Steve G.

And to think I used to send so many terse letters to my local cable company to take on good old Speedvision. It was great then. Now we get Nascar F@%ing Nation, where we get to see the "Good Ol' Boys" play, get this, POKER!!!!!!!!!!! For an HOUR!!! GOLLY!!!!!!!!!!! You fellows in Europe surely must get a sense of the frustration we motorcyclists in the North American continent must be feeling. The chopper thing, the Nascar thing, it's overwhelming everything. You know the next time someone asks if I ride a Harley when they find out I ride, I'm going to go serious road rage! OK, I'm ok now. I feel better, honest I'm ok. I'm turning the tv off, and going to clean the spark plugs on my Guzzi. Ciao, Steve G.

Yup, like I said, when he gets bored with bikes. What else will he do, be a team manager? Yawn!! Ciao, Steve G.

I was at a bike rally last weekend. A buddy shows up on his KTM 950 Adventure [what a hoot to ride]. Anyways, he's got these after market titanium exhaust made by Ackropovic, but branded with the label Wings, the same thing, but 1/2 price. They sounded wicked, the welding was very well done, the fit great as well. I'd like to see if the have a fitment for the Guzzi, but can't get them to come up on a web search. Anyone heard of these? Ciao, Steve G.

I think you guys have it all wrong. Mr. Rossi will retire in boredom after the latest contract in 2008, and join Ferrari in F1. He will join English legend Sir John Surtees as the only men to be champions at bike and car. Ciao, Steve G.

I use a 160/70 on my 2001, the same rear wheel you have. With the 70, it raises the rear of the bike a bit, which is a good thing as these spine frame machines need more weight transfered to the front. And the 170 mm is too wide for these rims for 2001 and earlier. Ciao, Steve G.

Having owned several Brit twins and current 850 Commando, I feel the need to comment. Really, the only thing these two machines share in equal measure is that they both have bags of character and soul. The Guzzi is much much faster and quicker, with probably close to double the power, but almost the same torque. The handling is just slightly better, although the spine frame is better at high speed stability. The brakes, even on a Norvil Commando I recently tried, are hugely better on the Guzzi. Another trend these two machines share is the vibration issue. I feel the vibes are worse on the Guzzi, because of 2 reasons. One, the engine is bolted directly to the frame, and two, the M.G. engine is much bigger in capacity, with bigger pistons, and a bigger "hit" on each compression stroke. They both suffer from vibration induced loosenings, and parts dispersal when riding. But the Guzzi has the abilty to literally hammer plastic body parts to bits. I still have my warranty replacement starter cover in the box because I know it will blow the new one apart if I bolt it on. There is less TLC needed on the Guzzi, and I know the chances of needing to rebuild my Norton engine are greater than having to do the Guzzi. The 850 Norton made great strides in development to make a great little engine, good for 100,000miles on the bottom end and 50,000 miles on the top end, but the Guzzi engine clearly is in the same league of longevity as and airhead beemer, and I plan on running mine to 100,000 kms before I consider pulling a head to de-coke. As for the rest needle on the odometer, I was warned the first day I picked up my new V11 by the dealer that the thing must NEVER be spun the wrong way to reset the trip, as it will come loose, and fly away. Ciao, Steve G.

Hate to tell you this Nogbad, but Vincent's didn't use Smith's cronometrics, actually I think they used Jaeger. I would put the Smiths cronometrics on an equal acuracy standard to Veglia. Ciao, Steve G.

I know there will be guys more experienced around Laguna, but I've been going to WSB for years, and have a favourite Hotel [Motel 6 South]in a favourite town [salinas]. We booked the hotel 4 weeks before the official anouncement, getting a double room, no smoking for 57$US a night. Ordered the track tickets the day they went on sale. 156$US got us a 3-day paddock pass, 3-day general admission, 3-day red zone motorcycle only parking, and Sunday grandstand turn 11. The only thing I'm pissed at is the modifications to the paddocks/pits which slightly marrs the view at 11, but who would have known. At least they have the gumbo-tron TV pointed right at us when we lose sit of them. A group of 12 wachos are heading out Sunday, taking all the twisty roads we can find on the way down. This is one of those rides where the destination and the ride are of equal importance, and I consider myself very lucky to witness motorcycle history for the second time in 3 months. Ciao, Steve G.

Just looking at the Laverda SF. Disc brakes on front, drum rear, that makes it a 1973 750 SF2. Those twins are tough, the engine will run till the next ice age! Ciao, Steve G.

Hi Dave, I expect if you have a good view of #1 from the deck, that you will see the cavalcade of bikes heading south to Laguna Seca for Moto GP. I'll be in that cavalcade, with a group of 15 bikes, probably passing by your place Wednesday noonish. I'll wave! Ciao, Steve G.

The worry of a reduced engine life if used at low engine speeds should be thrown aside. The very high level of tune this engine has been made to is guaranteeing a much reduced engine life compared to stock tune Guzzi engines, regardless of wether you put put around town or not. Ciao, Steve G.

I think the Griso will do well for Moto Guzzi. If they are going to retire the California series, this new bike will do it. I'm not so sure about the Breva. The jury is still out about the styling, and you can see Guzzi is taking note of the negative feedback, already changing the shape of the fuel tank. A better bike? Almost for sure, but people buy bikes because they like to look at them. They are very visual machines. The MGS? Well, if they get this machine down to a reasonable price, they will sell, perhaps well, but I think we all may be surprised, read disapointed, at what it looks like in EU and US DOT street trim. How they will get a single pipe up the centre of the tail, and a full lighting kit as well is going to be a wonder to me. The front headlight will not be a problem. Ciao, Steve G.

