Bill Hagan

Ha! I was that guy ... but you know that. As for this SSR, I have yet to decide which Guzzi gets the nod. The Norge is now, sigh, history. Tales of that sale on site for the price of a beer (or better). Kathi has been looking forward to the XVIIIth, but our Seattle daughter just made her a conflicting offer of two weeks with the three grands out there, so I'll sadly solo it. Speaking of grands, one of our Maryland set is visiting. Plan to give her a ride on the EV today. She is game, but worried as she thinks "motorcycles are so dangerous." That from a 13-YO who does this every weekend, and just back from a blue-ribbon "event(ing)" in N.C.! Anyway, looking forward to the SSR albeit sans supervisor. Bill

Mutton is senior-citizen lamb. Bill

“Yet More” because this is about yet another “Mutton Run” to Daviess County in western Kentucky. This one was from 26 - 31 May 2022. I have posted about others before here and elsewhere. Mutton may not be "everyone's cup of tea," but bourbon, beer, and BS seem to see the haters through. And for attendees, these forays are always great fun, which is why, after all, most of us ride. The photos probably tell more than you want to know, but ask if anything is puzzling … and you care. The pix open in “landscape collage,” which means you can look at all at once without slogging through in a rolling one-at-a-time slide show. If you care at all about captions, hover your cursor over the pix. If you don't … well, don't. Here goes: Motos & Mutton May 2022 Bill

Bumping for any update. I was sure betting on the heat treatment. No news is not likely good news in this instance. Bill

^^^^^^^ BTDT. Ferries are great fun. Bill

^^^^^ Those look to be very high-maintenance items. Bill

^^^^^ You must have seen what I posted, then deleted, when I saw that it was a dead link ... from 2016. Off to ride now on this nice day before the snow falls tomorrow. Bill

Just talked with Bryan and reserved "our usual" room, 301. Now, to decide which of the moto-harem gets the nod. Bill

I'd like that -- tho not as much as the "artwork" -- but, sigh, can't.

But I have since -- as a result of my enthusiastic reviews of earlier posts, an apparent parole violation -- again been transported to "banned camp"

Hey, my like just worked. You scared it. Well done. Bill

WHOA! I just got this (again) when I tried to "like"... the ones I missed yesterday, starting with p6x's ... Do Dutch days not end and restart at midnight? Which midnight? Amsterdam? GMT/UTC/Zulu? Maybe it's some spin of DST? Banned in Romeo, Bill

I tried to "like"yours, but being of short memory (and shortening more every day! ) got pulled over by the site's IT Carabinieri. Ditto here. I think I'll go look at that. Suspect I'm mere middle tier at best ... unless it counts "likes," as I do lots of those. Bill P.S. Edited this rather than making a new post to avoid allegations of padding my file. Anyway, I see I was once a "Past Leader," and, darn it, must have missed the party.

Point of order! I haven't been spending enough time here, as my "likes" seem to have stopped last summer. Maybe Kathi busted me? Anyway, so I started wandering through the thread -- and "daydreaming" as @nobleswood euphemistically calls it -- and mashing the "Like" button (and needing an "Especially Like" button for several). Then, just as I am getting rolling, I get this: That is so wrong. I'd call a lawyer, but don't know any good ones. Mods note that I followed the rules by including entire screenshot. Yes, I know; check out the thread more often and I'd not get that annoying pop-up. Bill

“Working” in Moto Grappa. Will respond later; mebbe tomorrow. Zum Wohl! Bil(helm)

