Scud

Needs more verys. Especially before the interesting...

Fabulous. My test for potential long-term relationships was if they would ride with me. No ride, no future. My wife passed the test. Now I have a new rule that my wife and three daughters know well. H=M>W. The secret to my happiness is to have more motorcycles than women in the house. (Personally, I count the garage as part of the house, and it is the best room in the house). I've never wanted a bike in the living area of my house, but if I did... or ever do... this is a useful thread. And Phil - I recall a conversation a few months ago about the definition of art. I might have to go find that and re-read our various definitions of art - maybe link these threads.

I agree with getting re-educated first, and properly licensed. The way to try a lot of bikes is to sign up for Riders Share, and rent from private owners. That way, he can go on extended test rides and really see what he likes.

Congratulations Pete. Take care of yourself, and I hope you get to stay involved in the business mostly for the parts you enjoy.

I've seen the SuperVeloce S in person in white, with brown seat and gold frame/wheels. It's a lovely bike, but for some reason it doesn't seem to work in every color. It also looks good in the classic MV red over silver. But I am not a fan of the black in orginal picture - and the angle of that picture accentuates the nose. And I don't think it's a design theft. There are plenty of classic race bikes in MV's history to be inspired by, and only so many ways to make a fairing.

Same could be said for my V11 and a lot of other things I own. And the jacket in original post is very stylish. However, my most versatile jacket is a mesh one by Joe Rocket. It came with removable vest and water-proof insert that is also great for making it wind-proof on colder days. My perforated Vanson has zip-up windflaps that cover the perfs. Both have built-in armor, including back protectors, and the Vanson armor seems far superior to the Joe Rocket. The Vanson also wins on style points.

Good riding gear is worth the spend. I "splurged" on a Vanson jacket and pants a few years ago, and do not regret it a bit. But I got a perforated jacket for warmer days. Long ago I had an asymmetrical jacket with a huge inner flap. That was a favorite, and I thought it a great design.

I have driven a few Teslas, but never owned one or any electric car. It seems the software issue with not seeing motorcycles at night is similar to the human issue - judging a close single tailight to be equivalent of a pair of taillights far away. With that in mind - it seems that we can do is either avoid driving at night or take steps to make ourselves more visible - more lights, reflectors, high-vis clothes etc. If I'm riding the freeway at night, it';s mostly my Stelvio, which is an enormous barge of a motorcycle to begin with, but I have added quite a bit of reflective tape to the back and sides of the saddle bags. As of the driver- assist features. Our 4-wheel vehicles have them, but not the extent of auto-pilot. I like the Subaru's lane-keeping warnings, and the Bronco's adaptive cruise control. My F250's collision warning is a bit over-protective for my taste. It has gone off on tight curves when everyone is in their respective lanes. The more that cars have these features, the more we are protected against driver inattention, but on the flip side of the same coin, the more sense of false security could be provided to drivers who think they don't have to pay attention. Safety first. Stay vigilant. Don't outride your eyesight. ATGATT. Keep the shiny side up... and all the other aphorisms.

The V7 Corsa and the Mandello S are both feeling a little sporty... And we're all wordering if a new LeMans is in the future. I dropped in to GP Motorcycles yesterday. They have a V100 in all red. It's striking...

So here we have a low-mile, mostly original "silvery". Some corrosion, but probably paintable. I have to wonder though, what happened to the porkchops? It looks like holes have been cut in to make them like older Sports. So if somebody is going to cut holes in those, what other surprises await? And standard question - does the odometer still work, and has it always? Vague-lia... Buyer be aware. Could be a nice bike, but worth a close inspection.

Philosophically, Docc should be allowed to express judgement when and where he sees fits. And isn't debate an essential element of philosophy? That is a rhetorical question, because rhetoric is also part of philosophy. So is belabored explanations of things... Epistemologically, how do we know what belongs on the V11LeMans site, and various subsections thereof? This conversation is in the commercial ads area, correct? And we see other non-V11 (even non Moto Guzzi) things in the ads from time to time. Elsewhere, we have a thread on adventure bikes where I often extoll the virtues of a certain Husqvarna 701 Enduro. Where is the line? What belongs here? There are a lot of spine frame V11 that do not bear the LeMans name, greenies, scuras, ballabios, et. al. (et. al. because they are persons, not things). There are other Spine Frames that don't get discussed here much. For the purist, it seems to me the most singularly defining characteristic would be the 6-speed gearbox fitted to this series of V11 Sports (some of which are also LeMans). I don't think that gearbox was used for any other model. I hope the "Show us your Tonti's" thread still belongs. And forgive me, but aren't the EVs sporting Tonti Frames?

Not even 6 speed transmissions to steal parts from...

That's a good looking bike, will be interesting to see how it develops and if It becomes available here. I've had two Yamahas, a 600 Radian and an FJ1100. Both were my primary mode of transportation at the time (college days). Both wonderful bikes, but I only ever think about buying an FJ1100 again. This XSR900 GP would do the job. I like triples (and twins, and singles, and fours, heck I even like sixes). And you just know there is going to be a factory or aftermarket option for a full fairing, or at least a belly pan.

I think I would have bought that - and might still. I had the Harbor Freight unit with the Mojo Blocks and Mojo lever. Mounted it on a pallet so could use body weight for leverage and still move it around - but it took a lot of valuable floor space in the garage. Now I have the NoMar, like GuzziArt's above, but with the hitch mount for my truck. Same complaint about the powdercoating, and I prefer the Mojo Lever over the NoMar lever. But this tire changer looks to be the best of breed. And seems portable enough to pop in a trailer with some spare tires. As for wheel weights, I've been using Ride-On tire balancer and sealant on some tires - so no weights needed, just pump some goo into the tire. And on other tires I use the Marc Parnes balancer, which is very nice.

