Steve G.

I've got serious cabin fever also. You are not alone. Ciao, Steve G.

Well, I droned through those comments, and confirmed what I have always thought. Police officers, and the police force members are just as screwed up as the rest of society, and they don't corner the market on "the perfect citizen". I used to play hockey for a local police force, in a police hockey league, and slowpitch softball for the same police force. I didn't consider myself a ringer[ I'm not a cop], but they wanted me to play. Anyways, I met some good people, and also met some wachos, all who are police officers. Clearly that forum has it's share of wachos among good hard working police. Just like I despize being typecast as a "Harley Biker" dude, or a "Crotch Rocket Squid", I won't typecast all cops as "f%!@@*d up", or "Immoral Power Junkies". I guess you just take your chances, sometimes you will get a good cop, other times, you will get a "real winner!" And they are out there. In my experience alone, I've been given a speeding ticket and a 15 minute tirade for going 2 mph over the posted speed, and been let off casually with a warning for going 45 mph over the limit. The one thing that I take issue locally, are the motorcycle only road blocks, who stop only motorcycles to either check the noise of your bike, or whether you have a motorcycle endorsement on your drivers license. You can just imagine the stupidity of a $75,000 a year cop in downtown Vancouver pointing a noise meter at the back of my stock untouched idling BMW airhead. I could go on and on, but suffice to say, we are a minority in society even with the baby boomers starting to throw their money at new 2 wheeled toys. And as a result, will be treated like minorities, which strangely enough, I quite enjoy! Ciao, Steve G.

Which forum on the site are you talking about Jim? Ciao, Steve G.

Well, it's a 2 stroke, or a flat head 4 stroke, from the location of the spark plug. And the spark plug looks pretty big! I need a better picture. It looks homemade to tell you the truth. Ciao, Steve G.

Let's see, WildBills' first picture of of course a Nimbus, with either a quite lat issue seat, or custom seat. His second picture is of course a Vincent Rapide, It appear a Series B. And the Scott's were made in Shipley, Yorkshire. Ciao, Steve G.

Weird science for weirds sake? Cool!! Ciao, Steve G.

Sounds like an exhaust headerleak to me [pun intended]. Ciao, Steve G.

Hi Bill, Yes, the IOM is just that, but I don't think this time of year. Ciao, Steve G.

It's a T120R Bonneville. Ciao, Steve G.

Put a new battery in if it's the original. Check the oil cooler brackets. Pre '02 models were made of cheesy aluminium, which WILL break. The cosmetically exact steel ones should be retro'd. Check all hoses which are supplying gasoline. Do yourself a favour, take the starter cover off, it will crack in half from vibration and fly away. Take all your retainer screws out of the side covers, dab a bit of low strength loctite on each, and spin them in just tight enough. Too tight, and they will crack. Make sure your fuel tank has not settled onto the side covers too much, it will crack them. Aside from that, change all the fluids, including the hydraulic fluids in the brakes and clutch, get yourself a BMW roadside tire repair kit, a collection of zapstraps, mini first aid kit, mini flashlight if you break down in the dark, and seeing you are travelling into Mexico, I'm sure you realize special insurance is needed. And perhaps some kind of personal protection device I think. It is sounding like Puerto Vallarta is where you are headed. There is a very good KTM/Ducati dealer there, run by a German. Surprising stock of stuff for bikes should you need tire etc. Ciao, Steve G.

Kawasaki has had hardning problems with their cams since they went liquid cooled. My brother bought a brand new 900 Ninja in '84, the cams went a year later. He stirred up a world of shit with Kawasaki Canada, and they gave in, did him right. He traded the bike in on an RC30/VFR750R. Much happier. Now he just goes through 175$ batteries every year. Ciao, Steve G.

Well, I've seen it before lots of times. A starter bike is one which should be expendable, as in the odd tip over, till she really gets the hang of things. You don't want her to get discouraged, and tipping over her new Breva might very well do it. I think a solidly built Honda XL250, or something similar would be the way to go. If she is shorter, then a used Kawasaki Serow, or similar. Once she has the hang of things, she should get what she wantsn not what her spouse thinks she should get. If that means a Suzuki Hyabusa, so be it. A v11 Lemans, why not? There is one thing that cheezes me off, is seeing the couple on Harleys, her on a basic Sportster, and him on a Fat Ass, I mean Fat Boy. What's wrong with her getting a big bike? Ciao, Steve G.

Golly Pete, You wouldn't be one of those poor souls affected by the full moon would you? I would point out that yes, a T3 would take you places that a "pufter duel purpose machine" would take you, but yes, the T3 would take some needed roadside work with a boulder and a chunk of oak, whereas the 'dually' would skamper of down the highway to find the next 'short cut gravel road with no services' trench. Honestly, I've ridden many Aprilia product, yes with the Rotax/Bombardier power units [i have trouble calling them engines], and sort of have to agree Mr. Roper. Expressionless, emotionless, impossible for a rider to "connect", if you know what I mean. A V-twin with a counterbalancer shaft to me is like a multi with a nervous twitch. That said, I've got no problem with a 'sourced engine' motorcycle. Perhaps the most famous and sought after motorcycle brand since the dawn of the internal combustion engine, the Brough Superior, had sourced engines, mainly and most famously from J.A.P., from B.S.A., and from Douglas. Ciao, Steve G.

The BT57s lasted 10,000kms rear and 15,000kms front. Now with the BT020s, it was 15,000kms rear, and at 29,000kms, the front has feathering on the sides, but is clearly lasting longer than original rubber. Unlike Mr. Iron Man, Brian Robson, I generally don't do alot of riding during our rainy winter, therefore I don't witness first hand the BT 020's indiference to cold wet occasions, and will continue to use these, unless a great deal comes along. Ciao, Steve G.

