p6x

Texas Sidecar Company Open House on March 29th, 2025; Watch the video showing what they do. They also export if you were ever interested in getting a sidecar for your Guzzi. They ship out everywhere.

Weather forecast predicts rain for Friday on COTA. However Saturday and Sunday should be dry. Nothing will come in between MM93 and the opportunity to get to his fifth and sixth wins of the season. The greatest uncertainty will be about the second and third; whom will it be?

Coming back to this topic, I remember that in the 70's, when I started riding (in France), you did not really need to worry about carrying tools with you, for each and every gas station carried just about anything you needed; spark plugs, tools, consumables, tubes. They actually would fix your flats on the spot. Free air of course, and they would also change your oil if you needed it. Batteries and what not. Today's gas station here are more grocery stores with gas pumps. You can still find oil. But the original purpose of taking care of your vehicle is different.

Gigi Dall'Igna had confirmed that all hands are on the deck to correct the front end issue Francesco Bagnaia is currently having. I thought it had to do with the tank? Meanwhile, Bagnaia is hinting that he may go back to the GP24 millesime rather than getting the GP24.9 up to his taste. You can read about it on Motosprint.it https://www.motosprint.it/news/motomondiale/2025/03/20-8018798/motogp_dall_igna_bagnaia_non_puo_e_non_deve_faticare_cosi_per_un_3_posto_

According to both A+M, on the race track, they both race to win. Now, we should not forget that Alex is the junior, and there always will be some deference towards his older brother. This is human, they can't help it. Something else, we have noticed how Alex is the best of the rest; at least so far... I am convinced there is some additional help coming from Marc; no surprise there. This is why I am pointing on Alex being second on COTA too. I hope I am wrong, but I hardly see any other brand challenging the Ducati herd like Maverick Viñales did last year on the Aprilia. Although, Pedro Acosta came in second, the 2025 KTM is now lagging behind. They did not keep up with the development because of the financial constraints. Enea Bastianini came in 3rd last year, on the Aprilia too; however on the Tech 3 KTM, he will be facing the same challenges. Bezzechi is not a big performer on this track, so all bets are open on what he could do on the Aprilia. I do not know where to factor Francesco Bagnaia in the mix. According to Gigi Dal Igna, they have partially resolved the issues that he is currently facing with the GP24.9. Who else on a Ducati could challenge Marquez? Morbidelli? DiGia? I don't think so... Jorge Martin is now penciled for a return in Qatar; I think he has thrown away any chance to be World Champion again this year. Besides, he is going to have to lear to ride a MotoGP again, and I hope he is going to take it slow. Thus, I am expecting another Marquez stroll in COTA.

I tried to call multiple times, without success. But he sent me an email to tell me the part is shipping today. I guess my last email warning that I was going to cancel the transaction may have helped.

Edit: Harper's just contacted me today to inform the part had shipped. For eveyone's information; I did purchase a part for the Quota on Friday the 14th of March 2025, and there has been no confirmation since I made the transaction. Complete silence from Harper's. I am going to wait until the end of next week, and without any communication from them, I will cancel the transaction. I seem to remember someone else posting on this forum with a similar experience. It is quite a contrast with MGCycle. I recently reported an issue with the AFI oil filters, and Andrew replied right away.

The Captain of her heart rang a bell. It used to be a very well liked song. Jana Mila is less my size...

The Quota is up and running minus the 1.5 inches long roof nail in the rear tire. I did a short test run yesterday to verify the gear change mecanism, and this time, it seems to have held as installed. I still need to confirm that with more testing. The Harper route seems to be a dud. Since I ordered the lever, I did not receive any confirmation whatsoever, excepted for the website acknowledgement, e.g. a number and a "thank you" we will send you an email shortly. This seems to tally with the post that said that Harper was not reliable. I will give them a little bit more time, till the end of the week, then I will revoke my purchase. If there is only one single advantage in using the Apple card, you can flag a transaction from your phone, and they take care of the follow-up, and reimburse you.

Where I lived when I grew up, we had a Quincaillerie at a walking distance. They had all the fasteners you needed in those displays. Exactly as in a grocery store; you picked what you wanted, and you only paid for what you needed.

I am pretty certain that wherever you purchase them, they all come from the same location, probably china. You can probably get everything from Temu or Alibaba cheaper if you are willing to wait for the delivery.

