belfastguzzi

that's crap

Or take the opposite approach and lose/ignore the object. Moto Undone I like it. A similar concept, the non object nUCLEUS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVYYBKO6FD0

Maybe looks better in reality. In photos it looks somewhat like a bus has been crossed with a tractor and then a giant anvil has been dropped on it. Could it be that Moto Guzzi's Griso design & development work actually did result in something that is unique, special and pretty much right (90%) as a design? Seems so. Anyway, good to see other ideas and experimentation.

Hey, would one of you UK residents sign this thing for me? It doesn't allow comments, nor non-resident signatures, but having done a semester abroad in Oxford a bazillion years ago, it would be a big bonus if they approved this thing before I go back to visit. Nurburgring would be a cool visit, but I don't sprecken the Deutsch, or even verstehe ein bischen. The pommies will tell you I don't speak English either, being a 'Murrican, but at least I can usually catch the drift of the conversation & read the road signs [well, maybe not in Wales, but who can? Mind your p's & q's... ] Anyway, if they can get this thing off the ground (or rather, ON the ground! ), it has the added benefit that being a one-way loop, it eliminates the biggest hazard to fast drivers visiting the country, the fact that they all drive on the wrong side of the road over there in the UK! Anyway, I think it's a brilliant idea for promoting tourism, & if they put it in Wales it will be closer to the Isle of Man as well, for that 1-2 punch for tourism of someone going there to sample the track & then head across for the IoM TT! I might argue (but not actually measure) that IOM's handy-close to Northern Ireland: so if the imagined Burger Ring, as you other-side-of-the-pond boys no doubt say, were to be located here, it would be the best of all solutions. Come here for NorthWest 200 week (with the tourist hordes). spend another week whizzing around the Burger (avec hordes), then hop over to IOM for pudding. Eh? Ever heard of a 1-2-3 punch? You have now.

Interesting. I had paint bubbling on my 02 tank. I put it down to water getting under the paint/lacquer. I didn't think about fuel seepage as a cause, but that could have been the problem. Sheesh – those 02s!

Good point! Thanks. I original saw this posted under the heading, ' New Race track in Wales being proposed' Anyway, there's hardly any danger of happening anywhere.

Click link What's good enough for Wales must be good for Northern Ireland too? Plenty of tourists coming here for road races, as well as local enthusiasts.

Hi Euan sorry to be a pest: can you slightly amend my location for 497 to Northern Ireland? Thanks.

Thanks, I did wonder, but the leaflet didn't say. I haven't been able to find any separate info about motorbike test procedures on the NI sites either.

I got MOT reminder/info in post yesterday. I see that a check that the cat is in place is part of the test now. So oe systems will need to be kept and swapped on to pass the test if (like me) you've installed a new system without cat.

Thanks for that video reference! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsRsZI7J9W0 I hadn't seen it before. I've canoed round the coast there and in through the Strangford Narrows, sitting on Angus Rock for a while and then on in as the rising tide floods the rock. There's a small whirlpool just after that too. The tide flows very fast through the narrows, as some of the folk here have seen. We stayed on the edge of it for the first Ulster V11 meet a few years ago.

The UK is an exception- I understand that Guzzi sales plummeted last year. Maybe due to a combination of poor dealers, high prices, recession and the fact that performance seems more of a factor when choosing a bike over here. I guess the question is will the current line up of bikes keep sales at a healthy level worldwide for the future? New motorcycle registrations in Europe decreased 8.9% in 2011, reaching its lowest level in a decade. And with the state of the economy in Europe, things might get worse. According to provisional numbers released by the European Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers, Europeans registered 1.72 million motorcycles, scooters and mopeds in 2011, down from 1.89 million registrations in 2010. By comparison,the U.S. motorcycle market is showing signs of recovery, with 2011 sales increasing slightly by 0.3% compared to 2010′s figures.

via the Tourist Board anyway

Function, perfection, reality, context, resources, seeing, vision, experience, breadth, diversity Apart from the studio subject being interesting in relation to the garage, shed and other personal workspaces,creation spaces, for me the movies resonated with the discussion, going on in another thread here and always going on, about the comparison between the Moto Guzzi as it is - and the experience that provides - as against a frame, a construction, a bike that is clinically perfect.

