velofish

Had a 2003 VW GTI 1.8 turbo. Great fun and economical to run. The warranty ran out at 50 k and the electronics started to go completly haywire at 53k. All the dash lights lit up like a pachinko machine on the way to the dealer to trade it in and it wouldn't go faster than 55mph or so. Stopped to pop the hood and take a look. What a complicated horror-- I assume the big metallic thingy in the middle under the big plastic thingy was the motor thingy. Gently closed the hood and said a little agnostic prayer-- Dear odin/zeus/yahweh, just make it run until I can unload it. That did the trick. It ran fine during the trade-in negotiations. I suspect that modern mechanics have extensive electronic diagnostic equipment and full snap-on rollaways, but most of the real work is done by on-site shamans reading goat entrails and performing aromatherapy on bi-polar black boxes. Bought a Nissan Frontier truck with 4 wheel drive. Hope it runs forever. fish

Was checking it out tonight and the site worked just fine. Thanks for the reassurances, guys. fish

i haul my fat ass around all day.

Thanks, Paul. That's actually a relief to know. They are a good group over there. I have met a few of them in person and they were very cool to hang around with, and I generally kinda steer clear of riding with other folks. While I am blithering on, one of the funnest parts of being in that group was when we all started our bikes. I would wait until all the quiet four cylinders started with the usual whirr and then thumb the goose into life. WHUMP, thump, thump thump through the carbon mistrals. One of the kawasaki riders turned to me with a huge grin and said: "Damn! That's what a bike should sound like!" Cool guys. fish

Greg Field-- the only person who the luddites consider to be behind the times. Just kidding, Greg. fish

I know that some of you are active on the sportouring.net site, too. I am having a lot of difficulty in getting the site to load properly. Is anybody else having problems. or is it just my crappy, crappy, crappy, mojo box acting up again? Thanks, Fish

New wife?

When all this is said and done, and we understand what happened, I believe we will be proud of the US response to this disaster. None of us here actually knows what is happening there, taking this as an opportunity for US bashing is just pathetic. John

None of us is there. None of us understands what is happening on the ground. Using zero REAL knowledge you attack the US? Examine your language. "Masters of the Universe" indicates a predisposed negative attitude. The logistics of an enormous relief effort in an area devoid of local infrastructure is way beyond your comprehension, And mine. None of us will truly uderstand what is happening there for YEARS, if ever. Enjoy your petty attacks in the meantime. FWIW I despise Bush. John

Enjoying yourself? John

I hope it sells like hotcakes, but I still think its ugly. John

I changed my mind. Guzzis DO need a tach but a very special one with two red zones. One zone from 0 to 3500 rpm and the other one starting at 8000 Grossohc: I think you will find that you don't need to change gears all that often, the very wide spread of power is just higher up the scale than you think. Oh yeah, whart you're lugging your engine, cut it out or we won't let you cheer for the Steelers anymore. fish

I know it sounds silly, but ride without looking at the tach. rev it until it is smooth. The rev limiter will save you from doing undue damage. After a while, look back at the tach-- you will find that you are above 4000 at all times. I really don't think these bikes need tachs, the engine will tell ou what it likes, and it likes to rev. fish

Our local HD Buell dealer has NO buells. No info, no interest, but there is a sign on the wall behind the shoe dept. A pity, I like buells, road kings and 1200 sportsters, just can't stand the dealer. BTW, they have an advertising poster that shows the staff-- 4 mechanics and 20+ clothing sales people. fish

What Jaap said. Buell sells them a lot cheaper, too. If you don't want to go into a HD dealership, check MG Cycles web site, they have them listed with the Guzzi numbers. But if you go to the HD joint, you could pick up Harley belt buckles and Harley boots, and Harley socks, and Harley tube tops, and Harley underwear, and Harley letter openers ad nauseum. Not so sure they still sell bikes there.... fish

For years, Ferrari had a no Italian drivers policy. I guess now that Enzo is gone, they might change that for Rossi. He had better be very, very good, though, as I do not believe they will hire him just for the PR value. Those people are serious as death about F1. Soccer is the number 1 sport in Italy, but only because F1 counts as a religion and not a sport... I read somewhere that he is a huge rally car fan. Maybe we will see him in a Skoda? If he can win in that thing, he will really reach god-like status. fish

:thumbsup: congrats on the new addition, and congrats on the great wife. John

Richard: I feel your pain. Mainly because I almost did the same damn thing. I noticed that my rear tire was getting worn and took a ride to my dealer to schedule an appointment to get a new one and BS about which tire would work best. Was on BT 020 with, I thought, plenty of tread to get me to the dealer and back-- about 160 mile round trip. By the time I got there, the cord was showing through! Thank God he had a tire in stock and was good enough to install it right there. The 020 seemed to wear out really really fast when it got to the end of its life. This may be too late to help you, but at the last tire change, I went from a 170 to a 160 on the rear. Bike handles much better now-- leans easier. A lot of folks here have done this with good results. Hope this helps. John

^^ What they said. Oh yeah, mine got noticeably smoother at about the 8k mile mark. 11k mile now and better with every ride. fish

re: vibration. Are you revving it high enough? When I first got my goose, I was upshifting too soon. Now that the tach has thoughtfully died, I just rev it until it is smooth. As a result, I am using more revs and the bike and my hands are much happier. If I am hauling ass, I shift when I hit the rev limiter. 6th gear is ONLY for speeds above 85. Try it You'll like it. John

When/ where is the rally? Thanks. Lost my copy of the MGNOC news fish

I need me sum o' that hemp oil. Is it SG certified? Do I need to have a lava lamp and Inagaddadavidi by Iron Butterly playing in the garage to install it? fish

NOW I'm excited! Thanks rachethack. My dealer is a great guy, but is mainly a cruiser type-- kinda mystified by the sport bikes, I've been wanting to go with the the 160, but wanted some feedback first. The BRP is a great ride. I swear they must go out and dust the thing every morning-- it is that clean. I am anxious to get the 160 on to improve the turn-in. Kinda a luddite; I enjoy wrestling with the goose, but need to improve two things-- the turn-in ability, and the on/off throttle transition. I hope the 160 will improve the leanibility, and an ace goose mechanic is at a local (80 miles) tuning link center. Once I get my Power Commander dialed in, I will go back to the BRP and REALLY enjoy myself. Thanks again, fish

Time for a new rear tire on my 2000. 170 is stock, but I have heard of people going to a 160 because it supposedly fits the rim better and handles better. Anybody done this? How did it work? Anybody use the new Michelin yet? The one with the hard rubber in the middle for longer wear and soft on the edges for grip? First-- what is it called, and second-- how well does it work. Thanks guys. BTW, This last weekend I went to the Virginia rally and got to ride the Blue Ridge Parkway for the first time. Outstanding. Rt 250 east of Monterey VA was even more fun. Highly recommended. fish