Guzzirider

No its an ashtray specially designed for the Gentleman Motorcyclist like Belfastguzzi who enjoys smoking his pipe as he rides.

I have seen them in the flesh and they are gorgeous- just been released in the UK and unlike the Greasedpig they are available and for sale in numbers. The only weird thing is the placement of the rear monoshock on the side of the bike- but fair play to Ducati for daring to be a bit different with this. The silver Paul Smart is beautiful. Guy

Max Moto in Suffolk say they have one in their showroom according to their website- Bury St Edmonds-about 80 miles from Central London.

Hey I wanted that "old school" chopper look- very popular around St Tropez. The custom parts are fabricated from garlic, onions, and Toulouse sausages. Guy

Mmmm thrashing a fast Guzzi round a track in the sunshine- life does not get much better than that Paul. Your bike sounds great by the way. Guy

Ducati scored a two 1st and second places today at Brands Hatch in BSB so Lavilla has won the title for them- their only championship win this year worldwide. Stuart Easton also won the Supersport race on a 749R. Honda threw millions at this years BSB and ran a full HRC factory team with Japanese technicians, the lot. There was a great shot on TV of the Honda team manager texting his bosses back in Japan to say they had lost! Good stuff too with Lanzi winning race 2 at Magny Cours on his 999. Guy

We have a travelling French market visit us, as well as a German one- in fact yesterday they had a big beer tent flogging German beer. Guy

The thing is that every V11 is probably a bit different than the next one in terms of set up- I have ridden a Breva 1100 and found it way too soft for my taste. Have ridden against GS's in hillclimbs and usually beat them on my Guzzi. I have an open mind about the Griso because I have not ridden one yet- I was just not sursprised about Debidaphs comments- someone who has actually ridden both bikes. Guy

Bought some Calvados from the French market in Huddersfield today- now that is wicked firewater. Guy

I am not surprised at all that a well set up Ohlins shod V11 handles better than a Greaso, although I am sure hopefully that the Greaso handles ok. Same deal with the Breva 1100- nice touring bike but it definitely does not handle as well as my V11. Guy

Bike magazine have a better test- by Mick Phillips who used to work for Classic Bike and I think owns a V7 Sport. Reasonably positive- I think that huge Piaggio advertising budget is working its magic plus its probably a good bike anyway. Guy

Its good for stuff like paint codes, whats fits what etc.

Luckily my arse! I'm not one for facial hair myself. P.S. How do arseless chaps go to the loo when they have no arse?

You are very correct- about 15 years ago I woke up in bed to find that a mystery plastic surgeon had sewed a big hairy arse onto my body. They must be stopped!

If it was a Harley the arseless leather chaps would have given you a clue as to the genetic makeup of the rider.

A she/he? Are you saying the rider is a ladyboy or a hermaphrodite?

Ride magazine proudly announce on their front cover this month a test of the Guzzi Griso 1000. Either they have a sleeved down version or they have cocked up on their facts again! Guy

Does it come with a waxed cotton Belstaff, a flat cap, beard and pipe?

A 1913 Pope- there I have now blown a quiz point for the winter!

Hey I am in the same boat- buggers won't cover me now for anything. The most sensible thing you can do is buy yourself a nice Harley- I hear they are very popular in your neck of the woods. Guy

Its worse than that- the bike journos don't even get their basic facts right when it comes to talking Guzzis- I remember quotes like "chain drive conversions are common" and other such BS. All the prices, comments and specs are wrong in mags like Bike magazine and there has been a real anti-Guzzi bias until Piaggio took over and started waving their advertising budget. Only Motorcycle Sport And Leisure seems to know what they are talking about and that is because they keep them and ride them for longer distances and are not obsessed about 170rwbhp. Guy

He's been quiet today- maybe his carrott crop is ready and he has been busy plucking them from the soil. Or maybe there is a good movie on the radio.

Nope TVR got Benelli but you are spot on with TVR- a Russian tycoon bought it last year- my mistake- I was getting all patriotic. http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/59051/tv...two_wheels.html There is a big fuss in Italy at the moment because TVR want to relocate Benelli production to Blackpool but the Italians understandibly don't like it- looks as though TVR may back down and let them continue to be built in Italy.

Well all the big UK car manufacturers have gone but we still do well with small niche manufacturers- Morgan, TVR, Caterham, Noble, Ariel, AC, Marcos, Westfield etc. We are better at producing eccentric sports cars than making mass produced stuff. TVR is the biggest and most successful- and they have bought Benelli and will start producing bikes soon too. Noble make bloody good sports cars too and they are well built. Guy

Ok here goes you may have seen some before: