GuzzTim

nice try !.. haven't needed it yet though... and thanks for the Aussie drinking song quote. I guess we can all call each other Bruce. also don't forget the conversation pit with the Dinsdale brothers, and a "man called Kikegaard who sat around biting the heads off whippets"... If I recall correctly..

ah books... I travel a fair bit and reading is the only thing I do on airplanes.. I am a non-fiction reader for the most part, and read a lot about 20th century history which ends up being mostly about the 1st and 2nd world wars.. Anything by John Keegan is good, Also read new biographies on Stalin and Khruschev. However a standout book is Shake Hands with the Devil by Gen. Romeo D'Allaire. He was the Canadian in charge of the UN mission in Rwanda. Its an eye opener on the failings of the UN. Also constantly enjoy re-reading Charlie Wilson's War - about the funding of the mujhadeen during the Soviet invasion of Afganistan. What was most interesting about this book is the way money flows in the US government to covert ops.. A real gem of a book is "The Zanzibar Chest" by Aidan Hartley. A book by a war correspondent who discovers his father's past .. set in East Africa (and modern times).. Really well written. Finally my one novel this year turned out to be one of my favourite reads. "Birds Without Wings" by Louis De Bernieres. Oh, and of course my favourite read is my owners manual for the Tuono !! It rocks !! Cheers, Tim

Tom.. Happy holidays!! I got a few goodies including the Guzzi tank bag (fitted up nicely), a set of Givi softbags that came with the Tuono that I think may fit better on the Guzzi.. and a HELMET CAMERA !!!!! woo hoo.. I'll post some pics of the bags on the Guzzi in a couple of days.. Jaap... if you're reading this .. If I manage to get short video together using the helmet camera.. what's the best way to get it posted for all to see ? Thanks Tim

Dave.. you're on.. The weather's been so great the last couple of days I have to admit to 2 accidental wheelies already on the Tuono.. Cheers, Tim

Very merry christmas from the sunny east bay... Its been a great first year with the Guzzi and thanks to all (especially Jaap) for the technical tips and humor in this forum... I think I'll take a couple of days off riding because of all the loonies on the road.. santa brought something new and red... its my Guzzi's cousin. After months and months of reading and test riding everything from a 1200GS to a Buell to a KTM to so on and so on I picked up this little lovely simply because its almost as beautiful as my V11.. oh, and it is, of course, stupidly fast. Cheers and Good Health to all Tim

www.dagmarmidcap.com

Dang Carl... no more Sierra Mt rides ??? I wasn't aware that they had linear accelerators in Oklahoma... what good is a state without the means to smash little bits of matter into nothingness? oh right, that's what we do with Guzzi's when we high side in the corners. ouch. Looks like we might have a few days without fog over the holidays. Ping if you're up for a seasonal ride. One more Bay area resident cashing out ! Ca-ching $$$$ Best of luck. and I love the fairing on the goose. The cylinder heads poking up from the fairing look like a wardrobe malfunction. Cheers, Tim

I dunno Bento.. I prefer mine for free. Cheers

Welcome to the site, and welcome to the neighbourhood. Got mine in Feb of this year, and just clicked over 5200 miles last weekend. It definitely is getting smoother and more enjoyable with the miles. Cheers, Tim

I polled the guys snowed in up in the northeast and yes, we all hate you... but seriously, thanks for taking the time to post and write this great thread.. Looks like a wonderful time. Its inspiring Cheers, Tim in still sunny Northern California

that's how he got his electric scooter ! fair market value trade Tim

Hey Joe Probably will do the annual thing and take the kids on Sunday... We go every year and my son fills out all the contest forms.. that's how I got my Guzzi leather jacket !! Cheers, Tim

Antonio I was lucky.. The warranty on the battery is 6 months, and I first reported a possible problem right at the 6 month limit. When the dealer and I finally decided the battery was dead it was into the 7th month, but he replaced it free of charge anyway.. He replaced it with a Wesco gel battery. The service guys at my dealer are great. Cheers, Tim

