audiomick

I believe that might be the case. In one direction, I saw some videos from a German bloke (and his mates) from the black forest region. There are some really great roads there. Their theme seemed to be "safe" lines, i.e. staying in the middle of the lane, and getting as much lean angle as possible. Wankers, in my opinion. I'm more interested in a clean line from one corner to the next, and positioning my body weight so that the bike "hangs" in the corner. I developed the habit of hanging off a bit, firstly, in the eighties and early nineties, when, amongst others, a certain K. Schwantz was riding a two-stroke Suzuki with the number 34 on the front. If one watches him for a while, it is obvious that your bum has to be anywhere but on the seat to get throught the corners "properly". Secondly, I was doing it on a 1976 Z 900. That thing really did benefit from getting the rider's weight down beside the bike a bit. Middle '70s japanese frames and suspension where, shall we say, sub-optimal, and creating a "counterweight" was a good idea. On top of that, my vision. I think I mentioned here recently that I don't have 3D vision. Over the last several years, I have come to the conclusion that I personally can "see the line" better if I am looking past the handlebares into the corner a bit from the side. Parallax, or something. I lost the habit of moving in the seat through not riding for about 10 years, then a Honda CBX 650 E soft-chopper, followed by two full-dress Kawasaki GTR 1000s. I'm currently working on getting back into the habit, and have established that, for me, it is better when I hang off a bit. Doesn't have to work for everyone, though. And yes, the Police are fast. They are professionals, what do you expect.

Clutch bleeder extender: I put the original Guzzi part (from the Griso) in my 2002 Le Mans. That took me about 15 minutes, maybe a half an hour. Doesn't matter, nothing. Now, bleeding the clutch lookes like this: comfortably standing upright, and able to operate the clutch lever and the spanners to open and close the bleed valve at the same time. I don't see any arguments against adding the part. The weight is, for a road bike, in my opinion absolutely insignificant.

Enjoy it.

Yes, but I know. I also don't really like clothes made out of "plastic". It's all in my head. As far as old duffers go, who sit bolt upright in the saddle: in the last house I lived in in Melbourne ( @Lucky Phil in Dwyer St., Macleod) the neighbour across the road was middle 60's year old. He had a certain amount of track experience behind him, sat bolt upright, and was disturbingly fast. I'm currently practising getting back into the groove of moving around on the seat (lost the knack over the years), but Wally (the neighbour) planted a doubt whether that is really absolutely necessary. I dunno. I'll keep at it, because it's fun.

Indeed. I don't really expect Moto Guzzi to bring out any "serious" sport models in the foreseeable future. Aprilia is the designated Marque for that in the Piaggio concern. The best we can hope for is a "sport classic" or "retro sport" like the Paul Smart Ducati model a while back. Still, I would be happy to see that, even if I probably couldn't afford to buy one.

About the video: if the man can't sort out his audio so that it is not distorted, I'm out of the game. Can't take him seriously, even if he really does know what he is talking about. As far as fuses go, you don't need a "nano-ohm" meter. If your 10 dollar multi-meter shows no continuity through the fuse, it is no good. Full-stop.

@Lucky Phil I don't have a leather seat on any of my bikes, but... I made a seat cover for a mate of mine for his Z1R out of kangaroo leather. It was beautiful, but he didn't look after it, and it didn't last very long. So I'll give you points on that. On the other hand, there is no way I will ever wear bicycle pants under my leathers. Nappies is just not a good look. Ok on a push-bike with a Brooks saddle, but not under the leathers on a Muddabike.

For instance, from here. https://guzzitek.org/ no doubt not entirely in accordance with various copyright laws, but it is all there. Navigaiting the site takes a bit of getting used to, but it is not that hard as to be impossible.

A good exercise for me was to "extract" the starter circuit myself. Helped me understand what is happening there a lot.

A couple of years back, before I bought the V11 Le Mans and the Breva 750, I was tossing up about my motorcycle situation, and whether it made sense to keep the Kawasaki 1000 GTR. One of the things I did was a back to back comparison of the GTR with the V35 Imola over the same stretch of country road. I came to the conclusion that, while it was nice to have the possibility of using the 98 hp that the GTR had, I wasn't actually using more than the 30-odd (on a good day) hp that the Imola has. Ok, the Imola weighs a bit over half of what the GTR weighs, and that is to be taken into account. Even so, the little 350 Guzzi motor is really a lot of fun. 3 times the horsepower is also fun, but you don't need it to have fun. Having said that, I wouldn't have an Enfield. Don't like parallel twins. Never did, never will.

I had to go looking for what you meant. When I saw it, the first thought was "Dalek".

The question is, how bad are the potholes? Of course it is possible that you need to look at your suspension. The bike is not exactly new. On the other hand, suspension can only cope with so much. If the road is shitty beyond reason, it might be just too much.