Thank you, @KINDOY2, but @p6x, @LowRyter, and some others here would likely be fine guides, too. Perhaps the interested among us might plan a Tour d'Grappa. Better hire a driver. As evidence, consider this. Many years ago, during that same three-year sentence to "confinement" in Italy (and the rest of non-commie Europe), I was seriously into pedal bikes. Think I have told that story here before ... but not this part. Bob, one of the other Americans who lived near me in Zanè (Thiene)(VI), 18 miles or so from Caserma Ederle, was also an avid bicyclist. In good weather, we frequently commuted. It was a very gentle downhill slope from home to the post, and, obviously, the reverse going home, so the latter -- again, obviously -- always took longer even tho we were both young and fit. We both had also come to appreciate the charm of grappa. Perhaps you see where this is going? One spring day, we decided we would ride in and then, in a twist (without a lime), we would stop at every bar -- a term a bit different in Italy than here, but all served caffè (espresso) and, of course, grappa of many sorts. To digress, a specialty of mine, one of my favorites -- mostly to make wives groan -- was "grappa alla vipero," e.g. ... Makes worms in tequila seem downright sissy. Anyway, our plan was to ride back to Zanè after Retreat ... with a stop at every bar on the right side of the road for a shot of grappa. What could go wrong? Actually, nothing at all. For the first three bars, anyway, tho we were still in Vicenza's city limits! Oh, wait, time for another digression. If you read any of my (LONG) post yesterday about grappa -- https://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?/topic/24056-moto-grappa-tech-days-mmxxii/&do=findComment&comment=270524 -- you know of my reverence for those courageous men on both sides in WWI who fought and suffered at 10,000 feet in the Dolomites. The typical American stereotype of the Italian military is ridiculous and unwarranted then and today. I was always struck by the name of a street in Vicenza -- that was along our commuting route home: "Via Ragazzi '99" -- the boys of '99" -- named, of course, after the generation of young Italian men lost in the Great War. Most of those died in the Dolomites; if they had time, they no doubt called for their mamas as men do in extremis. Now their bones are in mountain ossuaries or mummified in the ice. OK, back to the Great Grappa Bicycle Ride! So, after a few more miles into the ride, we were, quite literally, feeling no pain and, in fact, feeling great. Thankfully, we then had several miles with only one or two bars in the little towns along the way, e.g., Motta and Villaverla. We did OK ... until the latter village. Somewhere north of there, Bob just disappeared. One moment, we were stroking along and then only I was. It took me more time than it should have to realize that I was now riding solo. I doubled back and saw Bob down in a ditch. He was conscious and -- I am serious -- singing something. I asked him if he wanted me to help him out of the ditch so we could ride on. "No," he said, "I'm done." He then made the only smart suggestion of our day. "Better go get our wives." Recall that cell phones were decades away and, in fact, none of us had gotten a telephone in our homes after a couple of years on a long waiting list. The ditch was dry, Bob was "happy," so I rode on. Naturally, I thought it would be unsporting and possibly deprive me of counting coup if I did not continue to have a shot of grappa in the remaining few miles. That meant, as I recall -- and, as you might guess, I don't recall much of anything after leaving Bob in the ditch -- several more stops. I could then speak enough of (slurred, and possibly improved and inspired by the circumstances) Italian to convey my mission to bar patrons. Somewhere along the way, I (think I) remember one guy saluting me, paying for my shot, calling for huzzahs from all, and then buying me another shot. An hour or so after abandoning Bob to his fate, I rolled into Via Europa, Zanè. I was not given the hero's welcome I expected. No, instead, I was met by a group of distraught and irate wives -- including Bob's and mine -- who were on the verge of looking for a rope and a tree! They had already dispatched a rescue car of the other husbands to find us. I figure that I must have been in one of those bars when they passed by; Bob would have been invisible from the road unless you knew where to look and he was still singing. Three of the wives -- I was lucky there was a disinterested one who kept Bob's wife from killing me -- got me into a car and off we went to find Bob. Enough. All (eventually) turned out well, but "eventually" took longer for our wives than for us. The next morning was a Saturday or we would have been useless at Caserma Ederle. Happily, the Russians did not choose that weekend to cross the Fulda and Goriza Gaps. So, all of what I remember of that is true, tho I have filled in some details from what others told me after the fact. I have other grappa stories, but that will have to do for today as I got little done yesterday in the Moto Grappa and it is calling me now. Alla nostra! Bill

VERY well done. Have help or solo?