Antonio. Sorry.. I should have made that a little clearer A battery should be about 12.5 volts on its own.. disconnected or connected w/ engine off When the engine is running, the system will put about 13.5 volts into the battery Therefore, if you measure 13.5 volts (or so) you at least know that the charging system works. If you measure 13.5 volts, and your battery is constantly dead then you know the battery is not taking the charge, and should either be: 1) Load tested at a motorcycle or auto shop 2) Thrown out and replaced with new (preferred solution) Cheers, Tim

Antonio Yes.. I checked the voltage across the terminals with the battery installed and the engine running.. Cheers, Tim

Antonio To test the battery, its not enough to just measure the voltage. My dealer connected the battery to a deep charger (ie. 6 amps or greater) fully charged it, and then did a load test. It passed the test ok, but was dead two days later. Second, it is really easy to test the charging system on your bike, per my original post, or what Helicopter Jim says in the above post. Third, I thought gel batteries were what came stock in the V11. Regardless, my dealer replaced my battery with a new Wesco gel battery. Apparently you don't need a charger with the new gel batteries, although I have a BMW gel trickle charger that I bought for my old one... just in case. Good Luck Tim

? Ya, I got one.. its called my ass. It lets me know how well my bikes running. If I don't like the results I can stick my head up it.. Can you do that with your dyno ? If you don't like the results you can kiss it... can you do that with your dyno? And man, I've got some gas that you don't want to come anywhere near close enough to analyse.. Respectfully Yours, Tim Sorry.. I'm heading to Dallas for a couple of days tomorrow and was just practicing my dialog... how'd I do Tx ? Will they spot me as a foreigner ?

pictures Dave... pictures !! Do the pipes sound better/louder than your Remus pipes? Cheers, Tim

My wife and I went and saw the Motorcycle Diaries last night.. Politics aside it was a very good movie. Funny and warm. The motorcycle bits reminded me of those first adventures I took on my CB350 with everything strapped to the back of the bike.. except for me it was in Ontario and not in the beautiful landscape of Argentina and Chile. If you're up for a movie w/ subtitles (its in Spanish) that's different than all the Hollywood crap I'd recommend it. FWIW Tim

guilty as charged !! Guzzi's and roads aren't the only things with curves ! All part of life's rich pageant...

Antonio.. I solved my issue by my dealer giving me a new battery under warranty !!! Great dealer.! With your problem, either the light is coming on wrong (there's a short in the light) or the light is working correctly and the charging circuit is not working. If your bike is not charging the battery, and you've been riding like this for awhile with lots of starting, I would expect your battery to be dead... If the bike is not charging then at some point the battery will simply drain itself to zero.. I think the best thing would be to check the voltage at the battery (do you have a voltmeter or multimeter ?).. If its charging, then you may have a simple short that causes the light to stay on.. Is the battery light on ALL the time while you ride ? Ciao, Tim

Antonio Is the battery strong enough to start the bike ? Does the light come on while driving ?? At all RPMS or only when idling ? Take off the seat, start the bike, and check the voltage across the battery. It should be greater than 13.5V. Ciao

another dam photograph

Hey.. thanks to Tom for the inspiration and Carl and Dave for the tag team pace setting .. excellent day for a ride. My V11 seems to be smoothing out as it approaches 5000 miles.. Normally my throttle hand would be a club by about 50 miles, but it was great all day.. wonderful roads and excellent company!! BFP.. Big Frickin Pancakes !!

oh man.. I'll see if they're somewhere in the attic w/ the blue leather platform shoes I had... which was pretty funny for a 6'2" 17yr old to be wearing... I truly regret most of the photos I have from the '70's..... corduroy seemed like such a reasonable thing at the time.. we didn't need Recaro seats in the 70's.. you simply lined up your corduroy pants into the grooves of the corduroy upholstery in your AMC Pacer and you were good for multiple G's of cornering force !