Orson

Guaro's personal bike...a V11 Scura. He told me his Quat-D exhaust was the first one ever made.

Yes, Ive been treated rudely in France and... yes, southern France has some of the best, dang motorcycling roads on the planet racetracks with center stripes oh yah... the food ain't too bad

I went to the Milan bike show a few years back. In the main salons, they had the big 4 as well as the leading European makers. Shunted off to the side rooms were about 4 thousand Chinese manufacturers. All selling cheap mopeds and quads. I surmised that we will all be riding Chinese bikes in 20 years

You'd be hardpressed to outdo the Japanese Tenni Squadron There's a picture of them somewhere with about 10 or 12 Tennis all lined up.

I could be wrong, but I think 1949 was the first FIM world championship season, so any titles before then may have been considered European championships?

according to Wikipedia, that's 8 rider's world championships & 6 constructor's championships.

Here are some of my dirt bike pics from the British National Motorcycle Museum: A Triumph ISDT bike similar to the one ridden by Steve McQueen at the 1964 ISDT. A thump-thump-thump BSA 500cc Scrambler Rickman Metisse Another Rickman Metisse with a parallel twin engine

I have a 2002 Tenni and threw caution to the wind. I've ridden 60,000 km away from home and it only left me stranded 1 time. I forgave her

Ossas had to have been some of the most beautiful bikes ever made

I think red is too flashy for a Guzzi. A Guzzi needs to be workmanlike. I think a shade of gray with orange or red or purple stripping.

I would definitely recommend exploring the Lofoten Islands. Let the pictures speak for themselves The Nordkapp is another 2 or 3 days north of the Lofotens and the scenery turns to less spectacular arctic terrain. Unless you absolutely need that Nordkapp feather in your cap, I would stick to the Lofotens Another thing I failed to do was find a ferry schedule I went up the Arctic Highway and back down Route 17 on the coast. There are many ferrys on Route 17 and if you don't know the schedule, you might find yourself sitting for an hour and a half...like me

38,338 miles 61,700 km

Nice report & pictures! beautiful country you have there

I think that's just the 500cc wins. It's 122 if you add the 350cc wins Angel Nieto is second with 90. I have no idea who is third on the list. If I had to guess, it would be Hailwood.

That's what I thought. It looks like one of those computer generated pictures used by magazines to depict upcoming models.

One can hope My feeling is that Moto Guzzi may have come to the realization that they are the Harley Davidson of Europe and should capitalize on this by building quirky, throwback models. It's a business model that has worked for Harley.

VIVA GUARO! He done us all proud

I think Tikkanen added a Le Mans fairing on to his Scura. You might try to send him a PM.

I found my way back to a nice villa near San Casciano that I had stayed at a few years earlier. The following morning, I made my way into town to look for a map of Tuscany. If it's Monday, it must be market day. Everyone comes down to the square to load up their supplies for the week Armed with a new map, I leave San Casciano headed east into the Chianti foothills. I have no pictures, so you'll just have to take my word for it, but the roads in this part of Tuscany are exquisite. Fine twisties amongst hillsides dotted by centuries old villages. Those of you who have been to the Napa and Sonoma valleys will notice the resemblance with this wine growing region. Naturally, team orson would be in dereliction of their duties if they failed to sample some of the local product. Lost again. After Montevarchi, I began climbing into the mountains again. Many times in Italy, the maps say one thing, and the road signs say something else. I came across the tiny village of San Clemente who's "main street" was about 3 feet across. You really have to get along with your neighbors to live in a village like that. Climbing towards San Clemente Finally regaining my bearings, I found a main road and started heading south towards Arezzo and Cortona. The mighty mighty goose waits patiently while I stop to take a picture of a castle. Unable to decide whether to focus on the castle or the Guzzi, the camera chooses the traffic sign Approaching the walled city of Cortona I entered the city and puttered around exploring for a bit. Notice the 10 kph speed limit sign. I don't think they have to worry about enforcing that one As the sun begins to set, the Guzzi overlooks a small chapel just outside the city walls I find a B&B near Cortona and rest for the night. The fourth day would find me still heading south under now cloudy skies but no rain into Umbria. I skirt around Lago Trasimeno and make my way towards Todi. First sighting of Todi. Between Todi and Orvieto, I encountered a real bit of twisty tarmac. It started a bit rough and bumpy but finished off real nicely. I think the asphalt might have still smoking the next morning. Here's a shot of the visually stunning city of Orvieto. I really wished the sun had been shining for this one. It reminded me of an Imperial battle cruiser from Star Wars. The end of the fourth day found me on the shores of Lago di Bolsena where I found a nice hotel to take me in for the night. Now, time is running out on my journey and I need to begin heading back north towards Parma. I depart Bolsena under still cloudy skies. The roads leading north back into Tuscany are pleasingly twisty, just as most of the roads have been since my journey began. The Tuscan roads wind their way past hilltop villages, too numerous to keep track of The sun begins to make an appearance as the mighty mighty goose cuts a handsome profie with the Tuscan landscape as a backdrop At Pontedera, near Pisa, I decide to call it a night. Tomorrow will sadly be the last day of the journey. I take the autostrada and cut north along the coast to La Spezia before I cut inland towards Parma. I climb into the Appenines one last time under brilliant skies Yet another castle! The final pass over the Apuan Alps I descended the final few kilometers into Parma before handing my bike over to its caretakers. All in all, it was probably one of my best trips in Italy. I kept to the backroads for most of the time and really enjoyed some fine motorcycling roads as well as the awesome countryside. Distance: 1700 km / 1056 miles in 6 days Carabinieri interaction: 0 Puckers: 1 Deer encounters: 0 Bee stings: 0 Route:

