mdude

hehe, someone got you there. JA is yes, NEI is no.

Hi Guy. As a resident over here in the cold and fog I'll try to answer. Some of these things I'm not sure of but I'll try. 1. Accommodation: July/August is the month where we take our holidays. Theres loads of people on the road, especially on the main roads that you need to follow if you want to cover a lot of ground quickly. There are accommodation to be found everywhere along these roads (hotels, motels, cabins, rooms for hire), and I would not think it would be a big problem. But you really need to plan your route, because when you get north of middle norway (Trondheim) you are basically in the wilderness, and may face 200-300 kms or so between civilisations. Myself I have done a lot of driving especially in the western Norway, where tourism is at its busiest, but I've never had to sleep under a bridge. The cost: I tend to be a bit of a luxury camper and stay at hotels; about 1000 kr for a double room with breakfast is business class, going down to 600 kr. I guess you cna score a room for about 300 kr if you're lucky. 2. We have gatsos, but not as many as in UK. Round the populated areas they tend to have radar controls from time to time, but in general you're your own man (like Wales?). Bikes are somehow expected to go a little faster; thats a general consensus. The fines are quite high, but not insanely so. Expect about 200 pounds if caught doing 95 in a 80 kmh-zone. But mind: in july/august traffic can be heavy (mobile homes and geriatric germans...) some roads are really narrow, and rheindeer, moose and other animals are a constant and real threat. Dont underestimate that danger when driving in Norway! Of 25 people here at the office, 6 have hit a moose at some time. Roads are great, in general. Expect 60kmh as you say in Western Norway, from Trondheim and onwards expect 80-85 average. I regularly drive the Oslo-Trondheim route (540 kms), and do 85+ average in my car. 3. Dunno, my wife use to pay them :-) I guess from about 100 kr to 250 kr for the longest stretches. If you start in Bergen you can get away with 2-3 ferrys to Nordkapp if you plan well. Theres a lot of toll roads, but bikes drive for free. 4. Right now 98 unleaded is about 12 kr + (in excess of 1 pound). It will rise..... My guess is that it will reach 14 kr, maybe higher. 5. No snow. But expect rain and temps may go as low as 5C up north. Generally driving conditions that time of year are brilliant and you may also face temps of 30C. Last year we had periods of three weeks with temps above 30Celsius. 6. English is fine, no problem at all. Tip: have an english flag somewhere, as englishmen are more pop than the other kind... Else: cash machines are plentiful, but ferrys dont accept cards. Cards are accepted anywhere else. Bike garages: In the bigger cities. Expect Guzzis to raise eyebrows... Generally, the bike garages do work on any bikes. Gas stations: plenty, but always stop and fill her up it may be some distance between. Drive another route down from Nordkap, see R

TLM has a batch of V11 tankbags on sale at 90 euro (excl VAT). Just bought one. Lightningly fast service.

bought the Ducati brake lever for a Monster for my 2001 Greenie. It was a perfect fit, also regarding color. And very cheap as well. (about 30 euro for a complete adjustable lever) Also bought Monster footpegs and mirrors after my off this spring. Loads of other Ducati stuff goes as well, fex fasteners and such. And the prices aint half bad. And parts are actually in stock, which comes a huge surprise for Guzzisti.

looks good - for such an ugly bike.....

What do you call an Irishman whos been buried for three years? Pete

You must be referring to the Four Sprung Duck Technique, an ancient way of jumpstarting your Audi.... Seriously: Germany has an unemployment rate that goes straight through the roof, and all those skilled guys made redundant from the automotive and hitech industries have to try to make a living. So there's a huge number of small specialist producers because of that. Good for us, a struggle for them.

Mine had no marks at all (bought 1,5 years ago). It still worked fine.

its just the paint rubbing off on them....

you should maybe have the CO adjusted after instalment , but it works perfectly fine straight out of the box.

This slapping business can come from a multitude of details working together, I think. And I found out this spring that tank slappers do exist. Mine broke my right wrist and nearly tore my left thumb off. What happened was a sudden input of steering while at the same time applying a bit of brake (all this done by a big donkey with a goatee) to avoid an animal in the road. It was instantly and couldnt be corrected. I have the progressive springs in my fork and my steering damper was turned "some" clicks up. Driver input: So, the gooz doesnt like sudden inputs. Some riders have a habit of setting up the bike for turns and other occurences rather suddenly and violently (my mate does this, I've ridden behind him). Dont do that. Ride smoothly. Brakes: I would also check that the front brake doesnt drag, as I found that braking together with the steering input caused some pretty violent reactions. I would guess its caused by sudden weight transfer together with the increased rolling resistance. Front weight: Usually I ride with my family emeralds perched on the tank, to get more weight on the front. I strongly recall that the day I hit the asphalt I was sitting a bit more passive and chimp-like, with outstretched arms and shoulders high. So more weight on fron wheel by lowering the bike on the front fork aint no bad idea. Settings: And, the way my V11 feels today is lightyears ahead of what it felt when I bought it with stock suspension settings. In my opinion it was plain dangerous like that. Soggy and lowriding at the rear and rock hard and unforgiving (and underdamped) at the front. I couldnt even keep up with my wife on our favourite road. Suspension setting is task No 1! Wheels: my front wheel, OEM Bridgestone Battlax 020 (?) was a bit tired with a fair amount of scuffing in the pattern. It kind of fell off the hard rubber stripe in the middle on to the sides of the tire which get scuffed. I never liked that tyre anyway, it felt like it let go all the time. Change to a modern tire: like the Metzeler Z6.

