BarkinB

The ambulance guys should be given a break. It sounds to me like they were new on the job, and had probably never been to that mental hospital before. If that's true and no one told them "It's only 12-13 miles away" how could they know the GPS was so totally wrong? I've not read any convincing reviews for the TomTom Rider. What I've read says the power button is unforgivably hard to operate, touch screen buttons are sometimes really difficult with gloves on, and it has some love affair with interstates, ignoring quicker and more direct alternatives. Combined with reportedly disinterested customer support, it's most definitely off my list. The Garmin Zumo (while hideously expensive) seems much better. Besides, do you really want to support those annoying television adverts for the TomTom?

Something like that can leave an ugly cloud over you for a time. Do what you can to make it a short time. When I was 11, I saw a horrific crash at the end of a high speed police pursuit. In Arlington, VA (suburb of D.C.), at a busy intersection in the evening, speed limit 30 on both roads. Two (probably drunk) maniacs run the red light going at least 70. They clip someone, wreck, but aren't hurt. The pursuing policeman slams someone else at the intersection (a lone woman). I never knew if the cop made it, I think he was still barely alive when the ambulances came. The woman died instantly. The thing that I'll never forget is the horrid creeps that caused the whole disaster actually pointed and laughed at the woman as they picked her mangled body out of the car. I was so stunned I almost fell over. For weeks I raged at those guys. It was hard to get over, but 36 years later, I only think of it when I hear about something like it.

It always amuses me when people argue about the correctness of opinions. There is no wrong or right opinion, you can't apply pure objective evaluation to pure subjectivity. Semantics aside... 1. Bass ale 2. Kronenbourg (can't find it anymore, but I'm further from 'civilization' than before) 3. Red Hook IPA 4. Stella Artois 5. Chimay 6. Dominion ale (they also make a wonderful root beer) 7. Guinness stout 8. Miller High Life 9. Rolling Rock 10. Amstel Light These all pale before the mighty "Felderbrau", brewed by myself and an old friend Allan Fields. We got a recipie to copy Guinness from our friendly beer making supply guy, and he hit it perfectly. We did blind taste tests with real Guinness, and people could honestly not tell the difference. Only 5 cases ever existed. We also did an ale we ended up naming "Vesuvius"... we were going for maximum alcohol content, and put a bit too much sugar into it. The fermentation (especially the secondary, in-bottle fermentation) produced more carbonation than we bargained for, and they became little bombs. Several exploded in Allan's apartment, coating the walls with stickyness. His wife was righteously pissed off, and we had to relocate the batch outside, where temperature variations took an even heavier toll. What was left was so fizzy it took a full minute to open one if you didn't want to wear nearly the whole thing. Pouring it in a glass was another minute. It actually tasted pretty good, and was the most powerful (alcohol content wise) beer I've ever had.

I tried to buy one of those Tom Tom Riders last Christmas for my wife, but I didn't, because: I could not order the mounting bracket, the site wouldn't let me it was really expensive I'd read more than one unflattering review the company was completely unresponsive to my inquiries They have to fix all four of those problems before I consider buying one again. If they do, and the Guzzi mounting hardware fits on a regular Breva 1100 (not just the Norge), I'll probably get one for myself.

Here is a pic of a bike at Daytona Bike Week I believe is mis-identified as a Ducati

Shoei RF-1000. Just got it, only rode twice with it so far, and love it already. Anyone recommending older Shoei RF series models (RF-800, 900) should know the 1000 builds on the already excellent RF predecessors. I still have my AGV X-Vent, and I can't imagine a better vented helmet. Lots noisier than the Shoei, though, and not quite as good a fit. Not sure what the current AGV model is that succeeds the X-Vent, but it's bound to be good.

Here's a 3rd, not in the UK and not on Ebay. (mine, to be precise) Scroll down it's the 4th bike vertically.

Freaking gorgeous! Really excellent job! Interesting the alternator is so underpowered... every little edge for performance on it, eh?

I have a pressure washer (vehicle cleaning was only one of many reasons to get it). Really is excellent, but you really have to be careful. With the bubbled engine paint on the LeMans it was really important to watch it, but it definitely is efficient with the water. Treat the hardened dried-on bugs with a bit of bug remover spray, and the pressure washer makes it lots more effective.

