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https://www.wildwestmotoplex.com/ Today I learned from MPH Cycles that we have a new Moto Guzzi / Aprilia dealership in Houston; I went there to check them out; I could actually sit on the Stelvio and the Mandello! They also have a bunch of V7, and the V85TT in two livrées. The Blu White Red looks really nice. They told me they only sold two Guzzi since they started. They have one part of the floor dedicated to BMW, and they have many GS1300 (of course!). According to the sales assistant I spoke to, the Yamaha Tenere and the Honda Africa Twin are the most sought after. In fact, he said they never have any on the floor because they get sold as soon as they come. There is less than 1000 USD difference between the Stelvio and the Mandello. They are both around 15,000 USD. You can basically purchase both and still spend less than for a BMW GS1300... unreal! Although I can keep my feet flat on the floor seating on the Stelvio, you really have to make an effort to bring it upright from being on the sidestand. Much more than my Quota, and that is with an empty tank.

There is a team of people from Texas that go onsite to provide assistance after those disasters. I was wondering what kind of support you can provide to anyone in those incredibly difficult circumstances? aren't you becoming part of the problem rather than the solution? Those people that have lost everything need basic necessities; in those devastated towns, you are in need of these as well? I agree that you try to bring moral support, people not affected show them they are not alone. Or am I missing something?

I am going to Paris in November, and I have made a direct deal with the owner of the place I am going to rent. AB&B prices have increased fueled by all the new laws enacted by localities in order to protect the Hôtel businesses and the long term rental market. The municipality in Paris has made it very difficult for owners to rent appartments through AB&B. They already had imposed a limitation of the number of days they could rent, and now, to be able to rent short term, you need to possess another appartment of the same surface that you can rent long term. They have also come up with additionnal taxes, mainly to satisfy the Hôtels. Therefore, with less rentals, prices have gone up. Not to forget that this year, the Olympic Games in Paris had inflated the prices to levels never seen before. As I go to Paris once a year, I have been staying in some dumps which really should not even be listed. Still, better than those expensive 2 stars hôtels... But if you are looking for better deals, there are ways to alleviate the pain. For example, if you stay outside of Paris, prices go down very quickly. The subway takes you to the city center in minutes, so it is not compulsory to stay with a view on the Seine. When I was working in Italy, I quickly learned that if you wanted to spend time in Venice, you stayed in Mestre. Take the bus to Venice, you have one every 10 minutes. The money aside, yes indeed, you now have to fight your way for every sight you want to visit. But if you really are daring, and resourceful, not easily frightened, I can recommend a few places where you will not see many tourists; Kazakhstan is one of them. I worked there for a few years, and it is stunning beautiful and tourist untapped.

You know that Kawasaki made a concept Hydrogen bike? it is not something they are planning to commercialize at present. Mainly because H2 refueling stations are inexistant outside of Japan. Actually, if Tesla had not developped all those supercharging stations, you can bet the adoption would have probably be worse. As expected, this project bike looks like a monstercycle.

I looked at the Toyota Mirai; First its 50k USD + the usual add-ons. With the purchase, you get 15K USD free fuel or 6 years whichever comes first. 402 miles autonomy on a full tank; 5 minutes typical refueling time on an empty tank. 8 years or 100000 miles warranty on all Fuel Cell Components whichever comes first, extensible 3 more years or 35000 miles whichever comes first. The main perk, they have it in Supersonic Red. In the US 1 kg of H2 is about 33 dollars. Compared to Japan 1 kg is 7 dollars. You need about 5.6 kg to refuel; ... with 15k free, a 400 miles autonomy, you have about 30,000 miles free H2 upon purchase. Not much.

