rocker59

To say the least. The MGS-01 NEEDS TO BE PRODUCED as a Strada model and sell in the USA for about $14990 !!! MGS-01 is what I think of when I hear the words "Guzzi Sportsbike"... This new Norge 1200 mill would work just fine in the MGS chassis. Good fun on the street and on the track. Come on Guzzi. Let's see it happen !!!

FWIW, I just switched to the Z6 on my Nero Corsa a few weeks ago. I ran the 170/60-17 Z6 rear for 1200 miles with the Pirelli Diablo Corsa on the front. No ill effects. I've run the pair of Z6s for 4500 miles with good results. The Z6 is much pointier than previous Metzelers, so my Nero Corsa likes 'em. My Sport 1100 did not turn in well with the old ME-Z4. The Z6 is a completely different tire. The Z6 turns in much better on my Nero than did the Diablo Corsa. Mid-corner stability is great with the Z6, too. Going with the Z6 in the 170 size has actually caused a bit of an 'over steer'. The previous Pirelli Diablo Corsas caused a definite 'under steer' that I didn't like. Doing it again, I'd probably go with the Z6 in the 180/55-17 rear size. I'll bet it would be perfect. With the Z6, wet performance seems good. High-speed stability seems good. I rode the hell out of my Nero Corsa in New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah over the past couple of weeks and was more than impressed with the Metzeler Z6 Roadtec. The Pirelli Diablo Strada is the sister tire to the Z6 Roadtec. If you're wanting to stay 'Italian', you might try them. I haven't yet.

I'm thinking of repowering my broken Quota with a V11 Sport / LeMans mill. I'd be interested in something in good running order with less than 30k miles, and with good aesthetics. Black or silver finish OK. PM me here, or at the Wildguzzi forum...

