GuzzTim

but you can only do it this way with the newer V11's with the crossover in front right? On my 2001, it would eliminate the xover....

Crap !!! my staintunes just went on yesterday !!!! That looks really cool.. nice work ! I've got my stock cans laying about now....(hint hint) Cheers, Tim

Got the Staintunes today.. Couple of things I noticed.. 1) They're not as loud with the baffles removed as my drilled stock cans.. My judgement may be impaired by any loss of hearing I've suffered as a result of the Arrow can on the red bike. 2) They look really cool. 3) They went on easier than a Scottish Regiment's condom Regards, Tim

Bakelite..... hmmm.. I hated that stuff.. always friggin broke and you couldn't put it together again... Google'd it and found this link for the morbidly curious.... http://www2.let.uu.nl/solis/ams/xroads/bakelite.htm

You have a reputation for hardiness... I gather at -9C you finally switch from shorts and a tshirt to long pants & jacket?

Fernando.. Thanks for the info.... while functional, your seat does have a rather unique look to it.. Regarding the bicycle seat... found this called "The Spongy Wonder".. made in New Brunswick, Canada of all places (used to live there.. home of the Bricklin) Cheers, Tim

Carbon Fibre ?? No way. you want wood or steel, or iron ! Heavy Metals!! Who needs an ohlin steering dampener when you've got 50 lbs of scrap metal mounted on your handlebars!

something like this would lend a nice classic feel.. and offer great wind protection if mounted on the handlebars

Let's pick another sunny day. There was too much gravel on the road, to the point that I was feeling so much front end slide/slip early in the ride that I stopped a couple of times to examine the front tire pressure to see if it was flat. Like you, I hate gravel and that's why I ended up taking it nice and slow through the first half of Mines Road. I'd suggest a ride this Sunday, but I know the road will still be in poor shape and that every squid in the neighbourhood will be out on Mines Road come Sunday morning. Cheers. Tim

well I don't !!!! nyah nyah nyah.. ok.. sorry for being childish, but after 10 days of rain we finally had a sunny and warmish day today... The new red bike finally got a chance to be ridden. The problem was the rider. Ever have one of those days were you feel gawky on your bike? When even the easiest of curves triggers sensory overload as you think too much about gravel, lean, speed, braking? I had one of those days today. Ended up doing Mines Road at stupidly slow speeds.. Which was just as well as there were parts of it with 3-4" of water running across.. the odd large patch of not quite dried mud... etc..etc.. I need more riding time. For those of you huddled in the cold and dark, it looked like this today in Northern California oh, if I get the pipes on the Guzzi I'll do it all over again tomorrow... Woo Hoo !!!!!

Hey Dave Truly sorry for your loss. My lab died unexpectedly in Oct and it really surprised me how much I missed him. You do get attached to them. My sympathies.. Tim

TV ruins everything.. I hadn't been to a game in a long time when a friend asked me to go to Maple Leaf Gardens about 6-7 years ago. We were watching the game and having a good time when the players suddenly stopped and went over to the boards... "What the f**K?" I asked my friend.. "Commercial break", he said. They stopped play for a commercial?????? I couldn't believe it. I gave up on professional sports a long long time ago. Like newscasts, sports have simply evolved into watered down entertainment for the masses. end of soapbox. Cheers, Tim

ah, so that's what my Tuono's for !!! I haven't got it up on the rear wheel yet... I'm feeling like Bob Dole.. Cheers! Tim

Steve.. can you please tell your friends to stop smashing up all the good vintage bikes? Geez.. give them some Honda Nighthawks and save the nice bikes for the rest of us.. Thanks in advance Tim

small world. the woman who cuts my hair (her band is at www.mobiusdonut.com) is a huge Rush fan, and she mentioned that one today.. its on my list now... Growing up in Toronto (and playing bass) in the 70's Rush was a huge influence.

That? That's the thing I use to carry the other tank bag. Its a FAMSA bag, really nice quality. I figured a 2nd tank bag would be utterly useless without something with red wheels to support it. When's this rain gonna stop so we can ride ?????? Cheers, Tim

Lance Here's shot of the Moto Guzzi bag, with my laptop in it. It fits snug around the edges, but there's a lot of depth left for power adapters and the usual cables etc.. The tank bag zippers off the base to become a backpack Cheers, Tim

well done !! LMAO!

Looks good to me.. I'll be in San Diego next week.. Riding down on Friday and coming back up the following Wed. Cheers, Tim

She has it too.. although long pants and a proper seating position would probably alleviate the situation. http://www.cyclegarden.com/cgi-local/Guzzi...36.jpg&img=&tt=

A harem ? As for the V11, I would agree on the seat.. its pretty good. I think the last full day I spent riding w/ some of the others here in Northern California was about an 8-10 hour day for me. No seat problems, but occasional numbness in the hands. I also find that I'd like to rotate the clutch lever downwards a little more to put it in the same plane as my hand/wrist angle. But the lines get in the way. and HelicopterJim.. if your SFC is ever in need of exercise, let me know. I've always wanted to ride of of those.!! nice bikes.

high alcohol beer always gets the tourists.. I grew up in Canada and the visiting Americans always loved to get the high octane stuff, like Molson's Bras D'Or.. which I think was about 6-6.5 percent. I have a very very blurry memory of being in Cardiff, Wales in the late 70's on a high school trip and drinking (at a young age) S.A. Brains.. dunno what type of beer it was, but the locals said that S.A. stood for "skull attack".. I think my host family was rather shocked (but understanding) of my condition when we got in that night.

Holy Crap!.. Thankfully it happened as it did.. I've had a couple of experiences like this, where things I assumed would be correct on my bikes from the dealer's PDI were not.. 2001 Kawasaki Concours.. After driving it for about 1000 miles from new, I was noticing a clunk from the front end going over bumps at low speed, and a scraping noise from the front brakes.. Thought it was just newish pads in the front brakes. When cleaning (a good time to check things) I found that the front pinch bolts on the axle were completely loose and the front wheel had tons of play. I was able to wiggle back and forth in the front forks !!! Yikes. 2001 Guzzi V11..(current bike).. After about 300 miles I was noticing noise from the front brakes.. With past experience with the Connie I checked for play at the front axle. I could wobble the wheel !!. Took it to the dealer. They determined that the left and right spacers on the axle were installed wrong. They're different lengths.. Oops ! This was an assembly problem and they quickly swapped them around. 2000 Kawasaki W650.. mine own fault. Before taking it down to a dealer to trade it in (on the Connie) I took the front end apart to remove the forks and reinstall the original headlight bracket. I'd tarted the bike up a bit with cafe bars and aftermarket headlight bracket. This of course involved removing the caliper and the front forks. Got everything back together and buttoned up nicely. Drove down the street, did a quick check on the front brake and all seemed fine. Hit the highway, cruising nicely at 70-80 mph. After 30 miles come to the off ramp, which is a nice high speed one, and just before the apex at 60 mph I grab a bit of front brake. Nothing ! Pump the lever several times, pressure builds but still no front brake. Quick downshifting, now hitting the corner, a little back braking and with a sphincter tightly clenched I make it round the ramp and pull up to the traffic light safely. I looked down at the front end and there's my caliper swinging freely in the breeze.. I guess I'd forgotten to use the torque wrench ! I can't imagine what would have happened if the caliper had swung into the spokes at 70mph.. So moral of the story ? Double check your own work, and don't assume others have checked theirs !

Oh crap ! If that's your impression of beer in America then your food impression must be based on McDonalds, KFC, Twinkies, and Krispy Kreme !! Jaap.. next time drink the local stuff !!

Antonio It seems ok to me so far. A little tight finding neutral, but I've put it down to newness of the rider and newness of the gearbox. Only 220kms on the bike so far. Cheers, Tim