Insightful and entertaining as usual Mr. Roper. Just a fine point, I don't know when Moto Guzzi stopped manufacturing, but my 2017 Stelvio is a CARC bike, and it was the end of the line for that iteration of Stelvio.

I agree about lack of sympathy for people doing stupid shit... as well as my own luck in surviving doing stupid shit and 50-mile lane-splitting commutes through Los Angeles. For the record I do not count lane-splitting as stupid shit. I think it should be legal nation-wide. But it's cool how this topic has turned to parenting. My dad once said (in a threatening/controlling way) that I could have a motorcycle the day I moved out of his house. So I left. I had some small Hondas for my daughters. XR70 and 100 when they were younger. I've taken them all on street rides on various bikes, and now we have a TW200 that they ride with me on dirt roads. It's always been safety first and full gear even for short trips or hot days when gear is inconvenient. They no longer ask "Do I really have to wear the boots." My two youngest daughters still enjoy riding in the dirt with me and I have encouraged both of them to get their permits and licenses. Mostly so we can legally ride on dirt roads or into town for gas and lunch. But so far they have not done that and I don't push it. However, when we are in a car together, I enjoy their banter about other motorcyclists' attire or behavior. They always start with "My dad would never..." and then go on with things like: ...let me wear sandals. ...go that fast between lanes. ...ride in shorts and t-shirt. ...let that ho-bag on his motorcycle. They get brutal. They're so funny.

Oh wow, that would be bothersome. Does it feel somewhat like using car brakes without the engine running? I do that sometimes in my truck in my sloped driveway, and it is slow to stop.

I think the X has often signified "cross" as in cross country, or motocross. So the early Yamaha XTs and Honda XRs sort of paved the way with their off-pavement capable bikes. BMW even briefly had a 650 XMoto, XChallenge and XCountry. But it was sad day for cars when the Datsun 240Z turned into the 280ZX. That X was just extra stuff that made the car uglier.

Wow, I totally missed the fact that BMW was putting power (servo-assist units) brakes on motorcycles. That must be weird, but BMW has been a true leader in the industry on many occasions, including the enormous ABS units on the early K-bikes.

The big GS is super competent motorcycle. And almost as fun as a Stelvio. I hope you enjoy it. Looks like a good trip (it's almost always a good trip if you avoid the main highways).

...and therefore, all the 2003 models had the most common, dual-plate clutches.

Dual-Sport and Adventure bikes are not in the same class. The old XT, along with similar vintage bikes from other manufacturers at the time, was really just a big dirt bike with a license plate that lets dirt-oriented riders ride into town for gas and lunch, or ride on the road to connect sections of trail, or avoid truck/trailer and just ride out from home. But Adventure bikes, like the new Stelvio, give you the capacity, like the family SUV, to take another person and a lot of stuff. Having both a big dual-sport and an ADV bike, they clearly serve different purposes. IMO, this is proper use of an Adventure Bike (my Stelvio NTX): Load with camping gear and stuff for work in another city. Take a few dirt roads on the way to distant points. And here's how I view the proper use of a Dual Sport (my Husqvarna 701 Enduro): ride the street to the trail, then find out where this creek goes. The 701 would have been torture on the above long-haul trip, and I would have torched the tires. The Stelvio will never see anything like that snow-covered creek bed, at least not with me riding it. I'm glad Moto Guzzi brought the Stelvio name back. Now that they did, every motorcycle reviewer will have to form an opinion about how it compares to the like of various displacement GS models, Africa Twin, Desert X, or Norden. Form what I can see so far, it seems closest to the Africa Twin. And I hope Moto Guzzi sell enough of them that they can afford to make a new LeMans based on the V100 platform.

The big GS is a remarkable motorcycle. I've ridden a few and I do like them, but not as much as my 2017 Stelvio NTX. I routinely go grocery shopping with the Stelvio... which means 40 minutes of twisty roads to the orchards in Pauma Valley. And return with a 25 pound bag of oranges (love my fresh-squeezed OJ) and whatever else is in season. I suspect this new Stelvio is the base model, and that there will some variants, such as another NTX with more aggressive tires, skid plate (look at that vulnerable exhaust) and all the crash bars. A big ADV bike is nice for dirt roads that you'd rather not ride a sport bike on - where there is a bit more risk of losing traction and kissing the ground. They are great for exploring past the "pavement ends" signs, but not great for technical terrain.

So far, this site is the extent of my "marketing." I never used BaT before, but have definitely lurked a bit. I'd probably need to give a couple days labor to freshen it up and hopefully fix that startus interruptus first. I do like the bike... but if I do that, I'd probably want to enjoy it for another season or two.

Chuck - you've ridden with this bike out of Lake Henshaw. Pete - I bet you could hate it more if it had been chopped into a cafe racer. And just thinking... also in with the spare parts, there is: a very nice condition instrument cover (a big rubber pod), the original belly pan (but no bracket, else I would have it on the bike already) an original seat cover (worn, but could be used to get a copy made). It has the with funky 80's LeMans script like in the magazine ad. But seriously, what is that font called? Marshmallow Italic? And to anyone who feel like this bike would be a restoration candidate: there is a fair bit of wear on the paint from 50K miles, including some rub-throughs. But I know where a set of NOS bodywork is - in that same paint scheme. I had briefly contemplated a full restoration of this bike.