team orson manages to escape for one last fling before winter's icey tendrils take hold. Being allergic to cold weather, I decided to head southwards along the Appenine mountain range which runs along the entire length of the Italian peninsula. For the first day of my trip, I decided to put off heading south for a day and explore the province of Parma. While the Emilia Romagna isn't as popular as Tuscany, it doesn't lack in natural beauty and doesn't suffer from bus loads of Japanese and American tourists. I headed west into the foothills of the Appenines on a route suggested by the bike shop's owner. I encountered the first castle of the trip. It would be the first of many The sun was shining and the roads were twisty as I headed deeper into the mountains. I encountered local riders along the way. You know you're on the right road when you see the locals. Near the higher elevations of the Passo di Mercatello, I encounter some fall foilage. While Europe doesn't seem to have the volcanic fall colors seen in North America, they still provide a nice display Later in the day, the skies begin to darken and threaten to rain, but the threat does little to dampen the beauty of the Italian countryside. Hang a hard right, give it a little throttle before easing off for the small village dominated by the church spire. One nice thing about riding in Italy, you're toodling along, minding your own business when you round a corner and...whoa dude! Nice house! The castle dominating the town of Baldi On our way back to Parma, the mighty mighty goose cools its heels as "night arrives with her purple legions" to descend upon the Appenines, signaling the end of another day. After a night's sleep and a proper dosage of cappuccinos, I began to make my way south along the fertile plains that run along the eastern slope of the Appenines along the area so famous for its racing heritage. Home to names such as Ducati, Ferrari and Maseratti. Stopping at Maranello to snoop around a bit for Ron Dennis :cool: From Maranello, I turn southwest and begin the serpentine climb up into the mountains and into Tuscany As I climb further and further, the other traffic decreases. Soon, it seems I have the mountains to myself. Again, the fall colors become more prevalent at the higher altitudes. A mountain village, lies in seclusion deep in the Appenines A tree lined country lane winds its way through the mountains. In the states, a traffic safety engineer may have deemed these trees unsafe and ordered them to be cut down. In Italy, they remain...just because Sleepy villages line my route where time seems to stand still, in spite of what the clock tower says As I approached the town of Pescia, I began to notice small throngs of people lining the route. Many of them were dressed as bicycle racers. I began to suspect something was up. Sure enough, as I rounded a bend, a police bike coming the opposite way, dismissively waved me off the road. Right after that came the usual sights seen at the Tour de France. The team cars, officials, camera bikes, followed by the peloton. I didn't get my camera out in time and missed a shot of the peloton so you'll have to settle for a shot of more team cars South of Empoli, I was getting into the heart of Tuscany with its picturesque countryside and its romantic villas

Not that it's needed, but I'll add my 2 thumbs up to Jaap's moderating style There are other moto-forums with lively political sub-forums. I enjoy this site for its Guzzi commraderie

So, I got a copy of SoloMoto, the Spanish motorcycle magazine... They were talking about 2008 models and talked about the expected Moto Guzzi Stelvio... but they also mentioned, "We still await a new Moto Guzzi sport model named the "Monza" after the 500cc Moto Guzzi model of the 1980s". They know something we don't know?

I didn't even know such a beast existed. How many were sold worldwide?