 500; This is a 500cc with two 20 liters tanks, and an autonomy of 1000 km. Rieju used to be a Spanish brand. https://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/new-bikes/2024/february/rieju-aventura-500/ Of course, Chinese nowadays. Now I don't know if Rieju is sold in Australia.

I beg to differ; something that needs to be considered: in 2024, he was riding a GP23. The consensus being that the GP23 had a significant performance gap with the GP24, since the 24 was built to take advantage of the Michelin rear tire. An issue that appeared to have crippled the other manufacturers. Also, because he was riding for a satellite team, Marc Marquez did not have the possibility to obtain some ergonomic changes to the GP23. Today, according to former pilots that have looked at him on the GP24.9, his riding is much more natural than on the GP23. Hence, he obtained some ergonomic mods to tailor the bike to exploit his riding ability. Remember Jorge Lorenzo requesting a change to the tank, and after getting it, suddenly started to fly! His sprint race simulation in Buriram was certainly an exhibition to what could be coming in two weeks time for the first Grand-Prix. Albeit, Francesco Bagnaia had some technical issues that prevented him to show his cards. Somehow, I have very little faith in Aprilia. Somehow, Aprilia had three falls during the Buriram tests. Blamed it on the Michelin tires. Jorge Martin only tested his new machine in Barcelona, and 5 laps with two falls, the last one with an injury. Not the best start to the beginning of a season. This is the consensus, that Ducati's GP25 engine was underwhelming. Now, I doubt very much the other manufacturers have completely bridged the gap in performances. Even if hope they have. I would hate to see a 2025 season going the way it was in 2024, with Ducati winning all the races minus one!!!

Foreword: I recommend that you mute the video, and enable the autotranslate subtitles; scrub towards the end to check the 2025 Moto Guzzi presentation (10'30"). Mainly a Stelvio equipped for long distance Travel, a few different colors for the Mandello, and of course, the only real "new" bike, the V7 Sport. Most of the video is about the Aprilia brand, and they do have a lot of new models, unlike Guzzi. There is an English bot voice autotranslation too, which I found unbearable.

I concur; I did not like the looks when it came out, and I still don't like it now, even with a V4. By the way, I don't know if you are aware, is that all the new Ducati engines are no longer using the desmodromic distribution?

I meant, the future of motorcycling in part of the worlds where high capacity engines used to rule. I was not hinting at the retro looks of those. I have a "pied à terre" in Argentina, most of the motorcycles zipping past you in the traffic are small capacity bikes, such as 125/250cc. There are a few exceptions, but it is rare. The same in Asian countries where small cubed are king. Those 125cc are used as Taxi, in the same way they do in Africa. I worked and lived in Nigeria for 7 years, and either in Port-Harcort or Warri, the fastest way to get anywhere is to take one of those Chinese copy of Honda 125cc. Because the drivers of these bikes do that all throughout the day, it is kind of an incredible experience to piggy back. Drum brakes (may or not work), no light, no safety gear, nothing. And these guys speed through the constant traffic jams. My last visit in Paris, in November last year, I saw many more of those below 500cc bikes than before, and the scooters of course. In France, there is a regulation that stipulates that after you get your motorcycle driver's license, you can't drive a motorcycle with more than 47.5 hp for two years; its named A2 license. Last but not least, the A1 license authorize you to drive a 125cc motorcycle or scooter. Many car drivers get their A1, just to commute to work. That maybe a reason why smaller capacity powered bikes could be the future in countries that used to only have an interested for "big" engines. Obviously, the USA are different.

Translating idioms from one language to the next is one of the most challenging task a human tranlator could face. The litteral meaning has nothing to do with the intended one. For example, in French we used to say "les carottes sont cuites" to say "it's over and done with". The litteral translation means "the carrots are cooked". There are some expressions which are used by English speaking people, sometimes as is, or other times, modified; Dèja-vu: mispronounced because the "U" in "vu" is said like "ou" in "you". A tout à l'heure: toodeloo (for see you later, in the real meaning that "I will see you again in a while", not like a separation greeting. Double sens: this one for some reason is translated into "double entendre". I find it odd. The meaning is the same, but double sens is on point to mean something can be interpretated differently. "Flair"; which I have recently seen spelled "flare". Typically, a virtue that some people have to "detect" whatever is not obvious to everybody. This is derived from a dog's ability to identify from scent. "Il a du flair". There are so many expressions we sometimes use without knowing their roots.

The key to make the price palatable, is to purchase used motorcycles. For example, there already are a bunch of Moto Guzzi Mandello and Stelvio for sale at around 10k for 2023 models.

Is this the futur? But I could see commutes being done on a 230 cc bikes. Simple and reliable! Will they ever come to the USA? https://www.global-kawasaki-motors.com/w_meguro/en/meguro_k3/index.html

I saw the R90S in Orange when they came out, and did not like them at all. This R12S makes me change my mind. I could really see me having one. https://www.bmwmotorcycles.com/en/models/heritage/r12-s.html What do you think? a serious alternative to a Griso?

