Skeeve

If you go to the MOT [i think that's what the UK version of our Dept. of Motor Vehicles is called], do they have any provision for "paper" plates? Here in CA, you can go to the DMV & get temporary registration pending the conclusion of certain logistical requirements [ie, getting a car smogged before re-registration, etc.] which would give you the time to ride the bike from Italy to the UK and get it inspected/registered/plated. Best of luck!

I wouldn't know, but I've heard it said that "it's good to be the King..."

It's not so much the 1deg of rake that makes so much difference, it's the greater trail [which affects the resistance to turning, whereas the rake just lengthens the wheelbase, increasing the radius of the minimum circle that can be negotiated.] On the Spot & Sporti, the traditional tactic was to remove the clip ons, drop the forks in the triple clamps enough to attach the clip ons above the top triple clamp, which simultaneously dropped the front [decreasing rake & trail] while reducing the stretch to the bars [giving more leverage to the rider.] You might try changing tires and fiddling w/ pressures too. If the handling is so slow, for certain check the rear tire & make certain it hasn't lost a few psi. Moto tires are typically good for losing about 10% in a month in my experience, just sitting in the garage waiting to be ridden. Good luck!

That idjit's putting it on the wrong direction! It'll peel right off as soon as he puts power to the ground thru that rear wheel. Now, if he was taping the front wheel, it would have been just fine...

Skeeve, please edit your post and quote me correctly or don't quote me at all. It's no good style what you do here, regardless of the quote's content or what you want to say. Thanks hubert Sure thing Luhbo, I'll put you down my list of the humour-impaired. No worries!

There, fixed it for you! You know how the communists hated to lose to the West, & particularly the U.S.A, & weren't above ordering the f!ckup of the day on K.P. duty to put on civvies & "go take one for the team"... Or did you really buy that that all happened "accidentally?"

They did get it sorted: that's why they returned to the high-mount belt-driven alt. on the new quotards: the problem w/ the pancake alternator on our V11s is that the Guzzi donk is such a slow-revving beast that the alt. isn't normally spinning fast enough to put out the necessary juice when you're just loafing along in cruise. Something I'm willing to wager that the new Bellagio w/ it's revvy, short-stroke 940 motor doesn't suffer from to any appreciable extent: even loafing along in cruise, it's torque curve is likely just enough higher in the rpm band to get above the "knee" on the alt.'s output curve... Everyone keeps telling the newbies to keep their rpms up, that this motor likes to rev it up a bit: now you know why!

I see nothing!! It's a pretty poorly edited bunch of clips of Mick Doohan racing (? - I guess: hard to tell the players w/o a dance card when they're all wrapped up in leathers, helmets & eyesore sponsor's graphics - this ain't VMC racing folks!) all set to Queen's 'Princes of the Universe' for soundtrack. Still a great song, even 25 years after the movie they wrote it for [Highlander - the first, fun one, not the sequels which were completely shite] was released. Hey, ol' Sean Connery is still kickin' around: I wonder if they'll do a special 25th anniversary commemorative release on BluRay to cash in? I'd almost be interested in that, if they fluffed it up w/ some extras like cast interviews, documentaries about its cult following, etc.

Too right: no way a bike could have spent 100,000 miles out rolling around under the sun w/ no signs of yellowing of the acrylic over the speedo dial. Not to mention, I don't think even the most dedicated rider is likely to put over 100k km [60k mi] on in a single year... Score! Man, that's some story! Hard to believe they didn't just take the new buyer's depreciation hit & sell it on down the line to recoup their cost when it was still new! Lucky 4 you! I've been trying to score one of the '83 cast rear wheels cheap to see if it will mate up w/ the drive unit on my GL12. If I can, & it works, it will mean I can replace my 150/85x15 rear tire w/ a 130/90x16, just like the front. Which in turn means that I can run a reversed rear up front, and swap tires end for end when the rear squares & the front triangles, to keep decent handling throughout the lifespan of a set of tires [and of course, the bike will handle much more sprightly when new because of the match btw tire size front 2 rear...] My GL12 was an Interstate that I got as a wreck, so it has no rear bags or topcase: when I found out that '84 was the last year for a "standard" G'wing roadster, and that the taillight package for an '84 was about a gajillion $ less than replacing the whole back end on the Interstate, I took the easy way out. I'll be adding a cheapy aftermarket topcase one of these years, just 'cause the gf needs something to relax against, but my GL12 is will remain about #50 lighter than in its original state, which can only help the slightly ponderous handling, no? Congrats 2 you, what a great story!

Of course they didn't need padding: how fast are you moving in trials, 2? maybe 3 mph?.. Besides, rider were made of iron back then, just like their motorcycles were! We riders of today are merely made of aluminum in comparison...

Well, they're a bit overwhelming at first, like you said: once you tip it beyond a certain point from vertical [say, 15deg either way], you begin to realize just how MASSIVE they are. The thing is, they've got such low c.g. that as long as you're careful, they don't have a tendency to reveal just how heavy they are [unlike some of the modern sport tourers like the FJ1300, ST11/1300 or Connie 14, which have high c.g's that will bite you if you're caught unaware...] As you say, as long as you're underway, they're not bad at all. The "parking-lot paddle maneuvers" are why Mother Honda added the electric reverse gear on the GL1500, which was even more massive than my GL12 [the last of the F4s.] NB: my understanding is the reverse works by running the starter motor backward in gear, possibly w/ a compression release as well? A similar setup could conceivably be retrofit/achieved by a gifted amateur, but I'm a big enough guy[1] that I'm just not interested in going there... [1] - Mountain bike racing "Clydesdale" class, 200+ pds - or as I like to say: "Normal size, not a midget like most everyone else..."