The major contributors to pollution are the industries, those coal burning days were major offenders. Even today, some powerplants are still burning coal to produce electricity. Then there is the hidden pollutants that revolve around electric cars. After Beryl and the Derecho we experienced in Houston earlier this year, all my neighbours have purchased generators. Natural Gas powered but still polluting. The house where I live was built in 2016. But the roof is not designed to support solar panels. If I wanted to be brave, I would have to have a complete roof rebuild and reinforcement, have all the appropriate wiring installed, and then I would be able to lower my electricity consumption. I know someone who did exactly that, and he is having a lot of problems stemming from not having the installation conceived at building time. He has had several roof leaks, and power components failures because the wiring had to be patched. And I would still be playing the huricane lottery every year. The wind would love to find purchase under the solar panels and rip everything off. Electric cars are not an universal solution when you don't live in your own house and able to charge your vehicle overnight. As far as I understand, in the USA, only Tesla has a reliable charging network, including DC chargers. Tesla has also given access to his superchargers to some other vehicle manufacturers. But not all vehicles can charge at full speed. The rest of the third party network is unreliable, with chargers offline, software not working and what not. Rather than an typical electric car, I would have been willing to try fuel cells. Unfortunately, there is no H2 distribution in Houston. I also read that H2 distribution is also unreliable in California. But the concept of H2 refueling works a lot better than electric charging. H2 refueling takes the same amount of time as gas. Gas stations could be easily overhauled to accomodate H2 distribution. After all, like today, it is only a tank to be installed. No need for electricity grid improvements. Then again H2 is expensive, and requires a lot of electricity to be manufactured. Unless you build a Nuclear plant to make it cheaply. We are still not there yet. It is not only the cars, but the people need to accept the fact, and do something about it. If you come to Houston, you will see that massive V8 powered pickup trucks still rule.

First of all, I will be in Paris during that time. So, a quick hop using one of those fast train Paris to Milano is within the realm of possibility. I have not made up my mind yet. Nowadays, you no longer need to go to these sort of exhibitions in person given the number of YouTubers we will broadcast the event for you. Previously, it used to be possible to actually climb on the bikes, to get a feel for the position. I watched several of the Vlog of EICMA 2023, and it seemed that many manufacturers now prohibit seating on motorcycles. It was the case for Moto Guzzi for example. If you remove this ability, then there is not much reason to go there in person. In any case, I am planning to resplenish my motorcycling attire and accessories.

What's incredible, is the most devastation happened in North Carolina, and not where Helene made its landfall. If I understood well, the affected towns were not under evacuation recommendation.

Word Salad: What is a tube amplifier anyway? in my language, a tube is an elongated cylinder which usually carries fluids; such as liquid or gas. It is also used to contain toothpaste or glue. In London, the Tube carries passengers through tunnels. In UK, a Tube Amplifier is a valve's amplifier. What is a valve amplifer anyway? a valve is usually a mechanical device used to close or open a passage in a pipe or duct. In a trumpet, you have valves, which are also called pistons. So you have taps and faucets in an amplifier? In France, a Tube/Valve Amplifier is called an Amp with light bulbs (Amplificateur à lampes). Because when you turn on the Amp, they glow. Now, I get it. A light bulb is a light bulb everywhere, ins't it? well, I heard about glow plugs too, but nobody called them Glow Plug Amps as far as I know. I wonder what they call Tube/Valve/Bulb amps in other languages???

Who do you think will win this year's world title? 1) Bagnaia; 2) Martin; 3) Someone else; (Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez are in theory out of contention, but there are enough points left to distribute to not rule them out just yet).

I think Motorex is a Swiss company; What we need to keep in mind, is that each "oil" brand gets their base oil mineral, semi synthetic, synthetic from many of the same suppliers. They don't make it themselves. Also, the final recipe is made using additives that come from, if I remember well, five or six companies. At the end of the day, as long as the oil you purchase is certified by the usual JASO MA2 (2023), API SP, you really can't go wrong. Personally, I use Motul, an oil brand that I started with in 1973 when I got my first motorcycle, albeit a two stroke engine. I use 20W50 in the Guzzi Q and Guzzi V11. Interestingly, Motul is now manufacturing a new line, named NGEN using some recycled components. I don't think it is available in the USA yet.

