Frenchbob

Clearly not, Tex, or the genius in charge of your country at the moment would have done it. The genius in charge of Britain would have stood firm with his allies, and the guy in charge of the country I live in would have gone on French tv to politely insult them both, then ordered oysters and a fine champagne.

A friend once told me that he thought all things Italian - cars, bikes, women - were built the same way: to go like the clappers and prematurely fall apart...........................but I think that is a terrible, politically incorrect thing to say, of course, and I repeat it only to illustrate how unreconstructed some people are.

but you know, and I've said it before: the Harley guys in France actually ride their bikes: respect! I wouldn't risk life and limb. At least I know that my V11 is [a bit] faster than I am.

You're here, with the Goose-struck elite, so you got it right! Welcome to the best motorcycle site on the net.

Bad luck, Slug. Heal well, good the bike is not too bad, sue the bastards' arses off! Even from here in Europe, that sounds steep. Good opportunity to refurbish the Goose, no?

I haven't been to the circuit but it's only a couple of hours away, and so I know the area: it is beautiful countryside. I believe the Voxan factory [situated in Clermont Ferrand] uses it quite a bit for testing, etc.

Every garage should have a fig tree, for shade and refreshment! Organisation? Sorry?

Yup: ever the optimist!

He was certainly a self-publicist and fame-seeker, and dandling his infant in front of a crocodile wasn't his finest hour, but you couldn't doubt his bravery and he did publicise environmental issues as well as himself.

It's a racing bicycle pacing machine from the era, pre-war, of racing cycle record-setting, but I have no idea what make: a lot of these machines were specials, anyway. It could date from before WW1 to the late twenties, or even later. The cyclist would ride up behind the contraption at the rear [which would have been fitted with a sort of open-ended shed], in the slip-stream of this monster, and set unheard-of speed records. The huge pulley is qccounted for by the lack of a gearbox. Imagine commuting on that! [someone may have done: notice the modern levers] If no-one gets closer than this, I claim my point! I thank you. It's about time I had another.

Object lesson in how to use a V11 properly: superb stuff!

I have that T shirt, but I don't wear it because my tits are great, too.

What the others said, and if it's 1979 it's not a V50 III but a I or a II: I think there are differences in the ignition systems. I had a V50II many years ago, for the first three years of its life and found it to be a super little bike - fast enough and economical; it took two of us to Spain....and back!

Good one, David. Re LPG, a mate of mine runs his Lada 4X4 on it. He reasons that when it goes bang, he'll have made up the purchase price in what he saved on fuel. Steve, I missed the men in black face masks, but I don't normally keep up to date with where the rubber fetish conventions are [we Euros are so degenerate, aren't we?]. The FIAT, by the way, is referred to in this household as the FART, not the FIT. Fit it isn't: the gearbox broke this week

They all do that, sir.

Hola, George, Lo me gusta.

You'll encourage corrosion, Alex: leave it alone!

Actually not, Antonio. Pirelli have been running a 2 for 1 offer at certain retail outlets in France for some time, for cars as well as bikes. I recently took advantage of this to buy tyres for my car and my son's.

Serious, bike Dan. I'm jealous! Ride safe.

Yep, bought one this summer. STT [French made], about 130€ and excellent value. My French mate Claude has a Furygan one that looks identical. Mine is light, comfortable, armoured and I shall wear it until I shiver enough to want to dig my ancient leather out again. I don't know why I sweated all through last summer!

I did, and I was always the one who threw up and had to be taken upstairs to lie down...........in the OTHER room........

Buy a V11 with some sorrt of guarantee, then read everything on here veeerry carefully. Then go back to the dealer waving the guarantee and shouting loudly and authoritatively: it'll make you feel much better; the Guzzi will probably be fine, anyway. And what the others said.

Proper English tea, sometimes known as breakfast tea, doesn't come in a bag with a piece of string glued to it, becomes Yorkshire tea when made with Yorkshire water. OK, I'll give you the ice cubes for my single malt

What nonsense is this? Ice in tea...........?!? You'll be suggesting we chill our beer, next, or put red wine in the freezer for a few minutes. Hot, brick-red, sweetened Yorkshire tea, out of a tea-cup, or a pint of beer served at cellar temperature: that's the way to cope with extremes of temperature, or any other untoward event, come to that [Jag breaking down on way back from dealer's, etc]. I despair, I really do: we should never have let the colonies go.