After unsuccessfully trying to buy the low mileage Nero Corsa that was on ebay a couple of weeks ago I stumbled onto an even rarer and lower mileage V11 Coppa Italia. A couple of quick emails to the seller and a last second bid at 1:00am and bang I’m the winner!
I talked to the seller - a very nice and interesting guy who pilots antique aircraft and performs in air shows in NY (he also has a beautiful 500 mile Tuono dripping in carbon fiber for sale if anyone is looking), and he agreed to pick me up at the airport so I charted a return path down the Blue Ridge Parkway, checked the weather, and locked in my flight.
After arriving at Dulles the seller picked me up and ran me by the VA tag office for a temp transit tag, and on to see the bike. My first look in person showed it to be more beautiful than any of the pictures could show. The paint, fit, carbon, everything seemed top quality and beautiful (paint scheme is killer despite those that say it “looks like it was in the employee parking lot of a Mexican paint factory when it exploded.” – so jealous they are!)
We went over all the pieces, parts, and extras, concluded the deal and I set off on my V11 adventure home. I had only ridden a LeMans so the seating position and small fairing were a little bit to get used to but after a few miles I was digging it. I have not had a naked style bike since my Buell X1 years ago but the fairing on the Coppa provides pretty good protection and even full coverage when you get low on the tank.
I got a late start and hit darkness earlier than I would have liked in the mountains on a new bike but I made it down to Lynchburg for the night. I was using Holiday Inn points to get home on a budget so I found the H.Inn on Main St and grabbed my room (not before touring and stopping for gas in what I would describe as a “less secure” area of Lynchburg.) While Main St was nice brick streets lined with tourist shops Lynchburg as a whole seems to be suffering in the slow economy. The hotel staff walked security around the hotel and suggested that I move my bike over to the window next to the front door as the covered bus stop across the street filled up with people “camping” for the night.
The next morning I woke to the sunshine, packed my bag, had a horrible breakfast at the hotel diner, and rolled back out toward the BRP. The BRP is my favorite road and a must ride for anyone that enjoys motorcycles or even a good sports car. This is earliest in the season that I have ridden the Parkway and aside from maintenance teams the northern part of the Parkway was completely empty. Over the next 8 hrs I saw maybe two dozen bikes and a dozen cars. I saw twice as many hawks as I did people and that always makes for a good day.
This was my first full day in the saddle of the V11 and she was a dream on the twisty mountain roads on and around the Parkway. I stopped for gas and grub in Blowing Rock but it was too early to stop for the night so I had to push on to the next Holiday Inn near the BRP which was Asheville. After 12 hrs on the V11 I was thinking that the seat is much more “comfortable looking” than actually comfortable.
While I was feeling it a little bit that night, a good night’s sleep had me reset and ready to ride Friday morning. Heading out of Asheville I got back on the Parkway only to hit a closed area five miles down the road. I followed the detour and it brought me back into the Parkway via the Pisgah National Forest which winds along a mountain stream and past hiking trails, walk bridges, and waterfalls. I have ridden past this exit from the Parkway many times but will not pass it by again as it was a beautiful area to spend a couple hours of leisure time. Back on the Parkway and it being Friday and in the southern section traffic while by no means heavy was noticeable after seeming to own the road the day before.
Another day of perfect weather as I enjoyed the scenic vistas and made my way to the Highest Point on the BRP. At the high point sign I met a BMW rider (Ben) from New England who had his bike decked out with everything needed for a “Long Way Round” type of journey. We had a nice chat and he said he was 7,000 miles into an 8,000 mile ride around the US. Suddenly my butt was not as sore as it seemed.
Every time I stopped for fuel or at the scenic lookouts this bike drew a crowd. At the high point everyone stops to take a pic with the sign and I had finished my pics when a car pulled up and a man and woman jumped out with cameras. I said here let me get my bike out of the way and they said no we actually stopped to get a pic of the bike, never seen a more beautiful machine! I had Harley people talking to me about it, sport bike people, old timers telling stories of their brother having one many years back and always liking Guzzi. I took a lot of pics of the bike on the trip but I think other people probably took more total shots than I did.
Funny at the high point a guy rolled up on a Gold Wing pulling a trailer with his dog in it. Naturally he was a hit but the funny thing was I had met this guy last year (sans dog) at the exact same spot. Like me he is from Florida but he spends the summers in his RV in Cherokee and rides the Winger on the Parkway all summer (a great retirement plan!)
I really like the southern part of the BRP because of the tunnels, they add to the beautiful scenery but unfortunately they also signal that the end is near and I will have to head out of the mountains and back to the boring ride home. I try to avoid interstate travel when on the bike and prefer to take low traffic country roads that cut through little towns and let you see rural America. I dropped down through SC and around Augusta, GA hoping to catch the H.Inn in Statesboro for the evening but it was full so I re-plotted some backroads over to Savannah for the night once again arriving late and failing to meet my goal of being in the hotel by 8:00pm. Riding dark back roads (high density of bugs, deer, whatever) the goal is to be off the bike and checked in to the hotel by nightfall and I failed every night this trip.
Saturday was very warm even at 8am and I jumped on Coastal Hwy 17 and tracked it down through GA and into FL taking a brief bypass around Jax before picking up 17 again and on to the house. I was happy to jump in the pool and ready to take a break from the V11 seat.
The whole trip the bike was perfect and the only negative I had was some discomfort from the seat but I think that I am spoiled from my Aprilia Futura seat which is the most comfortable I have experienced. Also the riding position is more upright than any of my other bikes so the position on the seat hits different areas from what I am used to. The nice thing was that while I noticed it at the end of the day the next morning I was always ready to ride so it is not too bad.
Here are a few trip pics:
