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p6x

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Everything posted by p6x

  1. p6x
    Thanks for the concern. I will only take my decision to ride back once I have got a taste of the Le Mans. I have looked at the UHaul option, but I do not have a car to tow it. And getting both does not make sense economically. If I can't ride it, I will get it shipped. I will look into the throttle lock, but this is something I have never used before. I usually don't incorporate accessories I am not familiar with. No need to make it more complicated. As for Covid-19, yes, this is a risk. I have escaped it so far, I take the risk seriously. The biggest hazard remains my spouse. I have not "clearly" mentioned that I purchased a bike. Covid-19 is nothing compared to her wrath.
  2. p6x
    I asked the guy I dealt with to verify the bike's status with the previous owner. And I told him about my intention to ride the bike back to Houston. They fixed a fuel leak at the petcock, said he. Otherwise, he said the bike was good to go...
  3. p6x
    Foreground is Keira Knightley finding her marks on the bike before the shoot. Background is possibly the girl that will really ride the bike? Looking at the fixture, most of the shots involving Keira had the bike in tow?
  4. p6x
    This was a consignment sale. I have asked the dealer to check the exact maintenance status with the previous owner, which I hope I will get to speak to once I get there. I asked for that information initially, but never got a clear answer. I am planning to have the bike inspected in Houston by MPH once its get here. I will make sure the bike is in perfect working order before I decide to ride it back. Fuel autonomy will be one of my initial concern. I will stop often and check how much fuel I have used to work out an average consumption. Hopefully, I will be able to quickly determine if I will be able to ride it back. It is not going to take much time to find out if the position will be difficult to sustain for several hours.
  5. p6x
    Looks like Ducati Monster to me...
  6. p6x
    The ride starts Place Vendôme, where all the famous jewelers have a shop, follows to La Concorde via rue des Tuileries. Riding in Paris on a bike used to be one of the best ride you could ever experience in a life time. Especially early in the morning when few cars were present. And she is wearing Alcantara, which does not sag as leather does. I concur that she is not the one riding the bike. If my memory serves me right, squeezing the clutch required a strong hand on the older Ducatis.
  7. p6x
    One of the test to get your M license is controlled braking: you have to reach a given speed, start braking at a specific point, and immobilize the bike with the front wheel between two cones. Seems to be an easy one. But when you train, they vary the speed, and the braking distance so you don't get into a routine. Up to the emergency braking with and without ABS, on dry and wet asphalt. Zig zags between cones at various speeds and spacing is good too. I am going to do the Texas motorcycle safety course just to check if I still have it.
  8. p6x
    I got my Motorcycle's drivers license at 16 years old. I learned on a Honda CB 350. The exam took exactly 3 minutes tops. A freezing January, temperatures below 32F, the inspector keen on testing candidates in heated cars. I was the sole aspiring motorcyclist that day. He asked me to go up the street, changing gears, make a U turn without putting my foot on the ground, come back gear down and stop at his level. That was it. I was legally entitled to purchase a Kawasaki H2, or a Honda CB 750! sorry; back then, the Moto Guzzi California was not on my list... Since then, things have changed though... You need to be 18, and the driving skills inspection requires that you really learn to manage your bike. And because it is a points system, it is very easy to fail. Note that I was skilled enough to have done a lot more if the inspector had wanted me to. I guess that if the exam at taken place in summer, it would have been different. Anyways, I also own a License from Texas to drive cars and motorcycles, and incidentally serves as legal proof of identification. For those of you from Europe, a driver's license is usually not a proof of identity. In the USA, it is. Is it difficult to get your Motorcycle Driver's License in Texas? I have no clue. I am a citizen of the three foreign countries that do not require a test to get their license in Texas. One of them Canada, the other two European. Pop Quiz: Without looking, can you guess which two European countries can get a car and/or motorcycle driver's license by simply showing their foreign ones? So, tell me: -How easy/difficult is it to get your Motorcycle's drivers' license in your country/state?
  9. p6x
    I got a reply from MotoItaliane yesterday; They confirmed the sale and will ship the book. At this point, I would advocate to purchase directly from them rather than Amazon.it. The shipping is only 5 EUR compared to Amazon's 29....
  10. p6x
    I am 6' tall and 174 lbs. Probably in the lanky category too. I have never been on what could pass for a "comfortable" bike. I am sure I am amenable.
  11. p6x
    As far as abdominals, I have those procured by brews. As far as back is concerned, now you got me worried. One of the reason why the previous owner sold that bike is precisely because he could no longer ride it due to his back. I may add a back support to the list then...
  12. p6x
    Looks like a Pantah and Place de la Concorde in Paris France... Are you certain those are leathers?
  13. p6x
    Thank you all! I have enough material to keep me occupied for a while. I also found this outfit: -Renegade Classics in Houston for Motorcycle equipment...