There are plenty of comments about why it is not easily possible. I can't recall anyone embarking on the engineering that would be required to do it. Apart from wanting to tackle an Everest-like challenge for the sake of it, I don't see that it is really worth doing. The v11 engine has its own charm and is, in a way, better matched to the level of technology of the rest of the V11. In real life, the V11 goes well enough too, compared with the new Guzzis. (For example, you are still stuck with the V11 rear end, which, also, you would have to find a way to match up to. Or would you try to install the whole carc assembly?). Wait until there is a truly new MG engine with water cooling, to provide an interesting challenge.

Just a pic I came across, not custom made, I'm afraid. You should be at home with this one

No, my post was saying the opposite. I bought it because it looks good (mostly good but not completely great from all viewpoints). I understand the UK performance was 357 units sold when the target was 650.

That's a rubbish idea.

I sure I'll find out when I get my glasses but is that poor girl really called 'Roger'? It's a girl? I need to put my glasses on.

I too quite like the Griso frame and am not distressed by the high arc of the design. For me it's the big oil cooler box that does the visual damage. Just as a comment on the room between the frames though: I think that you will have more room in there with your motor, than there is with the 8V 1200. Yes, the space between the wide, high tubes is needed for the tank and the high alternator, but it is all very tight in the 8V, which of course is the current version. I have not seen under the tank of the previous models, but I think that the 8V sits higher. I have previously posted photos of the problems that I found because the tank sits right against the 8V motor. There is rubbing in various places, I found an alternator wire rubbed through to the live cable, I found rubber hoses crushed; and there is no room for manoeuvre with the tight fuel lines and the very tight tank drain lines. The drains exit from the rear of the 8V tank, different to the earlier model and I surmise that is because the 8V motor is too high to have the drain outlets where they were originally designed, so they had to be moved back to the rear end of the tank, where there still isn't room for them. The whole thing is very long of course and my biggest complaint about the design would be its immense weight. From some angles it's beautiful in the way that a bike should be. From other angles it's odd and awkward. Overall, it is the best looking modern Guzzi and the one I chose to buy. It was bought on looks, as no test ride was possible.

Dealers closing: here, there and everywhere. Now one of the big high-profile stack 'em high & sell 'em cheap stores has gone down. From The Sun BRITAIN'S biggest motorbike dealer is crashing into administration — as the latest victim of the slowdown tearing through the high street. GEORGE WHITE ceased trading after running out of cash. And sources claim staff at dealerships in Swindon, Plymouth and Torbay were being made redundant. The company sells everything from Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Piaggio bikes from five dealerships. The company plunged £663,784 into the red in 2010 on sales of £26million and warned it was having to cut jobs. Swindon-based George White was set up in 1961 former Swindon speedway rider George White. Restructuring experts DELOITTE were appointed to the business and confirmed 61 of 70 jobs had gone. ...consultants BEGBIES TRAYNOR said there was a 24 per cent rise in companies on the "critical list" in the final three months of last year. Story is also on MCN website and one of the comments seems a fair summary: in a way not surprised, the xj6s i have at the moment cost me £4k from there, less than most used ones were selling for - the zx6r i bought there in 09 was so cheap, when i got knocked off and it was wrote-off i made a £400 profit! (and kept the 2 paddock stands and other freebies they chucked in). Their business model was stack 'em high sell 'em cheap - i reckon they did a bit too much stackin', not enough selling. They were also clearly concerned about this business model and the high price of jap bikes that the floor was not that full when we last went (xmas week), and much of the stock was the italian stuff they had diversified into. They moved to their new showrooms in Swindon (from manchester road) not long before the credit-crisis, and although the 0% deals helped, we often wondered how they stayed solvent. Shame for some of the folk who worked there - some were unhelpful and probably were part of the demise. I have to say the after-sales was rubbish, they didn't register my xj6s with yam uk for 2 months until i threatened to kick up a stink (meaning my warranty was not ready to go and the free RAC cover wasn't on the system). The shop and the 'auto-jumble' were quite good for kit, but i bet many of their smaller rivals in abingdon, gloucester, cheltenham, cirensester, trowbridge etc are breathing a collective sigh of relief as they must have been taking a lot of business away (ruthless, tight toe-rags like me!).

I'd like to try something with a fairing just to see what difference some level of comfort, ease through the air and protection from weather makes. I've never tried anything with a fairing before at all, apart from the pressed-frame Yamaha 80 that was my first bike and had leg shields! Oh and the Scura's little bikini fairing. I'd also like to pull my V11 apart. No, seriously.