mdude

Will be celebrating christmas in a log cabin on the coast of Norway in the light of candles and open fireplaces, winterstorms roaring outside. Far away from my garage with the V11 and Ghost waiting patiently, but very close to my magnum bottle of Tuscan sunshine. Happy holidays to all. This site has really assured me that choosing the V11 was the right thing to do. Only three months to bike season...

The following is from the norwegian Guzziclub-site: Recalled for inspection of engine/drivetrain: Frames ZGUKR0000XM111112 to ZGUKR0000YM112130. Recalled for inspection of drivetrain: Frames ZGUKR0000YM112131 to ZGUKR00001M114639, ZGUKS00001M111111 to ZGUKS00001M111147, ZGUKS00001M211111 to ZGUKS00001M211162. The only way to see if your bike has been recalled is to ask former owners, or open it up and check it. That was what I was told I was told when I bought mine.

so, when in the history of the motorcycle, or in the history of the IC-engine, did the culture change from a "personalise it to make it mine"-theme to a "nah, keep it stock cause I love the way it looks like all the others"-theme? When did the tinkering stop? Im a designer myself, thats why I always look at new designs with a more critical eye. There is countless examples of design projects that have misfired seriously because of exaggerated belief in and use of market research and focus groups. A commitee or a focus group will always choose the least innovative and most non-intrusive design language. They sand off all sharp edges. Thats a fact. When one says that a product is fine-tuned, that really means "to all tastes". So its up to us to release what we personally see as the potential in the design. Most products feature loads of cost or taste related compromises when they reach the market. Rarely do you see a product that sparkles with single minded visions and ideas (Ducati 916 is an exception that comes to mind). Some will always go with the finished product and be happy with that, but in our world of endless tinkering and improvement and personalising, they are getting scarce. Most manufacturers choose tinkering as a marketing strategy as well, and is helpful in providing masses of aftermarket parts to change and actually improve their product. Because as a rule, the best components dont end up on the machine, manufacturers cant afford to use them. Porsche, as an example, reckons they make 10 times as much money by support and licensing to aftermarket suppliers AND servicing cars as on the cars themselves. So what Im saying is: we're SUPPOSED to change our bikes.

if this is true it both sucks and not. It sucks because I really really want a Furia, planning was started, and it dont suck because it shows that MG is seriously planning something like a sportsbike and dont want competition. But why doesnt G&B buy a container or two of those engines that ended up in Germany and solder on for a year or three?

My thought excactly. A lot better than the beer barrell. Best solution should be a Quat D-thingy, Id say...

well, didnt take long before we solutions to the Ugly Can Disease was available. Seems like a noisy (i.e: good) solution. From the site of the corsaitaliana guys. The make of the can is MHP...

Juggling your sprouts??! Thats a bit obscene, isnt it??

yes.....

Darn, thats about the scariest thing I have ever heard. Mom, why is it so dark in here..... I dont have a scura, but at least my Greenie silently peels it paint like its supposed to do.

I have, but I forgot where I put them....

I had the exact same thing happening on my bike a month ago. Exciting when the engine suddenly kicked in again at 4000 rpm... I feared the wost, and began tearing the bike apart, then came to my senses and started checking from the sparkplugs backwards. The first thing i did was to cut half an inch off the plugcable, and then reinsert it in the plugcap. And that was it.... So simple it hurt.

spendy, but the racing-ECU fixes all kinds of niggles and really transforms the bike into a roaring giant. With the Mistral or other systems one should go for a Power Commander or MyECU or something like that, and then you've got similar budgets.

Hear hear, greenies rule indeed. I dont use my damper at all, but obviously Greenie pilots are made out of concrete and chrome-moly steel (as opposed to scuristi which consist solely of dark smoke). Or is it it that I just drive cowardly slow? Actually on my last trip I experienced tendencies of wobbling on tuff surfaces, so in spring I'll turn it two clicks tighter. I would indeed replace the damper if it blew. Hyperpro is noted.

thats some pile of macho metal, amigo!

As written in an old BSA manual: " if stuck, dont use force. Use a bigger hammer"

www.corsaitaliana.com have these in stock

Theres some ugly stories indeed. Also with the austrian Riesling some 10 years ago, with antifreeze added for that last touch of class. Now that most italian estates are owned either by americans or germans I guess its more "Ordnung und Cleanliness".