Company name please?

It is...

I change my tires every year, independently of the mileage. My V11 is equipped with Michelin Road 6; My Quota with Dunlop Trailmax Mission. The biggest challenge seems to be availability. My initial choice for the Quota was different, but I had to settle for what could be made available within the time frame I had. The Michelin Road 6 were also hard to get. I am not recommending any brand, as said above, we all have our opinion. Here's a topic which may help to confuse more:

I will check with Davey, but since he had the bike for more than six months... I told him to change anything that needed it. He confirmed he did a complete tune up.

This is a typical mistake some owners often make. They heavily modify their bike to suit their preferences, and when resale time comes, they think the enhancement they installed deserve a premium. It can actually be a deterrent rather than an incentive. Unless those changes were carried out to remove some of the known weaknesses; such as the instruments, either Veglia or ITI, the starting wiring... there is an exception though; the exhaust replacement seems to be an acceptable improvement, but not always. My Guzzi Q (I like that it sounds like Suzy Q) retained the stock exhaust. Most of the Quota I saw before purchasing this one had an aftermarket exhaust, sometimes with the original available, sometimes not. I like the way the stock exhaust looks.

It's not so much performance as to smooth reopening when on slippery terrain. The fueling is very much on/off, and I would like it to be really progressive. But the Guzzi Q. will never be as smooth as the modern motorcycle. I will eventually get the hang of it. I like it a lot (the Guzzi Q.).

It has been tuned by MPH Cycles, using a Beetle map. Davey explained to me why the fueling is not efficient. First, there is the one throttle body for both cylinders. But he also mentionned the placement of the injectors as contributing to the "lag". Plus all the mechanics to open the throttle. The Guzzi Q. will never be a smooth operator...

I may be completely wrong, but after 4 years of V11, and two years of looking for a Stelvio and then Quota, I do not get the feeling that Moto Guzzi is a hot ticket. At least not here, in Texas. If I was to sell my Le Mans, which I purchased in December 2020 for 6kUSD, 8800 miles, I would probably hope for 5kUSD max. And that's after all the known imperfections were cured. I got the Quota for 3kUSD, although I was probably only worth 2.5kUSD. The 2016 Stelvio NTX that I was considering in January 2023 is still unsold, currently priced for $6250 from its 2023 starting price $7500.

9kUSD... I am not sure;

@gstallons If you take a look at the community map of this forum, you will find out who lives where. I took a quick look at those that have set their location inside the state of Florida, and did not recognize any of the nicknames usually posting. Those extreme weather systems are now happening around the world; sometimes in places where they never had before. Recently in Cannes on the French Riviera. In Houston, we had already two this year. A "Derecho" and Beryl. A repeat of the same situations with the same consequences all around.

The "dual sport" ride started between 09:00 and 09:30, and we came back shortly before 11:30. I think we did 55 miles of trails around Montgomery! my understanding was we were going to join the cruisers for the parade, but in fact, we did not. I told the leader of our group, that if I had known that we were going to do terrain, I would not have come. I was preoccupied to be on a 25 years old motorcycle, which I had never ridden in these conditions. But when the group got split at some point, the BMW 1250 GS falled back in the sand. The guy was just being me, staggered, but riding in the sand is nerve breaking since the bike is completely unsteady. So he got distanced. I really enjoyed the Quota. The fueling is the main drawback. I wish there was something that could be done. The bike would really be nice if it wasn't so jerky. The "Ride for Kids" was meant to start at 10:30; They came back between 11:30 and 12:00. Next year, they will do it in April, as many riders suffered from the heat. I met the MGTT director David Canada. Interesting fellow. He is from the East Coast. When he moved to Texas, he implemented the tour. Did you spot the other Guzzi? there was a 1400 California in the parade. The Quota drew a lot of attention from the other "dual sport" guys.

3785 miles only? a 2001 Motorcycle? is this something you use as a display in your bedroom, so you can pretend before going to sleep? It looks brand new on the photos...