Dead Horse Point overlooks the Colorado River, the White Rim Trail and provides beautiful vistas: That's the White Rim Trail waaay down there. If only I'd been on the Quota this year... I can't wipe the smile off my face: Red Rock everywhere! I wanna camp up here, but it's time to return to Moab... Some deer crossed the road in front of us on the way back to US-191: It's a good thang we were enjoying the scenery and not travelling our usual pace. They didn't seem to mind me stopping to take some pix: The shadows are getting long: We all met back at Zak's to trade stories of the day. We were all glad that Joe was able to get his Ducati back on the road: After dinner, it was on to the Rio Bar for pool, beer, and some local flavor: Joe getting after it: When Jason gets to drinking, he becomes facinated with animal sculpture: Stay tuned. More to come... Day 10. Wednesday, 27 September. We had wanted to ride CO-141, but since half of our group had ridden UT-128 the day before to run to Grand Junction, and because time was growing short with our two day stay in Moab, we decided to retrace part of our route back into Colorado. Jason had always wanted to ride US-550, so we didn't disappoint him! UT-46 and CO-90 are great roads! I especially liked Norwood Hill on CO-145: Our route to US-550 took us over 8970-foot Dallas Divide on CO-62, but first I hit the Slickrock Cafe... ...for my usual (for this trip) breakfast burrito. Man, it was the best ever!!! Up at Dallas, we had some company. 14,150-foot Mt. Sneffels is in the background: The Nero Corsa has been running great at these altitudes. Returning 40+ mpg, even with spirited riding: Donna is fast on her Monster! Fall color in the Rockies: Beautiful country: Our lunch stop today is in Ouray: Mmmm, quesadilla !!! What a great place for patio dining! Ouray is a great little town, especially if you like off-roading. Where's that Quota when you need it ??? Main Street, Ouray. I spent a couple of nights here last year. Great little town! From Ouray, it's South on US-550 over Red Mountain Pass and Coal Bank Pass to Silverton, Durango and then US-160 back to Pagosa Springs: Looking North down the main drag: Looking down on Ouray from US-550: Joe is ready to ride! The Aspens were turning. It was kind of spotty. They were great in some places. Not so great in others: US-550 is a wonderful, curvy, winding road! Everyone's seen photos from this spot. Here, our crew is winding it's way up the hill: 11,018-foot Red Mountain Pass: Down the hill, we made a quick loop through Silverton: We had just eaten, or I'd have switched our food theme to BBQ and stopped at the Smokehouse where I ate last year. Mmm, it smelled good! Traffic was light leaving Silverton, so we didn't stop for any photos. We put 'er in SPORT-touring mode and had a blast running over 10,910-foot Molas Pass. The Aspens were looking great as we neared Durango: We made our way back to the Best Western in Pagosa Springs. A near 300 mile day of spectacular riding and spectacular scenery. We ate dinner, again, at Tequila's. Then, it was off to bed. No one was up for the Pagosa Bar this time... 6888 miles now on the Nero's odometer. 2778 miles into my trip. Day 11. Thursday, 28 September. A continental breakfast in the hotel and we're off for some more great riding! We departed Pagosa about 0900 with 300+ miles of mountain roads in front of us. East on US-160 and the first hill is Wolf Creek Pass: Looking back West at the top of 10,850-foot Wolf Creek Pass: Still some snow up here from that storm last week: Tunnels and snowsheds heading down towards South Fork: The fall colors are looking good on the East side of the pass: From South Fork, it's North on CO-149. This is one heck of a road! There are two big passes, 10,901-foot Spring Creek and 11,530-foot Slumgullion. It's a great ride all the way from US-160 North to US-50: A glimpse South from Slumgullion: A look North from Slumgullion: Slumgullion is one heck of a ride down into Lake City with several thousand feet of drop in just a few miles! What an awesome piece of road! We stopped for fuel and a little break in Lake City: He hasn't been drinking this time, but Jason sure likes those big critters! At Lake City, we met Eric. He was returning from SE Arizona and a ride on US-191. We followed him up to the US-50 intersection. Man what a ride! At the end of CO-149, we stopped to chat. He's got about 120,000 on his GS Adventure! Jason with the bikes on CO-149 at US-50: Ed had had enough of Mexican, so at Gunnison we switched themes. Mmmm BBQ !!! More patio dining. We couldn't have asked for better weather this week! Jason sporting his new MOAB sticker: The herd is hitched outside the Quarter Circle BBQ joint: From lunch in Gunnison, it's on to conquer our last high pass of the trip. 11,312-foot Monarch. It was a great ride up! Light traffic and two lanes up all the way! It had been in the 70's down in Gunnison. It was in the 40's up on Monarch. Brrr... Did I mention the wind was blowing, too ? From Monarch, it was on to Canon City, then Colorado Springs for the night. Nothing too exiciting. We were all getting road weary. A room at the Econolodge and some Mexican food at the Irish pub next door (really). It was about 335 miles today. The Nero is showing 7240 on its odometer. Just over 3100 miles into my trip... Stay tuned... Friday is an exciting day. Well, for Jason anyway... Day 12. Friday, 29 September.' On the way in to Colorado Springs, I noticed my bike was developing quite an exhaust leak. I assumed it was the dreaded crossover gaskets that seem to go bad. Upon arriving at our fuel stop, I looked down at the left cylinder to see the header clamp had lost both its acorn nuts and had slid down the head pipe. There was nothing holding the header to the cylinder! Holy crap! I wondered just how long that been going on. After a quick continental breakfast at the Econolodge, Joe and I headed down to the autoparts store to get some 8mm nuts and washers. A few minutes in the parking lot and I had replaced all four NBW sets and used lockwashers and some locktite to make sure I didn't have to address that problem again soon. Funny, but the bike seemed to run a lot better without the exhuast leak, and an annoying vibration I'd picked up went away once I'd replaced those nuts. Just a small annoyance. The real fun started when we went to South Colorado BMW/Ducati. Jason had been talking about a Multistrada for the past couple of years. Sure enough, they had a red 1000S ds Multistrada on the floor. And clearance priced, no less!!! He'd grown tired of tinkering with his 46,000 mile Monster and wanted something with a little bit of a fairing. The extra suspension travel would be nice, too... Everyone had been proding him for a while about doing something. The nice folks at Southern Colorado BMW/Ducati made him a good trade and put him on the road. Wow! A new bike to ride home from the trip! Lucky guy! This is where I parted ways with Jason, Donna, Andy, Joe, and Ed. I'd decided to meet Brian in Italy, Texas for the Guzzi rally. I turned South on I-25 and headed for Texas. I'll be stopping in to see these guys again. I love a shop full of enthusiasts! The ride South is fun. Prairie to the left. Mountains to the right. Spanish Peaks are off in the distance: 5th gear, 4500 rpm, 80mph. The Nero Corsa is in its element: The climb up 7834-foot Raton Pass: The old Santa Fe Trail originally ran through here. The railroad put the trail out of business for wagon traffic: I picked fuel stops about 160 miles apart for my trip to Italy, Texas. I would stop in Raton, New Mexico; Dumas, Texas; Childress, Texas; and Alvord Texas on my way to the rally. It's a long day, but by myself I'd rather be riding than sitting in a hotel room somewhere in West Texas. Pronghorn Antelope just East of Raton: This herd's buck is in the back left of the photo: I saw literally hundreds of Pronghorn between Raton and Clayton. Always in small groups. The buck always standing over his herd just to the rear of the rest of the antelope. There were more antelope than cows through here. The T.O. Ranch needs to get some hunters in there to thin them out a little! Ahhh. Texas! It's good to be home in The South! Racing trains through Comanche country. US-287 between Amarillo and Childress: I kept it moving on through Fort Worth and on to Italy. I thought I'd check out the Italy Inn. They had rooms, but is basically a truckstop with some rooms on I-35E. No internet, either. Not good. I headed back North to Waxahachie and found a decent room. I left Colorado Springs about 11am Mountain Time, Noon Central. I arrived finally at my hotel about 230am Central. 14.5 hours on the road. 8008 miles showing on my odometer. 768 miles for the day! 3898 miles into the trip... I'm sitting in my room right now waiting on Brian to arrive from Fayetteville. He's meeting me here to attend the "Annual Pilgrimage to Italy", a one-day Moto Guzzi rally held in Italy, Texas first weekend in October each year. More to come. Stay tuned... Day 13, 14, 15. Saturday, 30 September. I got in my room about 0230. I was beat after running those 765 miles down from Colorado Springs. I think I was suffering a bit of cumulative fatigue from being on the road for nearly two weeks so I spent the day in the hotel room waiting on Brian to arrive and spend some time catching up on the ride report. Brian arrived about 430pm. We went to grab a bite to eat then decided to run out to Navarre Lake to the campground where some rally attendees were staying. Well, it was dark. The roads weren't marked well. I didn't have a detailed map. Needless to say, Brian and I ended up on a 60 mile Wild Goose Chase through Texas Hill Country after making a wrong turn. We never made the campground/cookout... Sunday, 1 October. Brian and I headed out from the hotel about 0830 for Italy, about 15 miles away. The crowd was already forming in downtown Italy when we got there: Ken and the dealers in attendance had a few surprises for us: MPH had this beauty on display: I think I want a Norge! This beauty was also on display: Brian likes the Greaso-O Very cool machine! Lots of cool Guzzis at the rally: Lined up on Main Street: A few Ducatis were there, too: The "Patented Pasta Run" took us by the Superconducting Super Collider. Well, it's remnants, anyway... It was easy to find once we sorted out the directions. The route took us over some fine East Texas Byways: Ken awarded Brian "youngest rider". At 28, he was the youngest Guzzi rider by more than a decade!!! Sundried Armadillo was given out as a doorprize. Mmm!!! All in all, a very good time was had in Italy, Texas on Sunday! Monday, 2 October. Brian and I left the hotel about 0530, headed for Fayetteville. The early rush gauntlett through Dallas on I-35E and I-30 wasn't too bad this morning. Sunrise was near Paris Texas: Our route. 400 miles before lunch. My kinda ride!: Crossing the Red River into Oklahoma on TX-37, headed for US-259, a nice curvy road in Eastern Oklahoma: Back home in Arkansas. We crossed the border from Indian Territory near Fort Smith: Then crossed the Arkansas River from Fort Smith into Van Buren. Fayetteville is growing closer! Through the tunnel on I-540 into The Hills of NW Arkansas: Back on Dickson Street in Fayetteville, to finish the ride with a margarita and chips & salsa! Afterwards, we went to Brian's place to watch the weekend's superbike racing on TiVo, then I headed to the house to crash! This is where my two-week moto adventure ends... 4474 miles added to the Nero Corsa's odometer since leaving Virginia two weeks ago. Another memorable September motorcycle trip is done. I'm tired, but wish I was still out there... I guess I'll break down and wash the poor Nero this week. It's been rode hard and put away wet.