I might be out on a limb on this one, but my completely identical problem a month ago was solved by simply fondling everyting in the electric system that could be fondled. I think... Bike runs perfect now. It could be moisture but... In hindsight, the only thing I found that actually could be described as a fault, was a suspect rear bulb and rear light connectors (Rossopuro tail and light) that had become suspiciously close to one another. Its quite possible that they touched when engine ran and vibrated. Also, the local Ducati technician mentioned to me that he seemed to remember that the rear light assembly had been cause to similar problems in the past on italobikes.

well, then. you should be ok with a 2000 Sport, so whats keeping you?

try before you buy. V11 is different to the Boxer. I dont think it can be very comfy riding two up on the Guz compared to the GS. I sold a nearly new R1150R in order to buy the Guzzi because the Beemer just became plain boring. It also had an awful riding position and a lot of high freq vibes when travelling far. Very tiring. Do I regret? No. Firing the Guzzi up in the garage is always an event. It erupts with a KABOOM and turns heads like no Beemer. (Its also an event cause I'm never quite sure it'll start...) The guzzi is a hugely involving bike, some days its bliss other days you curse the ground it rattles on. You have to get under its skin, and its important to have the suspension and engine sorted and tailored for you. It might feel like a pig first time you drive it (mine did), but it can be sorted (mine is now). Its easy to work on, even I with my twelve thumbs has been tinkering and fixing things. Its not very fast, you have to work it to make it go. Smooth lines and careful braking does it. Its noisy, but I like that. Its exclusive, a surprisingly small number was produced. The finish and surface treatment on it is a joke, italians dont like surfaces. Its a mans bike. Buy!

done, although I rather fancied the Rickman Metisse...

ohh..I really really like the Apuhrilia..but please give the poor boy in the back a new green tank...

some nice metal here, 1200 Sport sidecar anyone? http://22kvm.net/mc/Hausttreff%202007/slid...an%20metal.html I didnt attend but I kinda regret it...

yes, complete gibberish. but as this is Guzzi it all makes sense, in a strange way.

Hi Al: I posted this a week ago: First testride after my electric failure yesterday, and first ride with a 160 rear tyre instead of the ballooning 170. Changed to Metz M6, by the way. Wow, what a difference that tyre made, bike much more stable and easy to steer. Really. really confidence inspiring. I never really trusted it before in turns and had to manhandle it in the tigh ones, now I just let it steer itself. That was good forum advice! and the metzelers even look good. 180 is just wrong.....

thanks a lot 'Tonio. Verrrrry funny......

MG Ti's: the nice thing about these are that they are quite social at tickover, giving a pleasantly deep burble (noone takes much notice) but at takeoff around 3000rpms they sound like a Lancaster bomber going down on your a.. Other brands, like the Lazers on my wifes Laverda and some Termignonis are just plain damn loud all the time. If the Ferracci's are anything like the Ti's in sound characteristics I wouldnt hesitate. Last night at the hangout i witnessed the loudest bike ever. A Kwak 500 H1 with competition pipes, the furious howling shriek just froze 200 bikers in their tracks. unbeliveable.... but at tickover it was quite sivilized.

doesnt the coppa have a 180 tire as stock? going to 170 would then be helpful wouldnt it?

First testride after my electric failure yesterday, and first ride with a 160 rear tyre instead of the ballooning 170. Changed to Metz M6, by the way. Wow, what a difference that tyre made, bike much more stable and easy to steer. Really. really confidence inspiring. I never really trusted it before in turns and had to manhandle it in the tigh ones, now I just let it steer itself. That was good forum advice! and the metzelers even look good. Strange thing also, after the fondling of all of the electrics it just goes better.... less vibrations, smoother throttle...wazzzupp? It starts differently too; before it erupted with a KABOOM (quite theatrical and nice, scaring kids and small animals over to the other side of the street) after a bit of whirring, now it just starts smoothly without drama. Of course I still have some of the" temp sensor symptoms"; rough and jerky running when the wind cools the sensor, but still.

Now this is what I call bodging. Done by member of Norwegian Guzzi Club someplace in Poland on an epic journey through seven countries on route to Mandello.... duct tape and twig. cost: nada.....

I've gone through this the last month. Loosing the tach was for me an early sign of a serious contact problem. which in turn led to a total loss of lights and power. Its difficult to source excactly where the fault is but this helped me: Take the tank and rear bodywork off and go through alle the switches and contacts you can find, especially those sitting on the spine itself. Take them apart, clean them and check them all, then put a healthy dose of contact grease in them when putting them together. Check all wires, fuse connections and relay connections. Check the bulbs, change them if you have spare, sometimes a short wire can occur in a bulb. Its a two hours job, but it will probably do the trick. Theres also a dubious earth connection going from the tach, it might be worthwhile checking this also, I didnt cause it all works fine now....