Steve G.

I suffer from permanently cold hands, and during the winter, freezing white hands. With the Guzzi and the other non heated grip bikes, I have FINALLY found a glove that works VERY well. I hate to say it, they are from BMW. They are called BMW Winter. They keep my hands warm, and dry, no shit. Ciao, Steve G.

55deg F, sunny, went for a 2 hour ride today. Cool, but the bike likes it, and that's what counts. Ciao, Steve G.

Scura; It Darkens Tenni; Tenuous Sport; Sporty Lemans; Lovely Just pressing buttons mechanically lads, no hard feelings. I actually feel bad for anyone with the single plate clutch. If I had one, I'd be getting the thing converted as fast as possible. Ciao, Steve G.

The Adamo replica and the Agostini replica are quite different designs, sharing nothing in the way of theme. I like both very much. Ciao, Steve G.

Yes the helmet you talk about is a Jimmy Adamo Replica, first issued on the Arai Signet models. The fellow was a noted American roadracer, quite talented. I stand corrected, but I think the poor guy was killed at Daytona 5-10 yrs ago during a practice crash. The description would describe how the crankshaft itself is aligned with the way the bike tracks, do not mind [in the Guzzi's case] the confusing cylinders [not piston cases]. With this in mind, clearly it is an inline engine, so, an inline v-twin. Simple!! Ciao, Steve G.

I guess it's a personal challenge thing Al. Much the same as a marathon/triathalon, or climbing a noted mountain.But I can't figure out why you give the hardcore guys slack, but don't give the rest of us weekend Iron Butt guys any slack. Would you be easier on us Al, if us 'wannabes' installed cathiters and retriever bottles like those hard core guys? My daily riding distance average is tough to figure out, as I don't usually give myself a mileage goal. When touring, I usually ride until I've had enough, look at the GPS to find a next town with a hotel and good food/drink. Ciao, Steve G.

I've done the 1000mile/24hrs and the 1500mile/36hr, both last fall. The 1000 miler should be no problem for most, and if prepared, the 15/36 no issues either. The only problem I had was having several near misses with dear including one of them blowing up in front of me from a pickup truck. I caution never to do an Iron Butt in September, the time of the year deer hits are statistically the most. The 1500m/24hr would be tough. Avoid bigger groups, or if not, decide before you leave amongst yourselves that the stragglers must be left behind, no hard feelings. Efficiency at the gas stops is a must. Three times now my brother and I have ridden home from Laguna Seca non stop, the last time 5:00am to 8:48pm, Salinas California to Surrey B.C.. The first two times we didn't hear of this Iron Butt thing, and because we knew we had done over 1000 miles in less than 16hrs, we thought we should make it official. Ciao, Steve G.

In fact I'm impressed that the bike was able to more or less keep with the car, in the corners that is. Cars have an incredible advantage in cornering capability compared to bikes. Of course there is no denying the big gixxer when the road straightens out. A new Corvette would be a different story, but an open class bike would still chew it up and spit it out. Did you see how many times the bike had to short shift, in fact put on the brakes once it had quickly reeled in the car. Ciao, Steve G.

The pictures are kind of neat. But I must say, not being someone in the plumbing business, and not regularly following the latest trends in urinals, those are way cool, in stainless even. Is this style the norm in Northern Europe? Ciao, Steve G.

My early framed '01 with the Bitubo. Fiddled with it when new, found it downright dangerous at very slow speeds when cranked up high, and now that I've softened up the suspension, it is spun to zero effect. On the rare occasion that I get a chance to run extended distance at quite high speed [certainly not here in Canada] I will reach down while riding and click it 2-3 times. Never any more! Not a super stable bike like the later framed models, it is very acceptable now, and have adjusted my riding input to this bike which settles the bike nicely. Ciao, Steve G.

Dielectric grease may also be called 'silicone dielectric grease' or 'electrical insulating compound'. The stuff I have right now, [and it will last me for years] is the 150gram [5.3 oz' squeeze tube of Dow Corning Compound #4 "Electrical Insulating Compound". You will most surely find this stuff at your local auto parts supply place. Ciao, Steve G.

If this is true, I'm totally pissed. Mark my words, I'll sell mine. If I wanted pitiful spares supply, I'd just go get a Kawasaki. Ciao, Steve G.

It is unfortunate the name! Norge, Norge. Norge....................----Norge----. Sorry, it just does not have a ring to it, in English anyways. The bike itself I could live with. Some threads on other sites are calling it a head on collision with an FJR1300 and R1200RT. The point I made was that all cars and bikes [except cruisers] are getting closer to the best aerodynamic shape. I can't help wondering how they achieved 1200cc. Both a bore or a stroke change, or both, will introduce a more intense vibration situation. All that extra bodywork, some of it appearing to be fastened to the engine, give me worries of cracking panels, and missing fasteners. They are on the right track though. This catagory of motorcycle is going to become more popular as the baby boomers start to get into their early sixties/late fifties, where most of the money is. I'm worried that they have clear coated over that "Norge" sticker. That will be expensive to get rid of! Ciao, Steve G.