Viva Guzzi !!!

Day 9. Tuesday, 26 September. Well, we decided to spend two nights in Moab. Partly to rest. Party to work on Joe's Ducati ST2. His bike had been making a troubling rattling noise in the lower part of the engine and it was getting worse. About 0730 he loaded up and headed to Grand Junction to search out a rear tire and try to find Competition Cycles, the Ducati dealer. Well, he was able to get a tire at a Grand Junction dealer. Problem was, the Ducati dealer was out of business. A quick call to Mario at LetKo in Kansas City diagnosed the problem as a carrier bearing behind the stator. He went to a Walmart TLE and dropped the oil. Yep. Pieces of bearing in the oil. Not good. A call to us down in Moab and Jason and Andy decided to ride up and lend a hand. Andy ran beer, Jason ran parts, and Joe worked on his bike in an Autozone parking lot. They were able to source a bearing at a local bearing shop with the numbers provided by LetKo and after a few hours, the Ducati was back on the road! Jason 'supervising' Joe. The ST fairing had to come off. As you can see, it comes off in about a million pieces: There is a lot of crap crammed behind the fairing of the ST2!: So much for a day visiting Moab! Joe, Jason, and Andy didn't get home until supper time. The one sideline benefit to trip was that they got to ride the killer hwy 128 from Moab up to I-70 along the Colorado River. Twice. They say the trip home in the dark was a blast. Andy nailed a big jack rabbit. Sorry, no pix of the carnage... Meanwhile, back in Moab... Donna, Ed, and I decided to make the best of the day. We headed up to Arches National Park and to Dead Horse Point. There is so much to see and do in Moab, one day just doesn't do it justice. A view from the main drag in Moab: Mountains surround the town: While the A-team was away spinning wrenches, the B-team ate lunch at Zak's. They had a cool fireplace on the dining patio: Not a bad view from downtown Moab. Those are the La Sal mountains. Very prominent in the background when looking East from Moab: Our first stop was Arches: Sitting in the North Window Arch. It's beautiful up here: North Window Arch: South Window Arch: The B-team is having more fun than the A-team ;D Turret Arch: La Sal Mountains seem to be in every shot: Delicate Arch waaay up on that ridge: After Delicate Arch, we decided to head out to Dead Horse Point. We left at least half of Arches for our next visit: Ed at Balance Rock: Donna on her Monster: The Nero at Arches: Nice, curvy road into/out of Arches. It was late in the afternoon, so not much traffic: Heading back down the switchbacks to the entance: Fun! Fun! On to Dead Horse!

