Steve G.

Take the PC off the bike. Ciao, Steve G.

Just heard the sad news of Massimo Laverda passing away very recently. Another motorcycle legend leaves us. Ciao, Steve G.

I know it must suck being the world's policeman. I look at it this way, better you guys than the former Soviet Union! If I wasn't your neighbor, I would probably be forced into speaking a very rough slang of Russian right now, and having to wait 15 yrs to buy a Ural, at 10 yrs salary. I can relate with the rest of it. Except here, we get cheap V11 parts from the Buell dealer! Ciao, Steve G.

I think Jim will confirm with me around 10yrs ago when they had a most magnificent flying display of ME 109, P51, Mk11 Spitfire, Corsair, B17, Lancaster etc, at Abbostford airshow. They had a P51, F86, and F15 up at the same time, the Mustang leading the group at full speed, with the F15 hulking behind the other two, twice their size. The crying sound of the V12 Packard-Merlin at full throttle over the jet engines. Gosh! I get misty eyed just thinking about that weekend. The men who flew those machines way back 50-60yrs ago were men in the absolute! Ciao, Steve G.

I'm wondering what will become of the resale value of oceanfront land along "the Hurricane Highway"? Ciao, Steve G.

I'm currently reading 'The Memoirs of Field Marshal Montgomery'. He had some Canadian Divisions under his command. His notes describe the Canadian Army being given the "shit jobs" by the Allied bosses. To quote him directly, "they were simply incredible". Makes me feel kinda good. My grandpa was in the Eighth Army under Montgomery in Alam Halfa. Remembrance Day is the most important day of the year for me. Ciao, Steve G.

Moto Guzzi is about to experience a reduction in sales in my part of the world. The Breva [of any size] is proving not to be a seller. And only one "cruiser" bike, a full load one with all the accessories. No entry level ones. The Spine frame sold quite well here. They have just one left, period. My closest dealer is not impressed these days with MGNA either. Lack of communication it seems. Ciao, Steve G.

Yes, the marketing dept at Meriden Triumph did have a big imagination. It would take a very spot on T120 to do 120 mph. I've ridden many, at sea level, and will confirm that most all British twins over 650cc have to breath extremely hard to do 120 mph. Tail winds, down hill, and extra tall gearing [120 mph will red line the North American issued bikes] will see 120. Just don't hang around there long. Hot alumimum fragments imbedded into the legs is painfull. A T140 twin, and T150/T160 triples? Ridden both extensively. A good T160 [the very best of the Meriden 3 cylinder bikes] will do 125 mph if you wait a while. A T140? 110mph, maybe! Ciao, Steve G.

Like the Breva, the Centauro has bodywork that is "love it or hate it". They are SO SO rare in Canada, I think Jim must have one of the only ones in this country. Because of this rarity, I like them. The MGS has styling that is more universal, more run of the mill, I think because it is/was made as a track race bike of sorts. The pure red color is very nice, and I think putting a multi color scheme would be over the top and unneeded. Excepting a single or duel white stripe the length of the machine, just off centre of the top, it is just fine. I tend to be a one color guy, with the thought that if a bikes styling is up to the standard, multiple colors is a cop out [no pun intended]. A perfect example is the "boy racer" graphics on the modern superbikes these days. Gives me a bloody headache looking at these things. I think one of the most recent bikes from Moto Guzzi stands a chance of becoming popular to people, the Sport 1100. Lovely styling, currently quite reasonably priced, a bike that does not need graphics to make it pleasing to the eye. I recently spotted a very rare dark blue one. Absolutely gobsmacked! Red and yellow very nice as well. The grey? Well, grey makes me yawn even on a Lamborghini. Ciao, Steve G.

The total production of Moto Guzzi may give a clue. I have read elsewhere that production there has been in the 4500-6500 area for years. If this can be believed, a guess would say 1/4 to 1/3 of production for the Spine frame V11, with other production of the Tonti decending California, Jackal Stone, etc, and the small block engine variants. Considering all the variations this entails, with V11 Sport, Lemans [in all it's variants], Coppa, and the limited edition Rosso, Tenni, etc, one would think between 300-750 of each variant, depending on different things, the main being popularity demand around the world. Anyway you juggle the numbers, yearly production is perhaps on a par with a lazy afternoons production at mighty Honda. In a word, every single Moto Guzzi made can be considered a limited edition. Ciao, Steve G.

This next race will be a new one for everyone. No one will have an advantage like Laguna Seca. A brand new track. This last race may indeed tell the tale for next year. I was at Laguna Seca this year. Everyone I knew there, as well as people around where we were sitting [turn 11] mumbled that it looked as if Rossi was jusr cruising. When he is grinding hard, you can see he has a different riding posture, his helmet is tilted forward more, like he's on attack mode. He was clearly just in cruise mode at Laguna. As mentioned above, in the last laps he gained on Edwards almost instantly, yet Edwards lap times did not drop. He was playing with them. Sometimes it's good to see Honda HRC get their asses spanked. Their budget is absolutely huge! Ciao, Steve G.

Check the connection of the wire that is on the end of the neutral switch. It gets loose, and water and crap can make the connection no good. Clean it off, carefully squeeze it with pliers, and slide it back on the neutral switch. Ciao, Steve G.

Errrrrr.........IMHO, it's your money! Of course, as always, YMMV. Ciao, Steve G.

This is bike #89?? Wow, I'm surprised you havn't owned a Guzzi before this new one of yours. It sounds like maybe you get bored of a bike quickly, or a guy who likes to change around. Well, you will be doing this V11 a dis-service by not getting some serious miles on it, to show how well these things settle in. It really does take a long time for the engine to fully break in, at least 10,000 miles. They really become more pleasant machines. Ciao, Steve G.

