Bill Hagan

I am a bit worried that Kathi did not seem the least bit troubled by your first sentence. I will cross-post this over on guzzitech, gaguzzirider, and wildgoose sites. Naturally, I'll make it clear that it'll be priority admission to spine-frames ... or anyone who brings decent whisky. It's probably premature and a bit risky to mention the initiation rite. Bill

Ms. Cody just called. She winters in Florida. Said they have 6 rooms left for that weekend. I reserved one. Told her my best but absolutely SWAG was 10 folks needing 7 rooms, but I really had no clue, and that you were CINCRAID. My thinking is that this place may have too few rooms for the group, but I defer, obviously, to your call. Bill P.S. EV, the former odd BOM here, is a stripped carcass on the lift, awaiting new clutch. Norge is running great. Both will be vying for Raid honors.

Read 'em and weep, Okie. http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=7393 I think you should, for your temerity and error, show up at the Raid. Bill

The advantage to N.C. may be more than the "sun on our backs" for rides. OTOH, until you mentioned blue lights, had not considered that our pix (and bounties!) may be in local Tenn. constabularies, so maybe N.C. LEO's might buy our stories as they have not heard 'em before ... at least from us. Seriously, as I have said, you are running this thing, and wherever you say works for Kathi and me. Looking forward to the ride. Am considering, btw, bringing the EV instead. At 88K, it's never run better, and I have new YSS rear shocks that make it, if not a Norge, mighty fine, even in enthusiastic riding two-up in the pretzel roads. Besides, while not an animist, I do think I sense the EV muttering in a slightly bitchy tone that it does not like it that the Norge gets all the sexy trips while the EV has been relegated to commuting. Bill P.S. The EV is, as you may recall, an "honorary" spine frame, having been BOM on this site when no one submitted and, as a joke, I suggested Luap make it BOM. She's very proud of that.

Ms. Cody must have run a credit check on me or something; she never called back.

Sent email; awaiting call back. Kathi is excited about this, a state I find a bit troubling, actually. Hoping to be in Italy at the end of that month, and, even better, on a Guzzi in the Dolomites and Boden See area. The Raid will be a wonderful warm-up ... and practice session for grappa. One cannot be too ready. The only thing that could be better is if I can get her to see why I really need a new Griso "Tenni." Bill

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You 'burbites are so uppity. She's right, of course, tho more than jax are stupid. Anyway, as you might suppose, the Guzzi gathering is a bit more refined ... erm ... no, that;'s not quite the right word, but usually it's less stupid, and certainly no stupid jackets! I post this, however, mostly to tell you and anyone else interested that this dealer just ordered an Axone, and it should be in later this week. Bill

Howdy. My EV is there now, all for work I could do myself ... well, except for mounting new M880's. Just ran out of time. BTW, as of last night when I visited my EV, think they had three Norges (2 red & 1 black), a Griso, a Breva 750, a Nevada (I think), 2 1200S's, and a press-abused Vintage. The mechanic is "Guzzi Steve," a regular on w/g and well known to n. Illinois Guzzisti for most of those "30 yrs of Guzzi experience," and to most Atlanta Guzzisti ... well, at least those who attend our monthly meetings at the Vortex [i.e., come by, Danno. We are at the L5P Vortex at 7 on the second Wed of the month; http://www.thevortexbarandgrill.com/]. Steve is VERY knowledgeable and good with all loop- and Tonti-frame Guzzis, and is learning the new stuff. He even bought the vdst (or whatever the acronym is) on his own to use, and has been lurking for some time on the guzzitech forums so as to stay ahead of the game on issues with newer Guzzis. The owner (or manager ... I'm not sure which), Adrian, rides a Griso. Andrew Skilling, the service (and, just now, also a parts and sales guy) seems responsive. They push so many Piaggio scooters out the door that they seem to have a very fine relationship with the Mother Ship, which should be a help. My only misgiving, beyond what you might infer from the above, is that I think they are not getting an Axone. I have an e/m to Adrian and Andrew about that and await their reply. That sounds worse than it is. They are part of several other stores. They tell me that they will overnight the Axone up here whenever needed ... without billing the customer (well, directly, of course ). Besides, this place is 2 miles from my house. A great deal. http://vespamidtown.com/ FWIW, just saw that there is now a Guzzi dealer in Dahlonega and another new one in Statesboro. Yee ha. Bill