Day 8. Monday, 25 September. The day started off a bit frosty in Pagosa Springs: I think it was in the upper 20s in downtown Pagosa Springs this morning: Here's our route for the day: alt='98014850-M.gif'> The traffic and construction was rough on US-160 between Pagosa and Durango. Once West of Durango, the traffic cleared out and we were able to resume our "sport-touring pace". Our first stop was Dolores, Colorado. Fuel and a snack before running up to Lizard Head Pass: We met an Airforce guy here from Las Vegas on a SV-1000. He was waiting on his dad, who showed up on a BMW R11RT. Nice people: Dolores was a railroad town on the RGS. I couldn't pass up these photos. I'm a train buff, as well as a history buff: This was passenger rail service in Southwestern Colorado from the 1930s into the early 1950s: The rebuilt depot: Motorcycles, Railroads, and History. A great combination! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galloping_Goose http://www.narrowgauge.org/ncmap/excur1.html From Dolores we travelled up Hwy 145, which follows the old RGS rail line over Lizard Head Pass to Telluride and Placerville. Another one of those "must do" roads for motorcyclists. This is gold mining country, so there are things to see and do in every little town along the way! The top of the hill. Lizard Head Pass, elevation 10,222 feet: Looking Westward at the pass: Stopping at the pass was another chance for a couple of photos: It's starting to look like wintertime up here: alt='98017493-M.jpg'> Traffic and construction were bad between Telluride and Placerville. Lots of construction going on. Near MM 72 highway 145 is falling off the side of the mountain so it's one lane traffic. Once we turned West again toward Naturita, it thinned out and we were able to stretch our ponies' legs a bit. We stopped for fuel and a break at Naturita. From here we would take Hwy 90 thruogh Paradox Canyon and on into Utah. In Utah, it changes to Hwy 46 and takes us over the La Sal Mountains through La Sal Pass to US-191 and then North to Moab. Colorado Highway 90 is a must ride road! The climb out of Paradox Canyon and on to the Utah border is a great stretch of pavement. I know lots of people have ridden 141, the "million dollar highway". If you're ever out there, take a detour onto highway 90. You won't be dissapointed: The ride down into Paradox Canyon. La Sal Mountains on the horizon: Joe and Andy covering my six: I love this wide-open country! A couple of mule deer crossed the road just before we pulled over for this panoramic view at the top of Paradox Canyon: Andy with his Kawasaki S750: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED !!! (...or is it only half over ??? ) The Utah border: Utah Highway 46 has some nice twisties going over the La Sal Mountains: Great fun! I'm a little road-weary and bug-spattered as we near Moab: That's OK, because even through the bugs and road grime I'm taken aback by 360-degree views of nature's beauty! Snow-capped mountains and red rock mesas are all around us: Touchdown in Moab. My goal of running the Nero from Virginia to Utah is complete. Now I just have to turn around and ride it back. ;D 8) Today's ride was a little over 300 miles. My Guzzi's odometer is showing 6501 miles. That puts me 2391 miles into my journey since leaving Virginia last Monday. We are going to stay two nights in Moab then begin our ride Eastward back toward Arkansas. Stay tuned for more "Summer Running"....

