guzzler

It's incredible how they do blend into the countryside eh... Especially bloody Emus! Mate I near pissed myself at your last comment! A...shocking experience indeed! Ha ha Cheers

You're not wrong about them bounding outa the bush mate... I have a simple rule of being off the bike or off the road by about 4pm due to the wildlife and one very vivid memory was the cause of it. Back in 1989 I did a bike trip to Darwin and Kakadu Nat Park on a most inappropriate SR500 loaded with gear and girlfriend.The original plan to come back via Qld was abandoned due to the SLOW pace ha ha.Anyways leaving Erldunda for Ayers Rock in the late afternoon meant we'd be riding at night to get there.I was wary but thought bugger it will give it a go. About half way into the 260 k ride it's pitch black and COLD plus the SR's headlight was about as good as holding a lighter out front and I see headlights coming towards us from the direction of the rock.By the time the headlights get close to us ie about 10-15 metres away it's lights illuminate a HUGE roo, it had to be a big red.It bounded outa the bush from my left never having touched the lane we were in and landed on the road right in front of the 4WD and it's headlights and bounced off into the bush on the other side! We wouldn't have had a chance had it come the other way! Being dark as Hades out there you don't see them coming till it's too late and to say it scared the CRAP outa me is the understatement of the year.The remaining 130 odd kays were spent jumping at even the bugs hitting the helmet.... Then when we were almost there the road turned into a swarming see of MICE just to freak us out even more (didn't think it possible)! Turns out there was a mouse plague out there but anyways we made it! I've just driven this road a couple of weeks ago with my wife this time and it brought the memory (s) back so apologies for the rambling....! But yeah, a Roo is definitely better viewed from your plate than the road in the dark of night!!! Cheers

I had a couple of Roo steaks when we were in the Northern Territory recently. Cooked to perfection and easily best I've ever had....Yum!

Yep, that's it mate! Apparently, it's $90K's (Oz) worth.... The specs and engineering are incredible but sounds like the reality is a little different...Oh dear. Cheers Ps it did sound good WHEN it fired and kinda think with a weight of 150 something kilos plus can spec anything up to a blown 1098 Duc motor it would go like a dog shot in the satsuma's!! Not sure what the spec on this one was but bet it would scare the bejeezuz outa most of us.......

Well not today but yesterday.... After getting home late Friday night ( Holiday ). Sat was shopping as fridge empty and unpack settle back in etc. Sunday and Monday chores round the house as want to get some riding in on last week of Annual leave and weather looks good! (for a change). Bugger, back giving me some grief after the wood cutting (Arthritis / lower back) but this means the bloody lawns will have to wait till that's better!! (not so sure that's much of a silver lining though). So... after hearing that the weather will now be turning to crap from Wed thru back to work Monday but possible good weekend a plan was hatched to go and see my mechanic Rob down on the coast and discuss next service and may as well get an oil change whilst there. Funny but a good ride on the bike doesn't do the bad back any harm at all and doesn't detract from the ride! So off we go.... Weather a lovely/ sunny 18 degrees and no wind.The bike fired right up and ran perfectly.It being a weekday and 9.30am I had the road down to the highway to myself and both of us just flowed along and LOVED IT. Got there and found a Veyrus (hub steering Ducati powered EXOTICA) was driving him NUTS...Wow incredible looking thing that has given the owner nothing but GRIEF in the 2 years he's owned it! So, I think he was glad of the distraction! All sorted and time to head home,temp now in mid- twenties too. Once again, I had the fun part of the road to myself and both me and bike just flowed along at a nice brisk pace.The Polaroid I was expecting from a few weeks prior never turned up but the paranoia of it still a little fresh ha ha. All in all, a great wee outing even though it was only 160 odd kays but oh so good for the SOUL. Cheers Ps So glad I did this as weather this morning is wet with a high of 13 degrees.....

Not sure I'd want the V11 Hindenburg variant.....

G'day folk's. I,ve also ridden a few BMW's over the years, mates not mine. R90S/R100RS early and the gutless Vanilla monoshock version /K100RS and RT. I'm 5' 11'' and also found that my legs didn't fit inside the RS fairing and had to splay them uncomfortably and the screen dumped the air right in my face! The bars tend to get to you after a while as well. It was a pity as I loved these when I was younger. The K RT had a bloody great barn door of a fairing and always felt that the leading edge was too close to my face on that, but it was very protective. If I HAD to own one I reckon I'd go for an R100S or CS but after the personality of my Guzzi that ain't gonna happen.... Cheers Ps If I were to have a bike for touring with the other half (no chance of that though!) I reckon a sorted T3 would be the go. But it'll be a cold day in Hades before I part with the V11....