Here's 4... Leaving a friend's house late at night, I get 1 mile away and suddenly think to check for my house keys, and realize I left them at his house. I try to make a U turn and just as I'm completing it, my weight on my right wrist rotated the throttle unexpectedly and rapidly. The LeMans tries to wheelie out from under me, and though I struggle mightily, I lose it, come off, and do the world's clumsiest ballet move driving my knee into the asphalt. Scraped the fairing, broke the front left turn signal, and that little plate bolted on the left cylinder head. With the adrenaline I now have, I right the bike and try to start it. No dice. I push it off the road and check, poke, and prod for 20 minutes. I have lights, and am pulling in the clutch, it just won't turn over. I call my friend to come get me. Just as he's pulling up, I see the damn kill switch is off, it must have been actuated during my frantic attempt to hold on. Click. Vroom. Apologize. Ride home filling my helmet with curses. Trying to leave our driveway on a trip with my wife (she had a Yamaha V-Star), we don't get 20 feet when she has some problem I need to instantly address. I swipe my left foot in the muscle-memory defined arc to set the kickstand, and hop off. Well, my "memory" was certainly faulty, because I completely missed the kickstand, and the LeMans rolled on it's left. Fortunately, this time, it was on grass. Washing my Yamaha Radian I was lying down cleaning underneath it, and somehow pushed against it to move myself to reach other areas. It rocked to one side (on it's centerstand), and rocked back... kept coming, and landed on my chest. It took a full minute of struggling to squirm to a position where it wasn't stopping my breathing. From there I was able to catch my breath, regroup and do a screaming bench press to right it enough to get on my feet and straighten it back up. My first bike was a used Suzuki 350 two-stroke streetbike. It had a truly peaky horsepower curve. For the first 500 miles or so I'd gotten used to the way it ran, but thought it wasn't running perfectly, so I took it to a mechanic who was highly recommended to me. The tune-up cost $15. As I rode around, I decided it didn't seem to have made much difference, but I didn't get the chance to whack the throttle full open ... until... getting off work late at night, I thought I'd impress my coworkers with a small wheelie. The $15 tune-up instead gave me a monster wheelie I never thought that bike was capable of. Slamming the throttle shut before I went over backwards dumped most of my weight onto my hands, making me twist the throttle wide open again, and again lofting the front wheel almost past the point of no return. This happened two more times in quick succession before I finally was able to grab the brakes as hard as I could. My pals thought this was the coolest trick riding I'd ever done and applauded. Little did they know....

Anagrams: BE AS BASIC BULLY BLUE LIBYA SCABS BAILEYS BULB SAC I LABEL CUBBY ASS USABLE SCALY BIB BY CUE BALL BASIS ICY BASS ALE BULB I CLUB A BABY LESS BE SLY CLUB A BIAS LABIA CUBS BE SLY There was a "Nuke the Whales" t-shirt... did that ever end up as a bumpersticker?

Should get real interesting when some (silent) electric bikes start being ridden in traffic. "Loud transformers save lives"? The Breva 1100 is quieter than my V11 LeMans was. For more safety, I got a Shoei RF-1000 helmet in "Axis Yellow"

Yes, my best friend Teejay did indeed have (still does, not sold yet) a Marauder. I had the honor of riding it home for him the day he bought it. I agree the suspension was not really adequate. Otherwise, excellent bang for the buck, and a good choice for a starter. Yeah, that's what I'm hoping, the Breva and Griso are only the beginning. Still have less than 100 miles on my new Breva , damn the snow!

Start babying club seals. Try to get yourself declared (officially) a terrorist like this person Use your head: Discuss knives in a knife forum and bikes in a bike forum. Hey, you asked...

I like the Griso, and therefore don't agree with 'instead'. Who wants something thrown together? If they keep at it, maybe they'll deliberately engineer something you like. This "Spartaco" (?) is interesting. Missing any turn signals/ mirrors. The seat is velvet? That silver/metal colored bracket below the seat ruins the look, paint it the fender/tank color. Goofy retro gas filler cap. Tiny gauges. Nope, I'd rather have the real Griso instead of a greasy 'taco.