Day 7. Sunday, 24 September. It was about 30-degrees this morning, so we weren't in too big a hurry to get on the road. We spent some time hanging around the hotel deciding on the day's agenda. Overnight, one of our members, Tom, decided to turn around and ride back to Arkansas. After he departed this morning, that left us with six in our group. Donna: Ed: Jason: Andy and your's truly: We headed West on US-64 up Cimmaron Canyon: A little stop at Eagle Nest for a photo op. That's the tallest peak in New Mexico in the background, 13,161-foot Wheeler Peak: The curves of Cimmaron Canyon were welcome after the long journey across Oklahoma on US-412: Regrouping at the top of the canyon: After departing Eagle Nest, we ran Taos Canyon down into Taos for a lunch stop. Andy and the bikes in downtown taos: Jason visiting with a groovy Ducati Multistrada rider in downtown Taos. We saw lots of bikes there: We ate on the plaza at Ogelvie's. It was cold, but since we had thermals on for riding the bikes, the veranda was nice for lunch. Donna and Joe: The whole crew: Mmm, Burrito. There is a theme going, in case you haven't noticed yet: Jason getting ready to dig in: From Taos, it's West on US-64, one of the best motorcycling roads in the USA. The stretch between Tres Piedras and Tierra Amarilla is just amazing! Here's the Nero Corsa posing at the Brazos Cliffs overlook at about 10,500-feet elevation: Yep, there is snow up at the 9-10k feet level. The cold front that came through last week dumped quite a bit of snow up here: The Brazos Cliffs: It's funny. The Nero Corsa has been running great up at these high elevations. I expected it to give me a little trouble, but it's been running just great! Only a small noticeable loss in power due to the elevation. No loss in fuel economy. I've actually been getting over 40mpg on some tanks up here in The Rockies!!! From Brazos Cliffs, we continue West on US-64, then North on US-84 on in to Pagosa Springs where we intend to stay the night. At the fuel stop in Pagosa, my Nero Corsa got to flirt with another beautiful Italian: As luck would have it, a group of Ferrari guys from Denver were having a rally in Pagosa Springs this weekend. We stopped by for a visit. They were staying just across the street from us. Eye candy, for sure!: There were a couple other marques in attendance. A couple of the new Ford GTs: And an Aston and a Bentley: Here are the springs that made Pagosa famous way before white folks stumbled upon them: Steamy springs are eveywhere in downtown Pagosa. Beautiful, but you have to ignore the sulphur smell: Yes! We're eating Mexican for every meal on this trip! For dinner in Pagosa, it's Tequila's: Ed loving his shrimp and mushroom dish: Jason and Donna: After dinner we decided to soak up some local flavour at The Pagosa Bar: Drink a few beers, shoot a little pool: Jason found this elk outside our hotel on the walk back from Pagosa Bar and just couldn't resist mounting it! (He'd had a few beers...): What a great day on the road! 240 miles covered. A great lunch and shopping on the plaza in Taos. Great dinner and fun in Pagosa. Not to mention one of the best motorcycle rides there is! 2100 miles into my trip. 6208 miles now showing on the Nero... The day's ride:

Day 5. Friday, 22 September. Spent the day changing engine/tranny/bevel fluids and packing for the trip. This part of the trip I'll be riding with some friends for the NW Arkansas area. Tom, Joe, Andy, Ed, Jason, and Donna. In the group are two Ducati Monsters, a Ducati ST2, a BMW R12GS, an older BMW K11RT, a Yamaha, and my Guzzi Nero Corsa. The first section of our group departed at 2pm. I was to meet Jason and Donna at 530pm in Tontitown. During the mid-afternoon, thunderstorms began to start popping up around Fayetteville. As luck would have it I got to ride in one through rush hour traffic to meet Jason and Donna. Stoplights were out. Water was standing in the streets. A normally 20 minute trip took me almost an hour! I arrived at 6pm. Lucky for us there was no rain once we headed West toward Enid, Oklahoma on US-412. A couple of fuel stops and a little traffic around Tulsa was all we had to contend with on the way out. 220 miles in 4 hours. We arrived at the motel about 10pm. 5550 miles on the odometer. Day 6. Saturday 23 September. Lazy H motel, Enid, Oklahoma: Andy getting loaded and ready: Joe and his ST2: Heading West from Enid: Donna and her Monster: Jason: http://rocker59.smugmug.com/photos/97436142-M.jpg[/img] Oh, how I hate waiting in construction zones. Who needs a pilot car? Really... Breakfast in Woodward at the Domino Truck Stop: US-412 at Elmwood, OK: Taking a break from the wind in Elmwood: Donna, Andy, Ed: Tonight's digs in Raton, NM: Carports for our steeds!: Dinner in Raton: Unwinding back at the Colt: Over 400 miles covered today. 5975 miles now on the Nero Corsa's odometer. If you're ever in Northeastern New Mexico, ride Hwy 72 between Raton and Folsom. It's a great ride over Johnson Mesa. Today we saw hundreds of antelope and a big group of wild turkey. The curvy road was great, too, after 600 miles of nearly straight roadways!!! On to Taos and Pagosa Springs tomorrow !!!

Yep. That's an AirHawk. It really saved my bum on this trip! It's 1200 miles from my girlfriend's place in suburban Washington D.C. to my mom's house in Arkansas. It's about another 1800 miles to Los Angeles. It makes a traveller thankful for the interstate highway system when he's trying to knock out the miles !!!

As mentioned above, the spine frame bikes are sensitive to tire choice. My Sport 1100 did not steer well with the Metzeler ME-Z4 or the Avon AV 45/46. It steered great with the Pirelli Dragon GTS (no longer available) and the Bridgestone BT-014. It is on rails with the BT-014s I'm currently running!!! My Nero Corsa did not steer well with the Pirelli Diablo Corsas the previous owner installed. Very truckish feel. 180/55 out back. I just installed a set of the Metzeller Z6 Roadtec tires. Man, what a difference. I went with the 170/60 rear and it now steers like it's on rails, too. Unbelievable change. Very light and flickable... The Pirelli Diablo Strada is the cousin to the Metzeler Z6, if you feel like Italians should wear Italian shoes. FWIW, the Daytona/Sport/LeMans series bikes like "pointy" tires...