Responding to this and other comments in this thread requires more time — and adult beverages of many choices — than the former, at least, permits just now. That said, I’ll take a quick stab before heading down to the Moto Grappa, donning a HAZMAT suit to clean the place, and finishing the service on the V7 III. This could just as easily have gone into @LowRyter ’s new thread about travel & grappa, but as I started it here, but will try to respond to some of his remarks here, too. Oh, this also descends in TLDR territory, but I do include some pix and even vids for the moto-visuals here. As for @footgoose ’s "provoked thoughts," here, in seriatim, are some comments: * First, apropos the mention of Putin, which I presume was understandably prompted by calling that beribboned bust by that name. That “yard art” was a gift from a sculptor friend many years ago. We only noticed the resemblance when I took the photo. I think I’ll change out the Italian ribbon for a blue & yellow one. This photo — taken earlier this morning at our front gate — should clear up any ambiguity of my view of current events … * PPK - Think that Walther was Steve’s, but I was on KP duty and missed most of the chatter. There are no special “gun nuts” in that group. OK, maybe one, who has been on History Channel for his artillery! I took this pic at his place as he fired one of his smaller toys … *Stelvio has a belt - Yes, alternator belt. Changing out the one on my Norge was, while not best done at the side of the road, much easier than on the Stelvio. * Curious Italian passers by. We wondered about that. One of my retired USAF friends was adamant that I was “wrong” to fly the Italian flag on the main pole. I told him that our property was — during MGTD, at least — Italian soil. This same guy is a great friend, but a widower with fixed views. He once told us that we had too many magnets on our refrigerator! Anyway, no doubt those flags and banners attracted attention. Anyone here know or care to guess what those two 3x5 flags are at the gate? * "And then, there's the possibility of the moniker "Moto Grappa" having a back story of some depth?" Yes. But, first, I’ll address @p6x ’s noting no grappa in the MGTD pix. Actually, there were at least two photos with grappa in them, but his point is well taken. Lest, however, anyone doubt my credentials — for enjoying, not knowledge — of grappa, see these … The first three pix are of "on hand" grappas; the last -- in the Moto Grappa -- are some that are dry but provided great memories. The Alexanders are gifts and, arguably, not even grappas ... but close enough even if "too smooth" for my peasant tastes. I tend to like the more “rustico,” even “bruto,” grappas over the more refined — I won't say effete, but that’s what I mean — ones, and I’ll say why, below. Now ... back to naming the Moto Grappa. The short version of “Why Moto Grappa" is a combo of these great bubbas and the “Carb Bar” on Caserma Ederle … [It’s possible I have gone over the top with that since …] … and Alpini reunions, mostly in Vicenza Province. This last was the clincher. It was the late 1970’s. These really old WWI veterans — I am about their ages now! — would gather, reminisce, and quaff grappa. What I knew about the Austro-Hungarian front in WWI was pretty much limited to Hemingway’s “A Farewell to Arms.” Well, here were The Guys who were there. Even when discounted 50% by time (and grappa), their stories were amazing and inspiring. That, BTW, is how I learned how to appreciate “homemade” and other more crude grappas over the fancier sort. While in Italy, I went on a “staff ride” of the battle here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mount_Ortigara. Though then 60 years later -- now more than a 100! -- we saw as we walked all sorts of debris of that struggle. I have a slide somewhere of a boot with a mountain flower blooming in it! The original foot that wore that boot most likely resides in the Ossuary at Asiago, https://www.venetoway.com/en/military-shrine-of-asiago/ OK, if you are still “here,” and even if not snowbound as is @ LowRyter, you might find these worth wandering through. https://www.dangerousroads.org/europe/italy/71-strada-delle-52-gallerie-italy.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_front_(World_War_I) As for comments in the replies that I found “thought provoking,” this of @p6x ranks first: "Lots of students coming to earn a few bucks, and housed on the domain too... no further comment.” You can’t just stop there. Off now to the Moto Grappa! Bill