I've been thinking of doing this as well. The stainless braid seems like a good idea when you see the way one of my lines was routed from the factory, right up against the rear of the left cylinder. But then you look at those cheesy radiator hose clamps, and wonder how much pressure the fuel pump really is building up in the fuel system. Hmmm! Ciao, Steve G.

Save your money with the springs. Put 5w oil in, it will change things for the much better. I am 240ib, and this is working great for me. Ciao, Steve G.

Given the choice of an older "small block", the V50 is a much better engine. The V65 had issues with not enough oil to the bottom end. Actually the V50 is a little sweetheart, I've had a chance to ride one many times. The only thing you have to deal with is old Italian switchgear, which can be easily replaced with something else if it is to be just a runner. If you don't want to turn it into a money pit, just don't. The small blocks will never be collectible, so forget the rusty frame. Clean the carbs, tune up and battery, away you go. $300? You better not tell me where it is. Ciao, Steve G.

Isn't it time Ducati re-skinned the Monster? If it were not for the new "classic" series, this company would be in trouble down the road soon. Ciao, Steve G.

I'm not much of one for parade rides. Which country/city is this. I'll try to avoid the motorcyclists there. What a bunch of FU$#*^&% idiots. Ciao, Steve G.

Yup, Debbie Harry, of Blondie!

Bloody hell, I wish! Ciao, Steve G.

I am not of Italian decent or nationality, nor American decent or nationality, so I consider myself unbiased in view regarding the Phillip Island race today. I think it has come down to this. Either Mr. Rossi is going to have to get old very fast, retire, crash bad [gosh I hope not], or jump on a seriously underachieving bike. If none of these things happen, Mr. Hayden has no chance. I really like Mr. Hayden, his humbleness is very refreshing, he is well spoken, and certainly in the top 4 roadracers in the world right now. His superior machine still cannot win the day for him. Mr. Rossi is playing these guys like a violin. Ciao, Steve G.

I just did this last month, changing the fork oil I mean. The toughest part of this job is getting the front end of the bike in the air. Otherwise this job is easy, perhaps a bit time consuming. Best to take one leg off at a time, and as Pete said, flip it upside down and pump it some. I let the thing stand upside down overnight as well. I would never consider paying someone, or a shop, to do this job. I consider this part of the ownership of what is essentially a big boys toy to me. Plus I'm cheap! Ciao, Steve G.

Ahh, Tire threads, oil threads, gotta love them. A very personal issue, I have to say in one sentence, that no tire is the perfect tire, much like bikes, that commonly the stickiest tires don't last long, and the longest lasting tires don't stick as well. Anyone who pronounces that their tire of choice does both better than "those other tires" I feel might be trying to convince themselves about their tires more than others. A tires ability in the rain has more to do with the tread patch pattern than that "special" compound that only their tire seems to have. Adding to the problem of varying thought about reading tire wear, is that the road, and rider skill has more input into the wear than the tire itself. Depending on where in the world you ride, the "crown" of the road has the biggest impact on unequal tire wear, with those in mainland Europe, and North America finding the left side of the tire wears quicker, with those in the UK, Australia wear is on the right. Also note that different ways of laying down ashpalt roadways drastically affect different wear rates. For example, roads in Canada use a lesser amount of crushed gravel, the roads here tend to be very smooth to the touch, with less tire wear, and in certain conditions, namely rain, or high heat, very slipperly conditions. Roads in the United States use a higher degree of crush rock, so sliding your hand across finds a very rough and bumpy [to the fingers] surface. This is most ideal to the bike rider who likes to negotiate his corners fast, but makes for very agressive tire wear. Those who live near areas with minimal corners will have to expect tire wear mostly in the centre. Add road temperature to the debate for an extra effect on the tire. Bigbikerrick mentions he is unhappy with the wear on his 020's. Last time I checked, average temperatures are on average 25 degrees F warmer in populated Arizona than in southern British Columbia. I average 16,000kms [10,000miles] on my front 020, and 10-12,000 kms on the rear. My wear usually happens like this. Towards the end my front shows wear right across the tread pattern, with more wear and cupping on the left side [crown], some on the right. The tire is always changed before I even get to the centre wear mark warning, as the tire wear on the sides makes the bike unconfident in the corners. This "feeling" of lack of confidence happens surprisingly in a very short time, it is not a long progressive feeling of reduced confidence. If roads around here were only straight, I'd keep it on longer, but when you think about it, the tire would not last as long, as tire wear would not be shared across the whole face of the tire. These are wear rates comparable to many of my riding buddies on the front. They are different on the rear because of varying hp outputs from different bikes, and here's new for you, my rear tire lasts longer than those on ZX11's etc. My brother uses a race compound Dunlop on his RC30. The tire has been worn out in as little as 2500 kms. He also has over 30,000kms on the Dunlop K70 on the front of his CBX. I know this is apples and oranges here, but also bear in mind that the K70 lasts so long because it has tire compounds that make it as hard as a hockey puck, and it is downright dangerous to ride agressively. What I'm trying to say is, you will not find a tire that will stick like a race slick, AND last forever. When buying a tire based on personal judgements of your previous tires performance, keep these differing road conditions and riding characteristics strongly in mind. They have a much greater influence on the tire performance than whether it's a sport touring Continental, Dunlop, Pirelli, or others. Ciao, Steve G.

Actually quite alot of bikes [just kidding]. That is 50% of Laverda's total 3 cylinder 23yr production. I'd like to know the break down of models, or at least the spine frame/tonti-california percentages. Ciao, Steve G.