A pic of my bike with the 40s installed. (and a 30 strapped to the seat )

Day 4 - Thursday 21 September Well I was kinda delerious last night when I hit the rack. Kinda thought I'd get plenty of good sleep. Unfortunately, Thursday is trash day in this neighbourhood. 0630 and the recycle trucks were already making thier rounds. Got up 0730 and tried to make a plan for the day. I needed a front stand to remove the front wheel. Unfortunately, there were no appropriate trees in my mom's front yard to hang the Nero in !!! ;D I called "youngskywalker" to borrow his frontstand. (again). And, again, unfortunately he told me it was holding up his Ducati trackbike at Jesse's place, 40 miles away. Bummer!!! Well I've needed one, anyway, so I head off to the local YamaKawaZuki shop for a PitBull front stand. When I get back, I lifted the Nero up and pulled the front wheel. I didn't have a rearstand handy, so I used my trusty ratcheting tiedowns to hold the rearend in place while I worked on the front end. I got a call from DesmoDerek as I was heading out with the wheel/tire to be mounted. He reminded me of the snow advisory in Colorado for the weekend. He suggested I stop by and borrow his BMW heated vest. Great idea! I picked it up and after visiting with he and his wife for a bit, I headed up to Bentonville to get the new front Metzeler Z6 mounted. My friend, Jesse, told me to stop by today and he would mount the tire for me. What a great guy! On his lunch hour, he mounted it for me. For Free !!! You gotta love friends like that !!! (I owe you one, Jesse!) From Jesse's place, I headed up to BMW Bentonville to get an adapter for the vest Derek loaned me. I ended up buying a fused BMW outlet. I'm sure it will come in handy on the Nero... When getting ready to leave, some transport driver shows up to pick up a R12RT. He had to unload this so he could load the bike ahead of it in the trailer: Blown 427 putting out 900bhp. There's a 16 month wait if any of you have $300k burning a hole in your pocket: Yep, that's a Unique Performance GT500 convertible signed by Carroll, his-self !!! After all that fun, it's back to Casa de Libby to re-install the front wheel with the new Z6: Check your bolts, folks. Every bolt I've pulled on this bike has needed anti-seize in a bad way. Much longer and some of these would've required an easy-out! Ahhh, what I've been waiting for: A few margaritas at Jose's with some good friends: Dickson Street, Fayetteville. If you're ever passing through NW Arkansas, check it out: So there is a developing dilema on the rest of the trip. A low pressure system is heading this way from Colorado and Kansas. It just started raining/storming here. A couple of the folks in the group I'm meeting are gonna drop out if it's raining at H-hour tomorrow. And, it is said that there are snow advisories for the weekend in Colorado. Tomorrow I'm gonna change the oil, check the valves, and pack up for the trip. There is a possibility for an early Saturday departure. Time will tell. Worst case scenario, I'll make a solo ride to Taos. Stay there a couple of days then head back East... Who knows??? I might even make the return trip via ITALY... Texas... That's next weekend, right ?

Wednesday, 20 September Did I mention how beautiful West Virginia is ? If I-64 is any indication of how things are there, I'd love to spend a few days hitting the backroads !!! I-64 and I-77 are steep and curvy South of Charleston. Saw a pretty bad pileup Just South of the toll plaza. The Southbound lanes were all closed and traffic was backed up for miles at nearly 9pm. Seems a couple of semis tangled with a car and the outcome was not good. The car was on its top and the trucks were out of commision. Bad scene. I was Northbound, so traffic was still moving, but slowly. The poor folks heading the other direction weren't so lucky... Well I got about 5 hours sleep at the Days Inn here in Mount Sterling, Kentucky. It's a pretty nice little town, actually. 30 miles East of Lexington on I-66, it's a natural "halfway point" for my trips back and forth to Virginia... Up at 0730. Get the bike loaded up, grab a continental breakfast in the lobby then some fuel. Depart at 0930. 700 miles ahead of me through Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and finally Arkansas. Here's what lays ahead of me. 725 miles of slab !!! As a rule I try to avoid the slab, but sometimes you've just got to get there! It's going to be two lanes once I get to Oklahoma... It's actually quite pretty in Southern Indiana: Luck was with me today. Traffic was light through Lexington, Louisville, Southern Indiana, and Southern Illinois. Speeds were 70-80mph even though 55-65 was posted. I wasn't complaining. I just picked a "bird dog" and followed along!!! The cloudy skies I woke up to in Kentucky were gone by the time I got to the Mississippi. Temps started out in the low 40s and reached into the 60s as the day went on. A cold front had gone through on Tuesday. Cool dry air! Gotta love it! The coastal humidity of NoVa has been killing me the last month, or so: This Westerner always feels at home when he crosses the big river and is greeted by the Gateway Arch. Just like Graceland in Memphis, The Arch is a must-do everytime I pass through St. Louis: Something happened in Missouri. My Nero Corsa passed 5,000 miles on the odometer and it started getting better fuel mileage... On Tuesday, the bike returned an average of about 36mpg on two tanks and 38 on one tank. That was riding 65-70 in 6th gear. That's about 3800 rpm. For some reason, the two tanks I ran through the bike in Missouri showed 41 mpg, that was after 3 tanks of 37.5 mpg... I was still riding in 6th gear, but speeds increased to the point of turning 4000-4500 rpm. It was fill the tank, run 160 miles. Fill the tank, run 160 miles all day. Either the bike is loosening up and breaking in, or the bike gets better fuel economy running between 4000 and 4500 rpm than it does running between 3500 and 4000 rpm... :-\ Hmmm, the things one ponders when pounding out miles, crouched on a sportsbike on the interstate... 41 mpg is OK by me !!! That means 200 miles to a tankfull is possible. I sure hope that becomes a regular occurance. 32-37 mpg has been the rule so far... Joplin came at 830 pm Central. 12 hours in the saddle. Only 80 miles from my destination, I made one last fuel/rest stop before leaving the interstate and heading into NW Arkansas: Ahhh !!! Casa de Libby (mom's house) in Fayetteville looks great after 13 hours on the road. I arrived at 930pm after making a ceremonial ride down Dickson street, the local biker haunt. Yes, I had the only bike with bags and bugs!!! 5323 miles on the odometer. That's 1213 miles on the trip, so far. So, the odometer isn't too far off the 1214 miles estimated by MapsOnUs... Hmmm... More to come... Thursday I'll get tires and hang with friends in Fayetteville...