Ha ha Perhaps the Ragged Fringe of Eccentricity suits us best....? Cheers

It's the tail end of winter here ( yay ) and I'm riding into the office once a week again... As such it's dark in the mornings and I love the soft warm light of the Vague'lias ! It's about the only warmth ha ha. Cheers

G'day Well with a break in the weather on Thursday I thought I'd brave the cold and take the bike into the office as I really wanted to try the C6 and R12 fork set up.I was pretty impressed with C4 truth be told... The first 20 kays at -1 were brutal on the hands and it took 5 minutes to get my wallet out of jacket at the servo to pay for my gas....Thank god it warmed up further on. Anyways on the way home..Wow! Theres this one BIG dip early in the piece just out of sight after a tightish left hander (this is after a series of great corners to get you in the mood) usually taken at about 100 k's because of it.I've tried several lines through it and hit it every bloody time a coconut so you can't avoid it! It's a huge hit and definitely wouldn't take this corner at any more than 100k in fact often slowed knowing it was coming up! Well the other week at C4 it was a BIG improvement BUT holy snapping ducks urine Batman...This time around it was hardly noticeable.. just another wee bump in the road! I thought maybe I finally got lucky and found a way to avoid it but no I definitely hit it! Very impressed and can't wait to test it more, as couldn't ride the rest of the road at my usual pace due to traffic wet roads and the looming spectre of a polaroid in the post for a previous misdemeanor! Cheers

I also run 34/35 f and 37/38 r on my 01 Greenie with a 160/60 rear. Accidently overfilled front once and HATED it so am quite anal about pressures. When I get to get out for a ride even if it's only a commute I want to enjoy it and not ruin it by duff tyre pressures! Same, always solo and a tank bag only on a weekend away. Cheers and here's to back road misbehavior....

yep, I'm going to stick with 95 here even though it's crept up to $2.25 a litre! Bugger.

Good on ya mate....

Yep, she loves to cruise at 5k.... BUT down here you'll need plenty of cash a Teflon licence and a get outa jail free card for that sort of behavior! Cheers

G'day mate I'm now at C4 and R 12 and think Rebound is pretty good. If anything I may go to C 6 and try that as just feel it needs a wee bit more comp damping.... But I'm bloody close. Cheers Ps good advice re springs and also counting clicks back from fully closed!

Ha ha Thanks I enjoyed that! My very first bike was one of these.... a Suzuki RV75 Van Van with all of it's screaming arm stretching 6.5 horsepower!! So that was a trip down memory lane! As for the Guzzi I do use all the tacho, matter of fact we did see 8k on Friday....But 7.5 more normal when the mist descends! But on the highway I try and stay about 4k ish too. Sadly we have a very draconian attitude to speed in this part of the world which does tend to urinate on ones fireworks.... Cheers

If our current Dictator and his minions have their way, it'll be sooner rather than later!

Ha ha The pair of us like the classic Angus on the odd occasion we have takeaway but thought we'd give the cheesy version a go....Yuck!

Ha ha She fancied Maccas (McDonalds) so off to see the clown I went... Bloody hell now I'm not so sure which relay actually came outa # 1 ! I thought I had all GEI's but think I pulled a Pro Quip PM 2512X ( 12 VDC 20/15 a 5 x pin ) outa there...? I was at work and interrupted a few times during it all so can't be sure! She has GEI relays in all spots for sure now though. Anyways I'll keep an eye on this... Cheers Ps just went out and tried the bike.She fired up better than has done of late so fingers crossed. Pps won't EVER have another Cheesy Angus burger again!

Not sure mate. I've still got the old one and will have a look and report back. The missus is looking for lunch so off we go.... Cheers

Actually Doc, I've had GEI's in there for ages and no issues,,, The start relay #1 wasn't a GEI but it is now. Fingers crossed as I don't need any lectrickery shenanigans just now! Gotta try making a Voodoo doll* of the public prosecutor ..just in case he/she decides to send me a polaroid shortly! *Ps just kidding by the way!

Thanks mate. I'm usually pretty good at spotting them but when you're knackered after a hard week and probably more pre-occupied with how the bikes running and handling, I didn't see this one till last minute....

Took the bike into the office again yesterday... Hard to start and had to toggle the kill switch to get her to do so! Got to servo and same shit as the other month, wouldn't take any throttle when trying to accelerate onto the highway! Bugger not this again.. Definitely not battery this time as has been ridden at least once a week for some time now. Once again she came good after a few kays! So,when quiet at work I pulled the seat and removed relays to check... pretty dusty /dirty in there so cleaned the base and actually replaced # 1 as although it was a 5 pin it wasn't a GEI like the others...odd.Started ok. After work at 2.30pm she fired right up and ran like a champ through the heavy traffic for 10-15 kays till clear of Cranbourne and open road and still no issues! When I got to the fun bits she was still running brilliantly and had a ripper of a ride home!The new settings up front (yep still experimenting with forks) meant it was probably the hardest I've ever ridden this stretch... so I reckon I'm very very close! Still glowing this morning! Cheers Ps For every up there's a downer... Think I may have a wee (hopefully a wee one) surprise in the mail in next few weeks... Safety cameras ... Bollocks it's bloody revenue raising nothing more!!

Interesting! Thanks for that mate. I've always avoided them and will continue to do so.... Cheers

Thanks mate Think I'll keep using 95 here even though it's $2.05 a litre...ouch.