Joe & all, Kathi and I will leave downtown Atlanta a bit later on Friday, and perhaps as late as noon. Eldercare duties, etc., and etc., make an earlier launch problematic and unlikely. Our route, too, means we probably won't see you all 'til we get to the Ritz in Vonore. We plan to head up to the state line somehow, then pick up N.C. 68 to SR 360 at Tellico Plains. If time permits want to check out Citico Road which appears to run along a major water course generally SE to NW in a half circle 'til it rejoins 360 at Tellico Beach. Has anyone here done this road? Uhm ... is it paved? I and my GPS (Gravel Preferred, Sir) have a talent for finding dirt and worse, even when I enable "avoid unpaved." I envision a 5 -6 p.m. (Eastern) arrival. Will have grappa and, if Kathi can be talked out of certain hair & hygiene accoutrements , an espresso machine! Naturally, I'll have something to "correct" the coffee, too. Looking forward to the company and the ride on Saturday, tho I expect to lose sight of all taillights within a mile or so; wait for us at major cross roads! Bill

Kathi and I expect to launch from here a bit later in the a.m. ... eldercare issues, "I can't find that special m/c trip hairdryer, Bill," issues, etc. ... meaning c. 10. It's 150-200 there, dependng on deviations which are the only certainty of the ride up (and thewhole weekend). See you in Vonore late afternoon. Will bring appropriate bottled wet stuff, and hoping for none from above. Seems we always get some serious thunder booms on these raids, but that makes the waterfalls better the next day! Looking forward to this always-great event. Bill

You know, docc, "crashing" [so to speak only, of course ] a wedding has some "raider" charm. Plus, it is within striking distance of SE Tennessee and the roads are quite fine in that part of Alabama. Even better, we could bring back some bridesmaids for the post-raid party. Oh oh, Kathi's with me. I think my plan is flawed. Seriously, David, sorry you won't make it, but a wedding is an excuse, not merely an explanation, for missing this great annual ride. As the father of three daughters and a son, I will also say that "father of the groom" is easier to take on many levels. Congratulations to you all. Stop by the GarageMahalo when next in Atlanta. Grappa and other bottles await. Bill

Just made reservations at the Vonore Ritz you recommended. Kathi is (almost disturbingly) excited about this outing. I can only attribute that to that ageless tool: the margarita or whatever it was she had (several of) on Friday and Saturday nights. What she remembers of the gathering she remembers fondly. Seriously, docc, we do look forward to this, as it's always a fine ride and "rally." Because of eldercare duties and limited leave time (and money!), probably going to do less riding this year, at least of the long-trip variety. Headed to Davis, W.V. early next month and hope to spend a few days ranging from there on the super roads of W.V., Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. As long as I am back on this board for a moment, I'll add that I sure miss the Ballabio. But, the Norge is fine, indeed, very fine. Have 17K miles and very little of that on the slab. Put a new Hyperpro shock on the rear and now center-stand grounding is a thing of the past. A much more planted ride in hard curves. Great stuff. See you in May. Bill

Exactly, which is why the reaction to all of this puzzles me. Even if jaap was wrong on the merits of what prompted his notice and erred in the manner (points that I do not necessarily concede, because I don't really know the former, and was not troubled particularly by the latter), would not application of the above--good manners, an easy going nature and a stiff upper lip--result in a "bye" for jaap, not a good-bye from members, especially stalwarts such as you and others here? OK, hope it all sorts itself out. I'm going out to the garage to gaze at my just-arrived HyperPro shock for my Norge ... wishing I were smart enough to put in on all by myself ... but that's why I come to boards ... somebody will take pity on me! Regards from cold, wet Atlanta, Bill

It seems to me that some here are taking this a bit too seriously, i.e., as a personal insult. Jaap has "owned" this site for several years. It is bound to be a major PITA to run. Then--and I have no clue about what constituted the "last straw" in this instance--something set him off and caused him to launch his email. Now, since 2002, I have lost my temper X times and said X-squared things I regret. Suspect I am not alone in that. I also suspect that it must get dispiriting sometimes to run a site such as this and get whining emails filled with complaints from seemingly ungrateful Guzzisti. Finally, something or someone got to him and pegged his BS-Tolerance Meter. That he withstood the temptation to lash this long is the wonder to me, not that he did now. And the means? A sniper is indeed a wonderful point target weapon system, but a grenade or shotgun has some value, too, especially if you want to make a general point. I wasn't insulted, only puzzled. Dutch isn't my first language, and I can only stumble haltingly in Italian and German. If I were to write a warning email in any language other than English, I'd likely start another war, much less merely annoy folks. So, while I might like to know the reason behind it all, I certainly don't expect jaap to tell me in detail. I appreciate knowing that he is not a saint and loses his temper, too, just as we all do. I am also grateful for this and similar boards. Even though I no longer own a spine-frame, I sure miss the Ballabio and banter here. If the price of that is an occasional donation ... and a rare email of the sort jaap sent here, c'est la vie. Bill