You'll eventually want both! The 30s are great for around town and short trips, but you'll want the extra capacity of the 40s on longer journeys. The look is so similar that most people, other than you, wouldn't know which size you were running.

Days 1 and 2: Good evening from Mount Sterling, Kentucky! A few weeks ago when visiting with my friend, Jason in Fayetteville, he reminded me that he and his crew were going to be leaving for thier NM/CO/UT trip on the 22nd of September. I really do love it out West and didn't want to miss another opportunity to ride through some of my favourite country on some of my favourite roads! I'm lucky enough to be in a position to make the trip with them, so here's my report. It'll be blow-by-blow this year. I'm taking my laptop along to update the report along the way. The trip, for me, starts Monday, September 18 near Manassas, Virginia. I see Phyllis off to work, then finish loading the Nero Corsa for the trip. 4,011 miles on the odometer. That will be more than doubled over the next couple of weeks. I leave the farm at Brentsville and head North on 234, then West on I-66. All goes well - for the first 50 miles... I've been nursing a bad rear tire. I had to plug it recently because of a nail puncture. I checked it before leaving and all seemed well, I could've replaced it before heading out, but I have a new set of tires waiting for me in Fayetteville. For some reason I thought I could ride this bad tire 1200 miles home! :-[ Well, I couldn't... About 50 miles into the trip, just as I was approaching Front Royal, I heard a pop then felt a rapid deflation of the rear tire. Not good at 80mph !!! I get the bike pulled over and asses my situation. Rear tire blown. Completely flat. I knew I should've replaced that tire !!! This SUCKS !!! For what it's worth all you V11 riders, the Sport/LeMans will not sit on its sidestand with a flat rear tire. I look around and decide that leaning the bike against the armco is the only answer. Luckily, I have the Hepco Beckers on and it's no problem to prop the bike up. I look at my clock. 11am. This day is going to be shot! I call a friend to look up tow companies. I get a Henry's flatbed sent out to haul me off I-66 and into Front Royal. That takes a couple hours. Not many choices for motorcycle tire repairs in Front Royal on a Monday. The driver takes me to the Goodyear store. They meet us out front and let us know quick that they don't work on "them motorsickles". I tell them I just need a plug and I'll be on my way. "Nope, sorry, can't plug no motorsickle tire". : "OK", I say, "can you sell me a plug so I can do it myself?" They can do that. So I get the plug, get my tools out of my bag and proceed to fix my own tire in front of the Goodyear store! The manager hated it. The mechanic loved it! He was kind of impressed that I carried my own tools on the motorcycle... $75 in towing, $6 in plugs and I'm on my way, SLOWLY, back to Brentsville to re-assess my situation. I ride hwy 55 back. 45 mph all the way!!! At least the three plugs I had to put in that hole held it together for the 50 miles back home... Back at the farm, I have to use some redneck ingenuity to get the rear tire off the ground. No centerstand on the Nero. No shop stand with me in Virginia. Oh, but there's an oak tree in the front yard and I have some ratcheting tiedowns!!! I removed the rear wheel/tire and settled in for the evening. Day one shot. Three things to remember: 1) Never set out on a trip with a plugged tire. 2) The LeMans needs a centerstand. BAD !!! 3) Always carry a couple of ratcheting tiedowns. Tuesday morning, 8am. I hop in the car with the bad tire and head 40 miles to Fredericksburg to Morton's BMW. They are the only dealer in the area with the tire I want in stock. They can also mount it for me when I get there! I arrive right at 9am and they get me fixed right up. So much for saving a little money. Now I have a spare Metzeler Z6 Roadtec sitting at home in Fayetteville!!! I have the tire re-mounted and the bike out of the tree by noon. I eat some lunch, take a shower, re-load the bike, and hit the road at about 230pm. I'm running a day behind, so not much stopping to smell the roses. I ran I-66 West, I-81 South, and I-64 West to Mount Sterling, Kentucky. I arrived here at about 11pm, tied up the Nero and grabbed the laptop. I'm beat and ready to hit the rack after running almost 500 miles this afternoon. 4,584 miles now on the odometer... More to follow... More pics and less text... Trust me... ;D