News posted in the German forum: the new V7 model still has 67 ps. There was initially some speculation that it might go up to 80, i.e. the V85 TT motor, but that is apparently not the case. It apparently does have a couple of Nm more torque, though. The pictures shows a green one with twin disks at the front and USD forks (good move, I reckon), which is apparently the "sport" version. Don't know what the other versions are. Edit: I see the white one with the slightly bored looking girl sitting on it has a single disk at the front. Can't say anything about the Stelvio, as I am ignoring it on account of an inground aversion to chook-chasers.

That's difficult. I don't think there is a single "best ever". But they are definitely up there, right up front, in the front runners.

It never occurred to me that they might be anything else. They certainly look like cast items to me.

Neither do I, actually, because I've never had two normal eyes. From things I have heard (my dad lost an eye, and he still plays footy....), I have the impression that someone who loses an eye may, possibly, deal with it better than someone who never had two. But I may be wrong there. How do I deal with it (riding bikes, particularly), I think I scan constantly how much ground is between me and whatever it is I am trying not to hit. Also, how quick is that thing getting bigger? Parallax also plays a part, I think (with only one eye, you have to move your head a bit to get that). One thing is certain: "ball in the air" sports just don't work. No chance. Footy, cricket, badminten, basketball, table tennis, tennis, whatever. Doesn't work. I played field hockey at school, because that was about the only thing in which I had half a chance. As far as driving and riding bikes goes, there are moments when the brain is convinced there is no road in front of me. Here, left-hand-drive, right-hand traffic, is actually a bit harder for me (the left eye doesn't work, but I don't know how relevant that is). For instance, heading in to a left-hand curve with a car coming out of the curve in the other direction, there is a moment where the brain is absolutely convinced there is no room to get past. It requires a conscious effort, in the knowledge that, yes, the road really is there, and just as wide in the curve as where I am now, to just ride through the moment. It is only a moment, but it is there. Anyway, for anyone who wants to know what it is like, try this. Cover one eye, and get someone to put a bottle on the table in front of you. It is important to not do it yourself. If you do, your brain will still know where it is, even with both eyes shut. Try and put a finger on the top of the bottle, going from well above the bottle straight downwards. Get the other person to move the bottle again, and try again. I'd be surprised if you get the finger on the bottle first time. For the adventurous: cover one eye and get someone to throw a cricket ball or a baseball straight at your face. I'd advise wearing protection for that one.

I have to admit, I don't have a great deal of experience with singles. I learnt to ride on a Honda CT 90 that my dad had for riding around on the farm. There was a Suzuki, RM 80 I think, that my dad won in a raffle and gave to my younger brother (who was already too big for it when he got it, but we all flogged the life out of it...), and I remember riding another dirt bike that belonged to the cousin of a girlfriend of the time. No idea what it was, other than that I think it was a 450 or 490, and a two stroke. The one that left me scarred for life made the most impression on me was the XT 500 that a house mate had in the last place I lived in in Melbourne. A capable bike, and with a motor that qualified as good, if I recall correctly. I rode it a number of times, but never really enjoyed it. Too many vibrations, amongst other things. I just don't get what the fascination with singles is.

Apparently there are still people who propogate the assertation that the earth is a flat disk. Some people are just dumb as dogshit.

There have been some posts on the German forum that there is a new V7 on the way with twin disks on the front, an upside-down fork, and the V85TT motor. Also, a new V100 version that might be not much more than new colour schemes. @Chuck a proper motor has at least two cylinders. If there are only two, they must be in a 90° V configuration. So there!

@Lucky Phil that tool sounds good for making a neat joint that doesn't increase the thickness of the wire at the joint. I've always twisted the ends together. To be precise: strip the wires about 1,5 cm or so, i.e. fairly long. Twist (wrap) the end of one around the end of the other a couple of mm. back from the end of the insulation, such that the twist is around the bare wire between the start of the twist and the insulation, leaving likewise a couple of mm of bare wire on the one that is being twisted. Twist the free end around the bare bit on the other wire. Bang some solder into the twist. It makes a blob on the wire where the joint is, but it works very well. Heat-shrink (thread it onto the wire before you strip...) over the joint, and no-one can see how sloppy the soldering is. My biggest problem with soldering has always been that I don't have 3D vision. If anyone is interested, this is why https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amblyopia Finding the thing I am trying to heat with the soldering iron is a pain, and then finding both of those with the solder. For the brave at heart, cover one eye and try it out.

Don't worry mate, you'll find something else to keep you amused for sure. Mine has been full of surprises. The latest delight is a blown fork seal. Still love her though...

@KINDOY2 while we're on Neil Young.... EDIT: silly motorcycle, but I like the song.

Seems like a great band, @docc, but I couldn't listen to it. Someone needs to tell the sound guy that the red lights at the top of the level meter shouldn't be on all the time...

Could be, but I seriously doubt that a single year at your place could result in the condition that shaft was in. If the salt air were such a problem, then all of the motorbikes in, for instance, Melbourne and Sydney should be rusting before their lamenting owners eyes, and they aren't. I reckon there must have been neglect for a while before you got the bike.