A 90 to 135-140 roll-on? Surely we can't be talking MPH here! More like a top end lay on the tank and wait with V11 power, at 140mph. Yeah, these bikes are not like a ZX11 or Hyabusa at those speeds. If these are the speeds you like to hang out at, perhaps a big open class Japper is what you are looking for. Ciao, Steve G.

I've been thinking the same thing Chris. The S.S. used is different from the quality of Staintune. Ciao, Steve G.

I feel your pain Dr. Gill. With regard to the dealer that kind of sounds like Goto Mr. National, I will tell you that they are a great bunch of guys. The problem is, that's all they are. Avoiding their phone order system is not advice, it's a warning! Add to the situation the fact that they have to get alot of their stuff from MGNA, golly, it a wonder you get anything. I ordered a dip stick there, it took over a yr, and it was totally wrong. A dipstick!!!!!!! Not sure if you can cancel the parts still on order, but if you can, I have advice for you. That advice is ........... Agostini............... This is the place, just down the road from the factory in Mandello. The best! And you can avoid that joke called MGNA. Ciao, Steve G.

It's not surprising you got decent mileage with 87 octane. 89, 91, 92, and 94 octane rating fuel in fact use a flame inhibitor, more so for the highest 'octane'. This prevents pre-ignition. On any other machine that you may have that does not need higher rating such as the V11 engine, you should try to put in the lowest octane rating it is happy with. Your engine will get more power and better mileage. Ciao, Steve G.

Can I confirm with you guys the trend of this clutch problem. Is this concerning models equipped with the 'single plate' style pressure plate, found on the Tenni, Scura, and Rosso only? Ciao, Steve G.

I've got a Commando. They do 'tail waggle', but this is something you get used to. Even if the isolastics are cranked up, they do it. It's nothing to worry about. And I've owned a 400-4 as well. Sweetheart, but horribly gutless, and the original shocks on those went off in about 3000 miles! With regards to the handling of the spine frame, these frames also have a tendency to do this, though much less, and at a higher speed [above 85 mph]. This particular trait on your bike, may I offer the possibility that it's cooling off just a bit [even in San Antonio] to the point the tire may not be heating up as it was previously. Ciao, Steve G.

It should be pointed out however that while Gustufsson makes generally better windscreens than the stock ones, they are usually better because they are made of slightly thicker plexiglass. They, nor anyone else aftermarket makes windscreens made of uncrackable 'lexan' polycarbonate sheet. Only BMW, and the Japanese guys have lexan factory equipped to their bikes. Lexan would most definitely eliminate any cracking from overtightened screws/bolts. Buy it in 1.5 mm or 2mm pieces and it will bend fairly easily. 3mm stuff gets a bit too stiff for our purposes. Ciao, Steve G.

F$@&*#g squids! Ciao, Steve G.

That's not very good mileage, probably on the low side if you average out the responses to your thread. I've done 299kms [187miles] confirmed by GPS on my V11. Remember the early V11's had a slightly smaller tank volume because of the rubber thing on the top of the tank. Later machines should do better as there is another litre on board. Ciao, Steve G.

Golly Pete, Mobil 1 4T synthetic?? I thought you swore on half digested camel drool? Ciao, Steve G.

The R100RS, like all post 1980 airheads, have a 300 watt alternator. You can get a Thunderchild diode board etc, to upgrade to much higher. The reason is the 6 speed gearbox on the V11 series is a low revving drivetrain, and the capacity is the Marelli system works progressively. If you had taken it out of that "essentially overdrive" 6th, it would have kept up. Couple that with the fact the fairing on the old RS is perhaps the best protection fairing made. Of course, you could sell it. Unfortunately, because of the low output alternator these machines have, their resale value has been affected, so your Tenni is not worth much. I'd be happy to take the burden off of you Ciao, Steve G. P.S., I too am quite upset when it gets cold, and I get cold easy. My hands are the worst, because of my work, I have developed 'white hand', which means my hands get cold even in the hot summer. But, I have finally found gloves that work. They are BMW Winter. The best yet by far. As far as power output, the charging system on my V11 is easily capable of keeping up with my electric vest, and keeping the core warm is the most important.

Hi Guys, Actually the fellow on the right is Massimo's younger brother Pierro, with his son Giovanni next to him. Jim and I were lucky enough to meet these guysin Los Angles this past spring. The words, passion, friendliness, and kindness describe this whole Laverda family. Massimo started having health problems soon after the factory closed up. Some said he had a broken heart after that. Recently Parkinsons disease had started to take it's toll on him. Sad news indeed. Ciao, Steve G.