On a recent ride, me on my Nero Corsa and a friend on my Sport 1100, I was surprised at the tripmeter readings at the end of the day. FWIW, the NC has its OEM 180/55-17 and the S11 its OEM 160/60-18. At the end of the ride, the Nero Corsa's odometer read 117 miles, the Sport 1100's odometer read 124 miles. Yep there was seven miles difference in the two Guzzis' odometers. Someday maybe I'll have a GPS and check to see which one is 'on' and which one is 'off'.

Good job, Enzo! Can't wait to see your next dyno run!

Both Enzo's Cobra and Dr. John's 2:1 have equal-length headers, if I'm not mistaken. Keep in mind that the factory has more parameters to deal with than just dyno performance. 1) Cost of production. 2) Ease of assembly. 3) Noise emmisions. 4) Exhaust emmisions. 5) Aesthetics. 11:1 pistons in a factory Guzzi would worry the hell out of the warranty department. Neither the Cobra or Dr. John pipes could meet Euro 3 or DOT 85db. I submit to you that the Griso's left-side exhaust was an arbitrary decision made by Marabese, or whomever penned the original concept. The Griso's un-equal length headers are strictly due to styling and cost/ease of production issues. And, the Griso's exhaust kink is a packaging issue brought on by having to plumb around the footpegs and lower frame while keeping the exhaust can on the same side as the headers...

Great looking parts !!!

With my upcoming move to Northern Virginia, I'm considering thinning the herd for a while. I'm going to have limited space in NoVa for storing motorcycles and have been planning on leaving the 1996 Sport 1100 here in Arkansas. Problem is, I will be gone one to two years and during this time I will only be home in Arkansas to ride the bike occasionally. I looked at the odometer and it seems I've only ridden it about 2,500 miles in the last two years. Probably only 500 miles in 2006... I sure hate to have it sitting alone in the garage gathering dust while I'm gone as I dearly love the bike and would like to see it taken care of. I'm just not going to be in a position to mess with it anytime soon... Back in January, I bought a Nero Corsa because of the newer driveline, better comfort, and the ability to carry Hepco + Becker bags. I'll be taking the Nero Corsa with me to Northern Virginia. For the kind of riding that I do these days, having the bags is a big plus, especially 2-up on weekend rides, and riding to the new workplace during the week. I also know that the Sport 1100 would not be at home in the heavy traffic and straighter roads around the metro D.C. area, that is why I'm considering leaving it here in Arkansas. I'm not to thrilled about selling it, but I'm thinking it might be a good idea for now. Here's what I'll be parting with: *1996 Sport 1100. Guzzi Red. Approximately 23,000 miles. Purchased new by me in March 1997 at Motorcycles International here in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Upgrades include: *Cast iron Brembo front brake rotors with aluminum carriers as seen on mid-90s Ducati 900SS. *Brembo GP front brake master cylinder as seen on many Ducati race bikes. *Keihin FCR41 carbs from SUDCO. *K&N filter in the stock airbox. *Full Staintune exhaust system with stainless cans. *New dual Yuasa batteries installed within the last year. *Bridgestone BT-014 tires with 50% tread depth. Spares include: *Extra set of OEM wheels. *Extra rear bevel box, complete *Extra set of Staintune Header pipes. *Extra upper triple clamp. *Extra plastic gauge housing. *Extra pillion pad. *Shop manual and Owner's manual. There are some things that need attention on the bike, but it's in overall good condition. It looks good, runs well, and sounds great! I thought I'd offer this to you folks here at Wildguzzi first, before considering listing it on Ebay. $6,500.00 for everything. I welcome any input and if you're serious about the bike, please PM me with any questions you may have...

Ken Hand, of Texas, has several Guzzis in his garage with 200,000+ miles. His newest with those kinda miles is a 1998 California EV. He's sorta like a collector. I guess a 200k miles Guzzi doesn't have much monetary value. He doesn't sell them. He just parks them when he gets another. Oh, and he rides 2-up and pulls a trailer behind the EV for many of his miles. He also frequents the Wild Guzzi board as "Texas Turnip".

You forgot the V11GT showbike, too... I'm sure all the false starts of the past eight years have had a lot to do with money available and changes of ownership. New owners, Piaggio, appear to have deep pockets. Sending Aprilia racing in MotoGP and Guzzi racing in SBK would be a great way to have both brands competing, but not against each other. Giving Guzzi a new motor is not a new idea. Ducati suggested they would install valvespring versions of their L-twin into sporty Moto Guzzis and revive the 'Bicylindrica' name if they were able to acquire the company... Time will tell, I suppose.