guzziownr

Nice Pix. When the weather warms a bit come and visit with the Guzzisti on Monday evenings at Erik Green's place. http://www.barmatchless.com/moto.html Black is beautiful baby!

Tis true, I make regular trips down to VA from NYC on the New Jersey turnpike. Slow lane 70 MPH, fast lane 80 to 90. I run at 82 or so on the Eldo and keep a sharp eye on the mirror. That's 4500 + RPM in fifth gear. Plenty of get-up left to go. The ice cream truck below is from the Teo Lamers collection. DW

"young, male, aggressive and incapable of retaining the understanding that even a Honda 400 could outddrag and out-manoeuvre them. Such fun when you were on a Commando!" In NYC we have yellow cabs and black cars. When they are looking for passengers they drive slower than the flow of traffic and dart from lane to lane in the hopes of picking up a fare. Once they have a fare the shift into rocket mode -- running lights, cutting off and bullying other motorists by playing chicken. I am used to them on my daily commute but one guy really pissed me off as he was doing all of the above while yakking on the cell phone. I pulled along side: Tap tap tap, Sir you do realize that talking on the phone while driving is dangerous and illegal? %$#^%$*&%! Yes sir, but think for a moment. If you lose control of such a large car someone could be hurt or killed and you would be responsible. #%@#%, ^%$&%&%&, $#@&*&*&*! (he roars off, going through a red light) I wait for the green light, look both ways, wave to a youngster looking at my bike, donate some time to a homeless shelter and still have plenty of time to catch Mr. Angry at the next intersection. Tap tap tap, Sir, now that you have thought it over... I did this from 1st Avenue to 5th, followed him through the park and caught up with him on Central Park West. I was just following my normal route to work but I took time out at four different lights to promote my message of tolerance, consideration and adherence to the rules of the road that keep us all safe. The veins were standing out on his neck as I wished him a final "have a nice day" DW Officer Friendly says: Be nice to everyone!

Very nice job. I had all kinds of plans for changing the ergos on my '04 Naked. I am 6'4" with a simian build. After almost a year of riding I am quite comfortable with 300 mile days and hours on the bike. The stock seat is painful but less noticable when you are hanging off one side I liked the admonition to "Stop Lollygagging" on the clocks. My buddy's read "Slow Down!" DW

Jaap, Maybe you could do "Banned from the list" as a fundraiser. To return to the original topic, NYC seems to be coming to its senses regarding bikes. In the residential parts of the city parking is no problem, plenty of bike-sized spaces and you don't pay a dime. The NYPD has a pretty relaxed attitude with meter sharing (as long as someone pays) and all bridge and tunnel tolls are half price for bikes. There has been a bit of a scooter revival here as well. I saw an example of the polka dot skirted scooter bird on the East side recently and I have a psychiatrist friend who rides his made-in-China scooter everywhere. NYC traffic is legendary and cut-throat but I find that drivers are paying attention at least. Out in the suburbs bikes freak them out and they do crazy stuff like stop short or run out of their lane while they stare at you. There are red light cameras here and there but bikes don't seem to be big enough to trigger the buried magnets. The only time I got a ticket it was in the car. The real problem here in New York is the police's shift in focus from crime prevention to revenue generation. They will paper a street with tickets figuring that most people are too busy to fight them and will pay up through the mail. My Eldo got a ticket a day on a particular block for "No right hand mirror". After getting the tickets dismissed as a group I wrote a polite note to the officer that was writing the summonses and enclosed a xerox of the applicable State Statute (Left hand mirror only needed). The response was a carload of detectives crawling all over my bike looking for some way to screw me. The super of the building said they spend a half hour comparing paperwork to headstock and engine numbers. The judge told me to stop being a smartass and get another mirror pronto. I used EV mirrors and they work just fine. DW

How can I get involved in this highly profitable business! Seems like Ducati & Co are posting record losses just in time to buy back the stock. February 15 2006 Ducati shows huge loss Ducati has announced its financial results for 2005 revealing bike sales down 16 percent in the UK and a massive 41.5 million Euro (£28.5 million) loss. The Italian firm is in the middle of transferring its ownership from an American investment group back to Italian hands but the 2005 figures are less then encouraging. Despite a massive growth in sales in the US (up 25%), sales in most of the rest of the world have fallen. Benelux sales were down 17.2%, the UK down 16.2%, Germany down 15.2%, Italy down 14.7% and in Japan down 5.5%. Falling sales combined with a reduction in the parts business resulted in a massive 41.5 million Euro Net loss compared to the 3.5 million Euro Net loss made by the company in 2004. The firm has approved a raft of measures to attempt to turn around the losses including “concentration in the high end of the market, with particular emphasis on improving margins, generating cash flow and reducing the company's structural costs”. Nice bike!