  14. p6x
    I don't know if they have improved leather quality, but my pants used to sag at the bottom. It looked like I was incontinent and wearing a nappy. The sexiest stuff I saw was during summer on the Adriatic coast. Girls riding with body stockings. Not great for protection, pun intended. They were riding Vespas. Those were the good days.... From what I understood, long rides on the 2004 Le Mans may be uncomfortable due to the foot pegs position, and the slightly forward position of the body. Am I going to need wrists support?
  15. p6x
    As mentioned above, I never isolate myself phonetically from the outside world. I may change my mind, but I usually treat sounds as part of the safety envelope. Of course, on a Moto Guzzi, I may hear nothing but.
  16. p6x
    Nobody has mentioned weight as a factor yet. It always one an important one for me. Noise too. Although there are ways to attenuate the background noise, I usually never impair my ability to listen to what is around me. Thus, no riding with ear plugs or in ears pods to listen to music. I also have two pairs of prescription glasses, sun and not.
  17. p6x
    Something that is really incredible in the USA, is the ability to replace and/or exchange at no cost to the customer. For people in Europe, it is unheard of. The Bilt and Sedici brands seem to be worth the try. I like the flexibility to change stuff if it turns out to be uncomfortable. We all know it is almost impossible to judge a garment to be used on a motorcycle when trying it at the shop. After several runs in various environments, only then you begin to understand. I have written down AeroStitch. I am planning on trying all the suggestions. I am a sucker for Dainese, because they really make great stuff, and they innovate all the time. Their D-Air system is really state of the art, but most likely thought for the European market. I have lived in a lot of different parts of the world, so I am not stranger to extreme heat and/or cold. But on a motorcycle, the feeling is completely different. I will have to acclimate myself again. If I drive from Florida next month, it will be a good test.
  18. p6x
    Arai is a good brand; but so is Shoei.
  19. p6x
    When it comes to helmets, one should never compromise. I keep in mind what happened to Michael Schumacher. The best helmets available on the market are those which are FIM Certified. Getting the FIM certification should be an objective for every helmet manufacturer. Here's the list of all those that have been certified. Here' are the technical requirements for submission to their program. As you can see, only integral types are eligible. Now comes the issue that in the USA, your helmet needs to be DOT certified, even if the requirements are less stringent than the FIM ones. I need to check if you can purchase an FIM helmet that is also DOT compliant. As far as graphics are concerned, I was involved with a not so well known Helmet manufacturer that allows you to design your own graphics and have them printed on your helmet. Either vector based or pictures. I was looking at representing the brand here in the USA, but his prime interest is with electrical scooters helmets. My helmet will be integral.
  20. p6x
    I don't necessarily tag "expensive" with "better" stuff. I like Dainese, because they supply a lot of the racers, enabling them to make the best equipment, especially safety. Obviously, they charge more because you need to pay for the brand name. As far as lasting, there are many parameters to take into consideration. One of them being life expectancy, such as helmets that should be replaced every 5 years. A good jacket, pants, suit can last a lifetime, providing you don't fall, and don't change corpulence; the recent tech stuff, such as air bags, is what probably requires more maintenance and attention. And there is innovation too. I still have my old gear, albeit not within easy reach, but totally outdated. Tech textile is probably better than leather in hot weather.
  21. p6x
    I looked up Moto Guzzi riding gear, but I will leave that out for the time being.
  22. p6x
    I am familiar with Bates Leather. I remembered when reading the name in your post. When I was going to the races in the 70's, I saw some pilots wearing bates. I can't remember who though...
  23. p6x
    Had many colleagues from Norway along the line... very familiar with Helly Hansen's.... (worked in the North Sea back in the 80's) Thanks for your suggestion. After all these years, I had never heard about that brand... I looked at the 4Air Jacket, seems to be an option...
  24. p6x
    Hi Paul, Thanks for contributing! I have seen that a lot of equipment is being sold on eBay. But I think I will go brick and mortar just because I need to try on everything and will probably test multiple solutions. I am usually around 13+ for shoe size, depending on the brand. Medium/large for helmet; but again, some helmets are uncomfortable when wearing prescription glasses. I live at the limits of Spring Valley. For the time being, I am planning to drive the bike from Florida. I may rent the gear for that single trip, or purchase my own. I will test drive once I am there, and if I don't feel comfortable, I will get it shipped. I have driven rentals with long interruptions in between, never really felt uneasy before, but I am not going to take any chance. I never imagined there was so many Guzzisti enthusiasts in Texas. I have been a couple of times to the Lonestar Rally in Galveston, and mainly saw HD's and Japanese bikes. Again, thanks for the information.
  25. p6x
    I will check AeroStich too. It seems that Cycle Gear does not carry the brand though. I was tempted by Dainese's Carve Master, but it comes with a lot of constraints. Of course, it can save your life so it is a good trade off. My biggest gripe is that you need to recharge the lithium battery every 8 hours. Charging batteries is becoming a full time job nowadays. However 8 hours is not enough in terms of autonomy. I want to be able to ride my Le Mans all the way from Houston to Big Bend national park with spare autonomy. But maybe a non jacket integrated air bag is a better choice; while probably not as efficient as a jacket, it gives you more flexibility to have multiple jackets.
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