That's the consensus; all the Ducati top management is stating they are working hard behind the scene, to find the technical solution to give Pecco's feeling back on the GP24.9; they referenced last year rear drible problem which was eventually solved. I read on the Spanish news, that Marquez (Marc) would love to see his brother join him on the factory team. It makes sense, but I doubt it will happen. Also because Pecco has a contract until the end of 2026, but Ducati probably needs to keep an Italian rider? As for Pecco in Argentina, he was 0.2 seconds off the lap time set by the Marquez brothers. We will have to wait for Qatar to fully understand where does Pecco stands with regards to Marquez. Qatar is a track that Pecco likes. Meanwhile, I expect COTA to be another repetition of 1 and 2 from the brothers.

Thanks for giving a brand name to this type of washer. By looking it up, I found that the technical appellation is Serrated Safety Washer. It seems not. This is simply incredible that a 0.05$ item costs you up to 50$ with the transport. I am going to make a shopping list of the flowing supplies I need and get all that from France on my next trip. Found them on Amazon, for 11$; they are not the flat type but conical but I am going to get 100 of them for that price. McMaster-Car was 13$ for 5 item + transport at my expense.

This is the problem with not giving your customers the technical definition of a generic part. On the drawing it is item #25; listed as "washer" with Guzzi part number. Instead, it should read: M8 lock washer for socket head screw. Guzzi does not manufacure that part.

Maybe; but I would have expected them to either replace, or if unable, to inform me they could not because they did not have them.

Unfortunately, the tricky to find (here) ones.They are M8 lock washers for socket head screws. I found them at MacMaster-Car. https://www.mcmaster.com/90488A140/ But my goto place here did not have them.

I have downloaded the Spart Parts Catalog from "Thisoldtractor". However, lesson learned. Don't trust anybody to do the right thing. I had a Moto Guzzi dealership install Dunlop Trailmax new tires before I came back from Peoria last year. Maybe I am naive, but I would have expected them to put the wheel back together with all the proper fasteners. They have recently contacted me, to check if I needed more work done; I explained that it is a little out of my way to go to Arizona to do maintenance. I am going to send them an email to let them know what I found missing. Since they were the last one to remove the wheels...

When you don't, you are supposed to get it by doing it. There is no way you can learn to ride properly in two days, when you are starting from scratch. In EUR, you are supposed to get your experience before you get your license, and following it by driving less powerful motorcycles. From what I understand here, in Texas, they explain the basics, you get a not too difficult maniability test, and then you learn to ride a motorcycle on the road.

I did check the part diagram before I started to take the wheel off. The two screws that hold the plate where the brake pad is do not have their lock washers. Not a big deal, I will correct before I put everything back together.

Apparently not "all". I enjoyed reading again Marquez' declaration prior to the commencement of the championship, that Bagnaia was the reference on the Ducati. Today, he said that his number 1 adversary is Alex. This takes nothing from the performance of the combination Marquez A+M and Ducati. Once more, all the bikes from 1st to 5th are the Ducati. With Zarco the first of the "normal" brands. On previous years, it was the Ducati championship. in 2025, it is the Marquez championship too.

Harper's did not give me an ETA. They have written on their website that if they do not give a shipment tracking, it is because they are waiting for Piaggio to send the part. The Quota is extremely sensitive to crosswind. I was last year on that same I-40, and it was gusty. I would have stopped before being flown to Mars... I took my rear wheel down as I also got a flat; when it rains, it pours. I noticed that some washers were missing.

I retook my motorcycle license here in Texas. Just to check the difference. You get your license in one weekend! all the bikes used for the test were 125cc. There is no driving in traffic. Only technical tests, but way easier than those needed in Europe. There was one candidate that was unable to manage changing gears, so he was provided with a scooter so he could pass the test. All the tests could be done in first and second gear, but having a scooter is more simple. No clutch to dose. Only one person failed to get his license. He fell down and decided to stop.

I took a look at the parts section of their website. They only list BMW models, although they talk about Moto Guzzi, but nothing specific. Everything they advertize is BMW oriented.

@GuzziMoto Sooo... 4 out of 4. I am not going to bother going to COTA, since I can already tell it is going to be 6 out of 6. The entire MotoGP is in full damage control! Starting with Marquez (93) swearing that both Bagnaia and Alex (Marquez) are going to win races. This is only a matter of when, and not if. Ducati Tardozzi is also claiming that Bagnaia is extremely close to Marquez! funny, but on the race track, he does not appear to be. Bagnaia is already at minus 31 points from Marc. My only question is: did anyone see that coming? for Dorna, it is a bitter sweet victory. Nobody wants to watch a race where the winner is known before the start. Even Alex Marquez had to swear that he will not hesitate to attack Marc, brother or not. Lol.... Anyway, we shall discuss the MotoGP future afer COTA.