Was in Tuscany two months ago, for the second time with the wine club geezers. We flew to Pisa, and lived in Montepulciano. Its glorious. But keep out of big touristy towns (didnt like Florence and Siena much) and aim for small villages and wine cellars/farms in the Chianti and Brunello district (buy a map), that frequently offer accomodation. Out in the country, people are friendly and nothing is a problem even though it may take some time. The roads are fun, and traffic isnt too heavy. Take a lot of short cuts and diversions, you may find something fun. Tip: in Pienza, south of Florence, which is perhaps the most beautiful little town I have seen, theres a wine merchant who has to be one of the best in Europe. Ginos Enoteque. He ships worldwide, and knows every great wine in Europe. And hes not that expensive, and offers sips of everything you may wish to taste. We spent.........a lot.......

Think you are right on both: single grade mineral oil, narrow galleys, tight tolerances... from what I have heard the straight sixes of AM are quite venerable. The later V8 is much more reliable.

Nice disussion on a tech-website, but nonetheless verrrry important I believe. I think not, your taste hasnt changed. The constant adding of more sugar and caramel-ish flavours in order to keep fat and sugarhungry westerners happy has more or less ruined the traditional liquors. Cognac, as an example, has become more or less the Grand Marnier that you loved in the 70s, Grand Marnier has turned into syrup. A a result, they dont sell more of it, but less (stay with your concept!). One can still find pure tastes, though. Like Hennessys Single Barrell Cognac, which dont taste brown fudge but has a lovely pure and light fruity taste to it. Brilliant. And please send me a glass of your 77 Grand Marnier. Its the same with red wine, theres a lot of cheatin' going on: adding sugar, adding chips of wood, chemicals etc. some australian cellars have a bad reputation for doing this. The best red wine IMHO is italian, because they still keep it pure, but dont stop evolution like the french. And because bottles almost never are completely closed and chemical processes goes on with the sugar and all, liquors will change in taste as time goes by. After all, scotch whisky brands dont store their best drops for up to 24 years because its fun. Now, whats the big deal with those motorized bikes?

whats hockey??

I'll start riding in mid April round Eastertime, but I live in the southern part of Norway. From mid May it is safe to ride longer trips, crossing the highlands. No snow after that, but up north (Trondheim upwards) mountain passes can be cold with temperatures closing on 0-5* C. The best climate for riding in Norway is June to end of September. This year we had 25-35* C in all of July. Think Tuscany in September-November, thats about the general picture of the Norwegian summer climate...

Story: I have a mate who's a Bentley/Aston Martin mechanic. One winter morning he got a phone from a very wealthy customer with several supercars in his collection. Among them a mint Aston Martin DB5 (remember; the James Bond Aston?), worth appx 120.000 english pounds/220.000 $. The guy asked " I took the Aston on a ski holiday friday, but the temperatures has fallen and I wonder if its safe to start the engine below -5 Celcius?". My friend, who has explained this to him several thousand times before, and also very strongly advised against taking such a precious car with wafer thin alu body and no rust protection whatsoever out on salty, icy winter roads, is shocked but explains calmly that "no, You shouldnt sir, the engine needs at least 12 C before its safe to start it. It'll blow. Let it stand where it is and I'll collect it for you with a trailer" The wealthy moron tells him to shove it, basically. That my mate just wants to screw him and sneek money out of him, and that he'll do what the hell he want with his own property. "but of course, Sir..." 10 minutes later he calls again. "Think I'll need a trailer after all, something is not right here". He had tried to start it, and blown it. Cracked crank, cracked block, cracked rods, cracked everything. The restoration of the engine alone cost him a cool 30.000 pounds/56.000 $. Don take lightly on stiff motor oil.

Good boy, see you in June then. And you are quite right; its a lot faster through Sweden. Might get bored after 800 kms of forest, though

The Griso also got great reviews in the swedish BIKE magazine lately (or was it Allt Om MC??? or MC-nytt??? I always read these magazines halfdrunk at the pub on saturday afternoons....), the writer thought it was nearly to good to be true, clearly having had bad experiences with Guzzis in the past. He wrote that it warmed his heart that Guzzi, with all that glorious history, finally was back with a brilliant everyday bike. He raved about the design and detailing, and the comfort and easy handling. The only stick he gave it was a notchy clutch and bad location of the indicator switch (aprilia...). The Norge has also been given thumbs up in most reviews over here, as a viable alternative to the Beemers. Smaller tourers like that is big over here, in contrast to the 1300-1800 cubic monsters. By the way, anybody noticed that the cans on the new Tuono RSV is the same as the Mg Tis? look at the details on everything from connector tube (which is different) and backwards.