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Snuck out for a short ride this afternoon. It’s been raining for a while so the sun was a nice change. This store closed a while ago but it use to be a nice stop along the way to get some snacks and ethanol-free fuel.

@v11_meticcio asked me where to put the links to Mandello's preparations for the Moto Guzzi Centenary. Pretty sure it deserves its own topic! Happy One Hundredth, everyone!

Took the Ducati out on Tuesday, very nice 63 out. Now it's in the 30s and the fireplace is burning (.....but had a cigar and a scotch today).

I see I have also taken some liberties with @Admin Jaap's pictorial post, adding some commentary and trying to refine the transitions. I hope this is okay. I don't want to rub our Chief Whip the wrong way! It occurs to me to mention that, although not pictured, there were V11 "Sport" or "Naked" produced through the end of the range with fork mounted headlamp/instruments just like the early Sport. For the differences in the frames and tanks also see:

https://lecconotizie.com/societa/mandello-societa/mandello-il-centenario-moto-guzzi-scalda-i-motori-presto-il-programma/ https://oqxskftsotfrkxfx2zs23k5r6m-adwhj77lcyoafdy-lecconotizie-com.translate.goog/societa/mandello-societa/mandello-il-centenario-moto-guzzi-scalda-i-motori-presto-il-programma/

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/neil-peart-rush-dead-cover-story-1110496/?fbclid=IwAR0HWwfZMbZ3itl_cOm5Tg1xHFLLOgPuQcXn2zaeXiPMlppIyqqxkhpVALY

Check that your starter button is not stuck in, thus engaging the starter although the engine is running, this will make the screech noise, this happened to my 2001, a quick dap of WD40 and the starter button and some adjustment on the cluster and it was fixed,

Thanks a lot Jaap, that is also what I read; 2003-2004 were tough years in Mandello. I sent an e-mail to the Moto Guzzi client service; let's see what comes out...

Docc, once again you have proved your indispensability to this forum!

It seems Mandello is also celebrating Moto Guzzi's 100th in September : Mandello, the 'Moto Guzzi centenary' warms up the engines. [Thanks to @v11_meticcio for the link!]

New Year in Okla. Snow and mix from the Rio Grande to Kansas. Only thing to do is stay in and have John's frittata and a Bloody Mary.

......and a Happy New Year!

Seems I dated a lot of girls like that: disappear when they get hot and show up when they're cold again . . .

Christmas bin berry beery guut to mi.

From Fredericksburg Texas...

Getting back to Guzzi photos:

I like this one... Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

As others have noted, the red frame steers a bit quicker, but I didn't feel like it sacrificed stability. I assume the quicker steering is due to three factors: Shorter wheelbase Narrower rear tire No steering damper. The Bitubo damper that came with the greenie had a noticeable sticking point, so I removed it. Other differences between frames for the record: Front subframe - the black front subframe is beefier and has more cross bracing. I assume that this would be interchangable with a red frame; the distance between the two frame-mounting points is the same. Lower (center) subframe - as noted elsewhere, the black lower subframe has additional cross-bracing, including a significant one to the LH porkchop (which makes clutch slave cylinder access extremely difficult on the black-frame bikes). It also has arms that go around the transmission to the engine. The black ones cannot be bolted directly on the red-frame bikes, because the engine case would need to have holes drilled in it - and there is a small difference in the LH porkchop mount area of the spine frame where the cross brace attaches. Rear subframe - the black frame has tabs to mount the rear fender/light assembly. The painted tail sections of the red-frame bikes are heavier and mount differently than the tails on the black-frames. Shock reservoir bracket - I noticed that these are different between the two frame types. It's because the bracket mounts over a brace-point on the black frame bikes, while there is no brace attached behind the porkchop on the red frame bikes. Transmission Brace - The red frames have a bracket welded underneath, just above the place where the engine and transmission cases join. It seems that some early models had a brace there, but they stopped installing the braces at some point. It also seems that without this brace, the engine and transmission may move too much, putting pressure on the whole system, and could result in a crack in the rear of the transmission case. Edit to include trans brace from discussion below.