Just a word about Mike Rich and those Mr. Softy Valve stems. My 2000 Jackal was running perfectly at 25k (miles that is) when I pulled the heads to have the ports matched and the valves looked at. Mike Rich used to be out on Long Island New York so I drove out to drop off my heads. Mike removed all four valves as I stood there and used a micrometer on them. All the valves were worn with the exhaust valves showing "significant" wear. I think he could sense that the numbers he rattled off were not meaningful to me so he dropped the exhaust valve back into its guide and held it up to the light to show me. It was so worn I saw a crescent moon of light passing between the guide and the stem. 2000 Jackal valves different from 2000 V11 Sport? Can't say... I just hope my '04 Sport shows more durable metallurgy. DW Valve adjustment article

Whenever I see those "Runnin' from the Law" videos on the net it always looks like the offenders are crawling along. Not so the modern bikes on this video. I thought I recognized a few faces in the "classic" portion (Prince of Wales?, Duke?, Ago?) but perhaps someone more knowlegeable could ID some of the bikes and participants. History of racing

I think this is the correct link: http://www.cookedgoose.org/ DW

P.S. Check out the "Chicken Strip" on my bike at its first oil change. A trip to the Blue Ridge Rally reduced it to a more socially acceptable width. DW

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Brembo-Moto...603797421QQrdZ1 DW

Cunard is a cruise line, Shelby Kennard is the guy you are looking for. DW

Crab? Chapter 4 is about the spine frames. There is a picture of the V11 sport prototype but the bike had not been released at the time the book was printed. I didn't think much about spine frames when I got my copy. Now I will have to reread that chapter as well. DW

"I've just finished reading this book I'd like to read more about John Wittner and his racing exploits in the USA - can anyone recommend any other books?" Greg Field's Moto Guzzi Big twins is my favorite. The Dr. John section is the part I keep re-reading. I love stories about racing and the unfair advantage. Moto Guzzi Gold Portfolio is terrific also, it's a clip job of Guzzi reviews. DW

Here is a taper site that streams some nice background music for the garage: www.sugarmegs.org Here is a recent live recording of Richard Thompson that has 1952 Vincent, I like it better than the CD version. http://tela.sugarmegs.org/_asxtela/richard...n2005-08-05.asx I also liked the James Gang live from 200?, hard rocking! DW

Hi Al, I will look forward to seeing you at our usual East Coast get-togethers: Guzzis in the Blue Ridge VA rally Etc. David in NYC

A power commander was the first and only modification to my bike ('04 Naked). I asked for a stock map and the bike runs quite nicely with good throttle response and no flat spots or hesitation. I am kind of a Guzzi abuser because I use my bikes to commute to work in NYC traffic. A week or so ago we had a transit strike here in NY. With the wife on the back I was logging 40 miles of stop and go in 35F weather. A power commander was the least I could do for it

I let Tom ride my bike and look what he bought: DW

Go ask Alis... DW

Somebody bought it. Anyone we know? Grandpa with pipe and suede slippers, sounds like the Tenni's target demographic. DW

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MOTO-GUZZI_...589171198QQrdZ1

Tom LaNasa has a new bike:

For the record you guys should hear John T. and Racer X talk about this stuff over dinner. It makes that spot up in Northern Sweden look more and more attractive. I have a cunning plan for exhaust and airbox mods over the winter. After that it will be off to Dyno Solutions for a new map. With the map Todd gave me for the stock set up it "carburates" perfectly. There was a yellow Sporti ('96?) stranded at a local dealer with a blown computer. The dealership has since changed hands so I will have to run over there and see if it is still there. That would be a great subject for Cliff's magic box. I spotted a maroon V11 on Queens Blvd. yesterday parked in front of our local bike shop. I still have a crick in my neck from whipping my head around DW

My first bike was a '72 Eldorado, after five years of careful riding I put it into a guardrail chasing some fellows on modern Ducatis -- wisdom does not necessarily come with age. I had a little v50 as well. A little bit of pep, great handling and brakes. That's how I feel about my '04 Naked. I feel very safe because it handles so well and the brakes are excellent. It is stock and has enough power for me and is not scary in the wet. I use it to commute to work in NYC. When the fast guys take off I throttle back and let them have their fun. The V11 is a "gentlemen's express" not a hairy-chested racer. At 500 lbs and 70-75 hp you won't be painting darkies coming out of corners or pulling towering power-wheelies. Typically new riders are steered toward 600s. Check the specs on those puppys nowadays. I have had two modern Guzzis a '00 Jackal and my current '04. Both have run perfectly from the showroom with a minimum of care* DW *Minimum of care for the Jackal included: Airbox mod Lafranconi Muffs Airbox mod Rearset Footpegs Clubman bars Mike Rich Heads Lemans II Tank V7 Sport seat 1000S fender and oil and stuff, you know, regular maintenence DW

"PIX"???