Good morning -- or whatever it is when and where you read this -- from the top of Virginia where we are still tidying up the battlefield and shooting the wounded after the latest iteration of Moto Grappa Tech Days. The slideshow and its captions tell the story without more, so I'll just post the link with the only intro being that it's mostly about wrenching, bench racing, competitive eating, bourbon, beer, and BS. As with my other Smugmug albums, the link opens in "landscape collage," meaning you don't have to slog through every one of the (yes, I know, too many ) pix to see all or the ones, if any, that might interest you. Hover your cursor over individual pix to see captions if you care. MGTD MMXXII Bill Logged

At risk of confirming effetist tendencies some have long suspected, I am annoyed just now as FedEx has lost my shipment of Illy, due yesterday when we ran out. "No delivery date scheduled; pending" the website says. I suppose I will survive on some blackish swill from Martin's. After all, my mom made "erzatz coffee" in Germany during WWII. There were various "recipes," but her "favorite" was to burn toast and scrape the black stuff into hot water. We are blessed people today. Now, as for SSR 2022, Kathi and I look forward to it. Bill

Thank you for your kind words. Dennis was one of those unforgettable characters. I went down to the gate to take in the flags there — Germany and Thailand, with mourning streamers — and raise the U.S. to full staff. Life goes on, as it always does, but Dennis will be a missed companion on rides and more. Bill