I'm thinking jaap is a genius. I sold my Ballabio -- sigh -- and haven't been back for awhile, mostly because I've been sulking about the unwise loss. But, I got the email, and it lured me back. Now, I'll probably spend a week reading what I've been missing. OBTW, 16K+ miles on the Norge and nothing's fallen off. Kinda worries me. Bill

Wow! I'm framing that. On a sadder note, I sold my Ballabio last month to Bill Watson, who, on the bright side, seems to love it as much as I did ... damn his eyes. Seriously, as painful as it was to sell that sweet machine--a fact driven by lack of space--seeing it go to someone who appreciates it as much as I do (did ... sigh) made it (almost) OK. I sometimes wonder if, as does Peter Eagan with once-sold motorcycles, I'll call Bill W. up some day and try to buy it back! Regards from Norgeland, Bill

I'll be there or at least cruisin' thru on a Norge with Larry LaHue from Florida on a V-Strom. Bill

Great news, docc. I had the Ohlins-for-Sachs swap on the Ballabio. Incredible, write-home change. You are now just what I need to come help me swap out the too-soft spring on my Norge for a new, stiffer one. Beer (Italian, of course) provided! Bill P.S. Sadly, sold the Ballabio yesterday; buyer takes delivery tomorrow. I think I'll have Kathi handle the transaction. Makes me sad thinking about it.

And, looks as if it will still be dry next year. Sigh. http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/local_news/art...5588675,00.html No doubt will soon be talk of hanging chads. I'm a big believer in "local option" . . . well, as long as they vote my way. Oh well, we seem to have wet the county down a bit by our visit! Regards from Atlanta, Bill P.S. Kathi says she wants to the Cherohala on Saturday. I said, nah, I had chores to do. Right! We think we (Kathi, Phillipe Combier--a Cafe' Sporter, and I) may have lunch at one of these places ... and probably Blue Waters ... if anyone is going to be near: http://www.cherohalacrossing.com/ [doesn't look "elegant," & may have the chaps set! :-) ] http://www.bluewatersmtnl.com/view.php?id=10 http://www.blueboarinn.com/finedining.html A possibility ... if we all have "better" deodorants!

Oops. Sorry, Martin. http://www.use.com/10741 As for LEO's, I did not wish to be the focus, but they need to be there; see this--in red: http://www.tailofthedragon.com/

You saw the vid of the Cherohala, and here are the pics. As threatened, there are lots of 'em. Get a beer ... http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=9wgryy...0&y=-sllhm8 Kathi and I had a great time with these super folks. Thanks to all who played with us. Oh, if you still need more ... here's a vid of doing the Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap. It's 8 1/2 minutes long, and would have been worse--I mean longer--but my batteries died. Wayne Orwigs says if I went faster, they would have held up! Anyway, for you armchair critics and discussion board QB's who think I was dawdling, note that I was two-up and first time through the Dragon on the Norge. More important, I trust you note only one m/c caught us, a fast little once-clad, but now naked, sportbike. I caught a fat beemer who was very unhappy to be in my gun camera. Wish my cam batteries hadn't died so you could see him trying to get away, but to no avail. He watched my gun ports twinkle and was a decal on my fuselage.

More -- way too many! -- pics to follow soon, but here's a vid of us rolling out from an overlook on the Cherohala Skyway, a road that runs a 50-mile ridgeline between Tennessee and North Carolina. It started off foggy, even misty, but, as you can see, that soon lifted and ... well ... life is good. In this vid, we're at the 5K+ feet point or so, near the crest, about 3/4 of the way between Tellico and Robbinsville. Have your volume up for the start-up and roll-out, then turn it way down because after we launch, it's pretty much just distracting wind noise. We, however, could hear those Guzzis sing. http://www.use.com/10740 This is a great road. For more info, see http://www.cherohala.org/ & http://www.cherohala.com/ Bill

Kathi and I had to leave the Spine Raiders late on Saturday, but here is a pic of Friday night "discussions" and a shot of us in trail on the Cherohala Skyway. More pics and tales to follow from us and the other Raiders soon. Bill

Well, Cap'n, you can try. But, aside from the Ram Mount I have for the camera on the Norge to document your lines (assuming I can keep up past the parking lot , I'm bringing 2 gigs of flashcard memory to preserve these doings for posterity ... and your dossier at HQ's. Bill