Not sure where you're going with the animal references. The beaver I refer to with my login name is from the name of my recording studio back in Herndon VA. Our house was right next to a creek that used to be dammed up by beavers. The would wander into our back yard and bark at us (yes, they can bark). They gnawed down my favorite tree and dragged it to the creek. Lucky for them it grew back, or future conversations about them would have featured the word 'pelt'. As you can see by the responses here, if you get a Norge, you don't have to depart (in shame or otherwise).

Well, doing a Breva forum here could be good, but I agree with Jaap that it would be a major effort for something of dubious logic. Another thing to consider is the name... people searching for Breva forums and info might not think a site called V11LeMans.com would be a primary place to look into, so even a full-blown Breva forum here might languish in obscurity. The way I found this site originally was searching for "V11 LeMans". If I'd owned a Breva back then, and searched for "Breva", even if this site was in the top page of results, the domain name would have made me pick other results to investigate first. If I can determine that I'd have enough time (and not go broke doing so) I may very well buy a domain like 'BrevaForums' and go for it. None of this precludes me from starting topics about the Breva here, or at GuzziTech. You've been really cool here, and I will continue to visit. A pity, indeed. Wish I could afford to keep both.

Roast me alive if you must, but I've purchased a Breva 1100 and will be selling my 2002 V11 LeMans (Champagne). Pictures are from when it was new. Asking $6300. This is an excellent forum populated with some cool people, it's been fun, even though I mostly was a lurker. I may try to do something like this for the Breva folks. Anyway, cheers! --Mike

Guess I'm a freak then. Have changed exactly nothing on my LeMans. I will (possibly very soon) be changing 100% of it by selling it and buying a Breva 1100. That bike will eventually get a windshield and bags, probably official Guzzi accessories, but no aftermarket pipes or whatever like that (yeah, I know there's probably none anyway). Changing to Breva because of the riding position, mainly. I could go through all kind of hacking to raise the handlebars up a few inches, and the footpegs lower a few inches, and maybe get it where I want it, but I don't want to. I don't overclock my computers either. Out of the following bikes I've owned: '71 (or so) Suzuki 350 street two-stroke '74 Yamaha RD-350 street two-stroke '86 Yamaha Radian '83 (or so) Moto Guzzi Mille GT '02 Moto Guzzi V11 LeMans ... only the Radian got changed... I added a windshield. All the rest were stock and stayed that way. I loved having every one of them, but just didn't ever feel like customizing them. Eh.

Conga-rats! I love Buells except for the wheelbase being so short. The rear wheels always look (to me) that they're too far forward, and ought to be about 6-10 inches rearward. Man, that is pretty and clean. Didn't think I'd like it in white, but it looks great. So tell us, what did piddle on your driveway?

(Note that I'm equating test with review...) Well, not knowing what other reviews you've read prevents me from saying you're wrong, but I bought my V11 LeMans mostly because of a review in Cycle World, I believe in 2001 or early 2002. To qualify that, I'd been fairly happy with my '89 Mille GT, so I was already enamored with MG bikes. Also, the test ride was a big factor. The improvements were so striking between the Mille and the LeMans, I was immediately in lust. The review was positive enough to get me to seek out the LeMans and then buy it. The things they didn't like were not important enough to me to dissuade me. I'm very likely going to switch to the Breva 1100, again being influenced by the positive reviews in magazines and the internet. While I really like the V11, the riding position is not what I want.

Good info. Thanks. I'll definitely try to test the r1200rs. The riding position is critical.

Thanks a bunch for the info. Just checked out the R1200RT, and it seems great. I rarely put much weight on looks, I'm more concerned whether it's a good bike. The weird placement of the turn signal buttons is much more of a concern to me than it's looks. The rest of it is very appealing, I value inventive engineering. Are Beemers extremely expensive to maintain/repair compared with say, Japanese bikes? I've seen many complaints that the Breva is ugly, and I don't agree. I'm not going to be able to even start looking at new bikes until we move, which isn't until the end of June. By then, the Breva will be out and tested by lots of people. The FJR would be a tough thing to buy without even a chance to sit on one at the dealer, let alone test ride it. I took a chance like that buying a Carvin guitar (mail order only) and got lucky, it's the best guitar I own, but buying a bike blindly like that is several orders of magnitude higher risk.