[Some here knew Dennis from a SSR a few years ago.] Today, 4 February 2022, would have been Dennis Kristof’s 79th birthday.I am sure he would have celebrated with a ride, as he loved motorcycles.But, sadly, Dennis was killed on 8 January 2022 while riding with a motorcycle touring group in Thailand. His wife and pillion, Taew, was severely injured, but survived. Their son and daughter are with their mom as she completes her recovery.Dennis was born in 1943. His hometown, Bad Neustadt an der Saale, in Upper Bavaria, is a lovely place, and only a few miles north of where I was born in Würzburg. Dennis grew up in Germany, but came to the U.S. as an adult, where he became a successful businessman in Georgia, doing international agriculture trade, primarily in Thailand where he met Taew.Dennis was a well-traveled motorcyclist, tallying many hundreds of thousands of miles over the years. And, I do not mean “mere” miles, but of the sort that involved multiple runs to the likes of Prudhoe Bay and Ushuaia. He once crashed his beloved BMW GS in the mountains of Chile on one of the latter trips, and spent weeks in a hospital in Santiago. On recovery, he continued on that trek! He also shipped that GS to Europe to ride from Amsterdam to St. Petersburg. In the U.S., he especially delighted in riding with friends in the Southeast on another BMW and a Kawasaki Concours. Dennis was one of the most technically proficient riders I have ever seen, a natural on two wheels. That said, most of his riding friends — and I am honored to count myself among them — would not (or could not) emulate his … erm … “exciting” riding style. Let’s just say that it often attracted the attention of law-enforcement officials. Yet, although frequently stopped for roadside discussions with uniformed personnel, Dennis had an astonishingly clean driving record. Despite his age, he always had a boyish grin, and that, along with his undeniable charm and strong German accent, led more times than he deserved to “OK, Sir, just be careful and slow it down,” without getting any written “Performance Award.” World-traveler Dennis was an unabashed American patriot who knew more about U.S. history than most native-born Americans. He also spent much of his time in Thailand on business and pleasure. He and Taew owned a home there and, naturally, he had a motorcycle in his garage. They were on that machine when they crashed.I paste in, below, two emails with photos I received from Dennis just a few days before his death.===========From: Dennis Kristof Subject: Pictures from Dennis in ThailandDate: 6 January 2022 at 05:56:41 EST To: Bill Hagan Hi Bill,Thank you so much for sending me some wonderful pictures from your home with family and friends. I am sure you had a wonderful Christmas and new year celebration with your family. I don’t envy you for snow and cold weather in Virginia because I am enjoying the tropical sun entirely in the last two mornings riding my motorcycle 650 Suzuki V Strom all over the country with some young friends and my wife. We will be staying here until the end of this month. We plan to return home on January 31 if traveling conditions allow and they let us fly home. I hope to see you guys in the spring to ride with you again and until then I wish you all the best in the new year. Auf Wiedersehen,Dennis ============== The next day, he sent this: From: Dennis Kristof Subject: Touring Thailand on two wheels with my wife and lots of new friends Date: 7January, 2022 at 09:07:07 EST To: Bill Hagan Life is wonderful here great weather and great company greeting from the Far East. =============== Then, he left us. I have been gathering photos of Dennis from the many trips and other good times we spent with him in the hopes of posting this memoriam on his birthday on some motorcycle forums. Here are a few that illustrate his joyful, generous, and adventurous soul. This last was in Owensboro, Kentucky, in September 2021 when Dennis, others, and I were on a “Mutton Run.” We also visited Green River Distillery and Dennis, so typically, shared his purchase with us that evening. More individual shots in this album … Pic Potpourri of Dennis Here are some slideshows of him and others riding along the years. Hover, if you care, your cursor over the pix to see the captions. https://bill-and-kathi.smugmug.com/Sashaying-to-Swanzey-in-2015/n-NR8Rrf/ https://bill-and-kathi.smugmug.com/Men-Motorcycles-Mutton/n-GRNH7j/ https://bill-and-kathi.smugmug.com/Mutton-Run-2019-/n-9V3j52/ https://bill-and-kathi.smugmug.com/Muttoneering-Sept-2021/n-VzxTGK/ For all sorts of obvious reasons, no memorial service has yet been planned back in the U.S., but there will be some celebration of Dennis’s remarkable life when his wife and children return. I will post details of that here when the family sets a date and place. Dennis’s great friend and road companion, George, wonders if Two Wheels of Suches might not be a great venue. But, whenever and wherever, tales — tall and true — will be told of this gentle giant. Finally, as a mutual friend observed when he learned of his death: "Dennis was one of those larger-than-life characters who managed to pack about five lifetimes of experiences and travel into one life; I was glad I was able to meet him and ride with him. I'm sure he left people feeling the same as we did across four continents.” Yes, indeed. The saying “joie de vivre" is French, but I have never known a person who lived that phrase more than German-gened Dennis. I can only hope that, for his sake — tho not necessarily His! — that there are twisty roads and motorcycles in Heaven! We miss you already, “Chancellor.” You’ll always ride with us. Bill & Kathi Hagan

Talk all you want about the track performance of other cars in those vids, but Andy's shot depicts incredible adhesion. Just now, however, I just care about getting down our driveway so I can shovel VDOT's blade berm to reach the cleared roads. OTOH, could be worse, to wit, my b-i-l's car in Erie yesterday! Bill

Yes, Merry (Second) Day of Christmas from Edmonds (Seattle), Washington. Was near the late Moto-International yesterday, and sure sorry it was no longer there. Hoping our flight home on the 29th isn't canceled as I can take only so much of gray skies and rain . No, wait. This morning, there's a different look ... ... a winter storm warning, 26ºF, and several inches of white stuff on the ground. Lordy, I miss Virginia. On the bright side, grandkids and a demented Yellow Lab here make it pretty darn tolerable. Bill

I (might) have one more new Guzzi in my moto-harem before I hang up my spurs. I deem this worthy. The Chief, Domestic Operations & CFO has given tentative approval! But, we shall see how much the new beast weighs wet and some info on its COG. I would, of course, get the red, so that is that. Besides, my riding skills or lack would never exploit the Ohlins and I suspect the stock setup is fine enough. Bill