How much do those crank sensors cost Nogbad? Ciao, Steve G.

Golly Jaap, What a bit of bad luck. Best thing to do, get back on the bike, fix her all nice again, and put it all behind you. Ciao, Steve G.

Anyone in Vancouver June 29th, should check out Italian Day at Waterfront Park, North Vancouver. 100s of Italian cars and bikes, fantastic show. Ciao, Steve G.

Yup, that also explains alot. Ciao, Steve G.

I've always found test rides to be great fun, on anything really. Mainly because it isn't mine, and I can run the shit out of the thing without caring. But to live with the stigma of owning a H.D. powered bike, golly, that would be tough for me to take. I try to avoid the potato-potato sound. Ciao, Steve G.

Sounds like you need to ride in the fast lane from now on. Either that or ride in your lane at a line on the other side of the ridge that has developed from trucks and cars. Ciao, Steve G.

Good ol' Paul Anka, Canadian boy you know. Ciao, Steve G.

I replaced the factory one, what a silly way to design a dipstick. BUT, I do think it is unwise to cut off those ribs. They are there for a reason, and that is strength. Surely they are not there so you have trouble reading it, or for a nicer looking one. The one I got was sourced from Moto International, curiously taking 10 months to finally deliver one, not the one I wanted, [the factory option one] but one from Teo Lamers, the straight push in one. Unfortunately, this one I got was for an 850 Lemans, so it had to be shortened. Once fixed and installed, it is much easier to read, although a couple of negatives. First, you will burn your hands trying to check the oil level when the engine is hot, and second, it is a real pain pouring oil in after an oil change. Ciao, Steve G.

Cool bike, but they will have to hire an Italian styling stylist. The things out of KTM are almost universally UGLY, and this thing looks like it was styled using chunks of cardboard masking taped together. Ciao, Steve G.

I bought the grease gun and extention mentioned in the previous thread. [i had to drive to the U.S. to get the extension, it is not listed as an accessory for this manufacturer in Canada.] There is no way I could grease the front grease nipple. To me it seems access can only be achieved if the angle of the shaft is set down as much as possible, at the same time the shaft must be swiveled so the nipple is at the hightest point in it's rotation. Unfortunately for me anyways, this meant removing the wheel, and rear hub to allow the shaft to drop down to a point where the body end of the shaft could be dropped out of place enough to allow the grease gun to "click" onto the nipple. Ciao, Steve G.

Great weather has arrived, and it's all about the corners with the lads I ride with. So last weekend 4 bikes headed east to Osoyoos in the desert, then across the border at Midway B.C.. Destination, Kettle Falls, Washington. We had hoped to get a hotel at Grand Coulee Dam, but forgot it was Memorial Day long weekend in the U.S..On the Sunday, we headed west to Winthrop, , over the pass back home, a good 1000km [650 mile] loop, a skip in the park compared to the 8000km run on the Laverda last month. A ride this long again has demonstrated how different bikes do things better, in different situations. With a V11 Sport, an MV Brutale, a Kawasaki Concours, and a BMW K1200GT, the equipment was glaringly different. For example, for all out sprints, the MV just rips, at hypersonic revs, a lovely chassis offering extreme agility and great feedback. The K1200 has the ability to breathlessly run 2 up at 140 mph all day, at extreme comfort, and surprisingly competant handling. The Concours has the power to do this also, well maybe at 120 mph, but old design, means it has less ability to corner agressively. The V11 it seems will do these speeds as well, and all day if need be, but at less confort than the 2 touring machines, but more comfort than the MV. While it really is apples and oranges to compare the two small bikes against the 2 big ones, I think it's fair to assume that the 2 smaller bikes could be in the same category, and a seat of the pants comparison was done by both owners of both bikes. The first thing I noticed with the MV is the extreme high revs is does. Would you believe 10,000rpm at 125 mph? And it gets there real fast, and will hold it there no problem. The fuel injection is the finest I've ever experienced. The seating position is quite comfortable, but at those speeds, not for very long. A list of what I will call negatives, one, it buzzes more than my early V11, two, it gets only 22mpg [u.S.] , three, it actually seems to be less capable at super tight stuff than the V11, which actually is a little sweetheart in the tight canyon stuff. My new Alpine Stars riding boots have 3/4inch bevels already from this ride. The V11 engine on the other hand has a low reving lope by comparison, and the revs must be brought up to 5500 or so to gain a holeshot over the MV out of corners, which it does with regularity. The midrange grunt, and not having to worry about a power high side mean jumping out of corners toward the next one. It really does work well that way. It just doesn't have the real big kick to really stretch out the long sweapers. I think it has the chassis, but I guess we'll never know a long lived 125 hp 2 valve Guzzi engine. The Guzzi, now with 29,000kms, gets a decent 45mpg [u.S. gallon] averaging 125kms/hr touring, but drops to 35 if rung hard in the tight stuff. Really, the only negative with the V11 was the delays to fix the %@@%ing relays again. My buddy said it was like riding with somone with bladder problems, always stopping. I know, the GEI relays! I tried phoning today, but its still long weekend down there. The other break down was a vapour lock problem. It made me very mad and embarrassed, as it happened right in front of a bunch of Harleyoids. I know the roadside fix now, but it requires rags, and playing around with gas vapours around a hot engine. Either that or not riding in the hot weather, or letting it cool off , where it will start. I'm really going to have to re-route the plumbing on this, it just should not happen. Ciao, Steve G.

Geez, I hear it gets warm there in the summers. Ciao, Steve G.

So, that would be a compliment, right Al? Ciao, Steve G.