Jim: nobody knows anything about these other than what is in the press release because they're too danged expen$ive for anyone to seriously contemplate buying a bike & then spending enough $ for another bike on the kit & installation to end up w/ a bike that would still be easily spanked by a modern sportbike that cost less than the original Guzzi you began with in the 1st place. Basically, it's not what owning a Moto Guzzi is about. We're all cheap bastidges here... Now, if they were giving them away free, I wouldn't turn up my nose at one...

OMG! How did that happen? Are you certain the P.O. didn't just turn the odometer around [iIRC, they only go to 99,999 before rolling over...] 305 original km is buying it at one of the few & far between dealerships back in '83 and riding it home! Does your '83 have the comstar [pressed & riveted steel, '81 to early '83 model year] or the cast alloy [late '83 on] rims? I hope you lucked out & got the cast wheels, because even tho' they're heavier, they're hold up better under high mileage; the comstars reportedly would "get loose" over time.

Pretty quiet, as far as most bikes go. As long as he didn't make a habit of shooting youtube videos, I don't think that he'd generate too much ill will...

Don't recommend that: it's too similar to a WW1 naval camouflage ['splintern'] pattern - wouldn't want some BDC to take you out on your new bike!

Glad you brought that up: I was going to mention something about that too. Honda had a serious problem w/ early GoldWings eating their stators; it was eventually traced to the molex connector under the left sidecover experiencing corrosion at the connector and gradually increasing resistance until the current the regulator was demanding to compensate eventually blew up the stator [which, since it is inside the cases on the back of the engine, was a very expen$ive repair!] The solution, per one of Honda's service bulletins? Cut out the molex connector & solder the wires together! Since the motor on a G'wing comes out of the frame so rarely, it's easier just to cut & resolder the wires in the event of that rare occurrence... NB: does this mean that HMC gets a bodge point? So I am of the mind that improving the connection to ground for the VR on the Guzzi is of immediate importance [isn't it interesting to note how many of the myriad niggles on V11s seem to relate to their electrics? ]

You misspelled "Cali fea.."

"if we had baloney then, we'd a won the Civil War..."

I'm certain you can, however, there are one or two relays that are already "oversubscribed" as delivered from the factory, so you'd want to avoid placing additional load on them. However, I'm not certain which they are, as I am allergic to the magic smoke, so avoid messing with it whenever possible. There are several adepts here who know the correct rituals: Ryland? Docc? Anyone else care to chime in?

wrt Tach jump: what about wrapping the lead for the tach sensor around a ferrite bead to damp out the voltage spikes that are leading to the jumpy tach? Any Radio Shack should have them... wrt temp sensor: what about mounting it to the valve cover, as Guzzi did w/ their original temp sensor setup in the 90s Cali? Spot? etc. before changing the molds for the head castings to give a more reliable mounting point for the re-purposed automotive radiator pick-up that the factory chose to use. [Must get around to doing Rachethack's mod to the temp sensor one of these days. Winter's here, it might light that fire under my @ss... ] Or just reuse the Guzzi sensor & splice it into the Vapor? Thanks for the great report: lots of very useful 1st hand info here!

Chuck Norris doesn't sleep: he just closes his eyes until his gravity well draws you into position for the easy take-down!

Wot's a stig? Funny stuff, other than the unfamiliarity w/ what they were lampooning.

You boys across the pond will buy them by the boatload. Don't blame me, I was only born here! The rest of my countrymen seem unusually resistant to my efforts to educate them in the finer points of good taste. Or even the coarse points!

Gold? What gold! England didn't have any gold until they started stealing it from Spanish treasure galleons coming back from the New World! There're no gold mines in England. Give it up! The Vikings raped your sheep & stole your women [as usual, someone got the directions crossed up...]; your stupid monks tried to hitch a ride, telling them that if they just went to confession, all would be forgiven & they could continue their sheep-rustling. They didn't like getting caught out that they'd been going about it all wrong, so they killed your silly monks & went on worshiping Odin, who didn't need to forgive them for doing what they did best, but actually expected them to do so [a much more reasonable deity if I say so myself... ] Sorry your Tenni let you down. It's probably the color: everyone knows green motorcycles are bad luck. Or is that only green Harleys? Tell you what, send your Tenni fairing & body work to me, & I'll swap it on my plain-vanilla LeMans nero. If it doesn't give me bad luck too, well then we'll know that only you shouldn't ride a green motorcycle! ;D What? Sorry, can't hear you. Bodywork? Returned?? What bodywork? No thanks, I don't need any more... Sounds like a wonderful trip, except for the part with the motorcycle not working right, the Belgian goons & the rain. As ride reports go, I give it an A+.

[quote name='pete roper' date='01 November 2010 - 07:09 PM' timestamp='1288663753' Our house has one bathroom and a separate dunny, no en-suites. That makes more sense if you're living in a one-holer: that way, if someone is tying up the bath, anyone can still get access to the bog... KLRs are fine, but I'm still more of a DR650 fan. Slightly better off-road, w/o enough of a hit to the on-road perf to matter [unless you're planning on riding round the world; then some of those long high-speed empty stretches you'll want the KLR's higher top end...] Either way, hard to go wrong. If my '99 SV wasn't darn near worthless now [