So Uh, I guess you must like it then Pete? Ciao, Steve G.

I've always done my own work, where a warranty compliance issue does not come up. Like Bill, I've had real ham fisted work done on my bike [not recently thankfully]. Luckily, I also grew up on a farm, where nursing mechanical things back to life was the norm. Regular wrenching is part of the passion of bikes for me. How can you really get close to your passion, if you end up sending it to someone else when it has a tummy ache. I've restored 4 bikes frame up since 1993, and found that while different manufacturers do things slightly differently, there is a commonness among all of the engines. That said, it was not the ease of maintenance that attracted me to the Moto Guzzi. If that was the case, I'd have 6 Urals in my garage! I think most here understand what the attraction is to this brand. It is tough to put into words, but there is something! Ciao, Steve G.

The approved list does not have MV on the 'ok' list .However, Cagiva is ok, and MV was/is under the Cagiva umbrella, so they are being brought in as Cagivas. I understand there is a guy on the North Shore who brought in a 1000 Ago with no problems registration wise. And Beaudry has sold 1/2 dozen to oil rich guys in Alberta. As for a ride report Enzo, I really didn't run it very long, maybe 3/4 mile, but initial impressions are the engine has quite impressive torque for just 741cc. At just 2000rpm [red line is 13.700rpm] the engine pull actually caught me off guard. The EFI is magnificent as all Marelli systems are. The rear brake is understandibly wooden, as I've found with most all crotch rockets, to prevent rear wheel lock up. The 6 pot Nissin fronts I really havn't tried in proper use, but the feel is oh so nice. The thing is really a showcase for top shelf equipement everywhere. The from end is something to behold. Everything is simply massive. The quality of the welds on the trellis frame are just beautiful, fit and finish, gosh, near perfect.The engine bark is so un-inline 4, a real BBRAPPP!. Jim is already looking to get the 4-2-1-2 system which gets rid of the catalytic converter. Another 8 hp to the rated 127hp. And another 20 decibles. He's been told a Ferracci power commander is good for another 16 hp. I can see this thing's front end is going to be in the air all the time. We went for a ride tonight for a couple hours [he offered but I want him to break it in his way] and he mentioned a big cam rush starting at about 7000 rpm. 62 MPH is 5000 rpm in 6th gear. He's having trouble keeping the revs down. engine is very free reving. The break in procedure he said is quite serious and vital to the future of the engine. I guess that heat is the big one for this engine when it's new. It is to be avoided at all costs. So he was riding it around today with weather about 14 deg c [58 f], nice cool air for the engine. I expect I will be getting more seat time on this beast. He is very generous when it comes to things like this. Of course, I'd be a fool to turn down an offer of an MV Agusta to tootle around on. Any cool bike really. Ciao, Steve G.

Got a chance to run my buddies MV Agusta Brutale around the block today. Brand new, one of maybe 4 in Canada, and only one west of Ontario. I consider myself preveleged. He promises much swapping with the V11 once it gets DOT OKed. Wish I knew how to get an e-mail picture onto this format. Ciao, Steve G.

You know, I always liked the Quota. When they first entered Canada, they got terrible press because of the ECU problem they had, and word got out. They couldn't hardly sell any of them. Once Moto Guzzi sent out new ECU's they were a delight. A friend of mine just got a near mint used one from the local Guzzi shop, and I know it will work great for him. If you check out http://joboys.ath.cx/index2.html the Joboys MC , you will see that his machines are run most places, but a Quota will be a much more competant mount on forest service roads than a '76 Lemans ! Ciao, Steve G.

I wonder if the study they talk about differenciates between 40-55 riders who never gave up the sport, and those who have just come back in to bikes, or are old 'newbies'. I bet there's something there. Ciao, Steve G.

Thankyou very much for the info guys. Looks like the I Pod format for sure. When I ride, I tend to do those 10-12 hr runs, and batteries are an issue I never really thought of. Maybe rechargable batteries? As for ear jacks, I really would look for something that has an ambient sound deadening feature. Turning the baby up, over and above the wind noise and engine noise would kill what little ears I have left. Ciao, Steve G.

Sorry guys, really off topic. But I know there are people on this forum that know way more about this than me. I'm looking to get a system for listening to music by earjack while riding on the bike. I know, some will say a Guzzi is music enough, I agree. But on at least 2 of my major tours/rides this year, I will have to spend a bit of time on the highway/motorway. Can't avoid it. So I'm no electronics guy, not even close. I've been looking at 3 formats. 1 is the MP3 player. 2 is the minidisk player. And 3 is the I Pod. While I have a basic grasp of the MP3's and the minidisc, I know nothing of the features of the I Pod. What do any of you use if any right now? Any thoughts or recomendations? Ciao, Steve G.

Oh no, Not another attention whore! Ciao, Steve G.

Well now, the Featherbed. This is an entirely different situation. This frame design was a revelation in motorcycle road handling. Should you find yourself running with someone on a pre-Commando Norton, again in tight stuff, don't bet the farm you can even keep up with him, should he be of the same calibre rider as yourself. On a straight or long sweeper stretch of course, you will quickly despatch him. And if the poor lad is on a late model of say 750cc status, as in the Atlas, don't worry he won't last long. He'll have to pull over soon to have a hand transplant because the vibration will have liquified his fingers. Baldini makes a point I agree with. I've ridden Tonti framed machines many times, most notably my buddies first year Lemans, and can attest the handling competence to be higher than the spine frame. It is amazing the lack of understanding out there regarding any number of 'primarily' Italian thoroughbred machines with peerless road handling. The pre 1980 900SS Ducati's I personally put at the apex of this esteemed group of machines. Ciao, Steve G.

Yeah, mine squeaks since new. I'ts called character. Ciao, Steve G.