This is a live video and not some pre-recorded content available from Ducati marketing. As usual, if you watch on YouTube directly, you can get the auto-translation, or you can simply have a look at the images. I never liked the Diavel personally. This version has been modidified to be less excessive in ergonomy. Its a power cruiser. Supposedly comfortable for long distance. At 30,000 EUR a pop, without me!

There is no competition on who reported it first; I have a feeling that MotoGP is not really followed a lot here. Only a few of us are keeping tabs. Going back to the GP24 chassis, it seems indeed that the 2025 season will start with a GP25 with the same chassis, engine and aerodynamics as the GP24. In any case, owing to Marquez' sprint race simulation, Ducati remains the reference in the field, even with their 2024 bike. The others teams have still not caught up with them. The only question that everybody has, who between Francesco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez will win the 2025 World MotoGP championship? Personally, I don't even think there is a question; Marc Marquez will win.

Its officicial now; all the 2025 and 2026 Ducati bikes will use the 2024 engine. The 2025 version of the engine has been discarded by both Bagnaia and Marquez. I think it is interesting because all the Ducati bikes will have the exact same engine for the next two seasons. This also means that the GP25 chassis will most likely remain the 2024 with some probable evolutions. According to Tardozzi, the challenge is to manufacture the necessary 2024 spec'ed engines in time for homologation, for the three Ducati that were initially going to use the 2025 version. So in theory, the six Ducati of 2025 and 2026 are going to have the same engine.

This is the sad truth, that financial investors takes control and only manage companies to make as much money as possible, not caring for any other aspects. It seems that one of the major KTM US creditor, Whitebox Advisor LLC, is not happy with the restructuration plan since KTM is trying to limit those investment funds from having too much control in the future company's management. We will have the answer on February 25th, when the plan will be revealed by the administrator.

I have been considering a Norge also. However, I have an issue with space to garage it. I own a Quota and a Le Mans; I thought the third motorcycle should be one that is a tad more engineered for long distance travel. Not that I have not travelled long distance with both the Quota and the Le Mans. Also, I think a 1200 8 valves should complete my selection of Guzzi. Initially, I was dead set on the Griso, but I realized that it was too close to the Le Mans, spirit wise. The Norge seemed the perfect choice. Unfortunately, the 1200 8V models do not offer the large color selection their earlier sisters did. If you opt for the latest Norge, you only get Black or White. I spent time studying the various models and did not find anything that has not been reported in this forum before.All the main defects have been described such as the CARC bearings, and the few electrical quirks that affect almost every Guzzi, one way or another. I also got from @PJPR01, that the front fairing leaves the shoulders a bit exposed. All the rest is very acceptable, considering the model age and older conception. Additionally, all the motorcycles are usually tuned to meet the EURO environmental regulations, and Guzzi went through those by playing with the FI on these air cooled engines. That equated to a lower mpg. For a bike meant to tour, it is a drawback. According to the available litterature, at cruise speeds, you will get to 170 miles on a tank. If you really ride it hard, then it will be about 140 miles. That can be improved by remapping the ECU.

I forgot to tell you; I checked the prices of same year (1977) motorcycles, currently for sale in Europe. Now, as you know, it is not easy to compare as the USA is its own ecosystem. Now, all the Le Mans 850 around that millesime are well above the 10,000 mark; I found one completely stock in UK with a ask price of 18,000 GBP. Given that his bike has been modified, I would say 10,000 is probably the ceiling.

@4corsa I read all the narrative; This bike, in particular the engine has been heavily modified. I quote: If you are a very handy mechanic, or have access to someone who has a good command on Guzzi, you may go for it. The problem, when you have something which is not stock, you have no written guidelines should something go wrong. You can also see that he has modified the frame for racing. This also maybe cause for concern. If I was in the market for one, I would get somebody with strong knowledge to make an assessment. Such as the guy from 46works in Japan... else, I would pass.

This is a pic of a 1977 model for sale in the UK; brake fluid container is cylindrica.

this is the view of the bike listed for sale from above: its missing the steering dampener too. Front brake liquid reservoir is squared. On older bikes, it used to be cylindrical and see through? it is like that on my own V11. The pics above have it that way.

A quick look at photos of 1977 Le Mans seems to backup your memory. Anyhow, having those upper tubes protruding so much is odd.

If you are ever interested in having a record of your mileage and expenses, if you can be bothered to keep tabs, I recommend that you use the Triplog App. on your phone. I use the free version of the App, and for the first time this year, they sent me a report, to encourage me to subscribe. The main purpose of this application is to record trips and expenses that could be used when you do your federal taxes. I only record the trips I make when I do the Motorcycle Grand Tour of Texas, and because it is the unpaid version, I have to start and stop the trips manually in the app. Which is not a big problem. I only log the fuel, but you could also input all the other charges if you were interested in finding out how much you spend on a particular outing.