Ray

I grew up in Port Washington, New York, where Ghost Motorcycle was - and is - located. They have had legal troubles, apparently shorting the taxman. But the shop is back in its original location and open for business. A couple of years ago someone was racing on the vintage circuit at Gunstock wearing one of their t's. They have always carried all sorts of exotic Italica since back when. Sonny's still around the shop. They mostly sell vintage bikes and late model hard-to-find bikes at premium prices. I went to high school with a bunch of the DeFeos, all riders...

I'd say it's worth going. The north side is all sheer cliffs and fjord-like, with waterfalls careering down. If you got as far east as Montmorency, you get the idea. Same all the way up, but as the river widens, you can't see the other side. The road follows the coast at the river floodplain level, and here and there the towns climb up the slope if it isn't too steep. The population peters out north of the Saguenay - prime whale watching there at Tadoussac, a quaint little summer town full of trust-fund hippies. We missed the turnoff at Baie St. Paul and kept going, but hear there's culture and fellowship with the fairer sex afoot there too.

I was up there last summer. Fantastic, rode up through Baie Comeau, then ferried back to Gaspé at Matane. Next time will explore further north up the Saguenay to Chicoutimi, maybe even a ride up to Labrador when not under time pressure. I have posted the story with photos on the Maine Euro Moto site: http://www.eurobikemaine.org/cgi-bin/yabb2...?num=1170915305 Love it up north. Fewer cars, fewer cell phones, better food, better scenery. Nice language. More oriented toward two wheels. Here's a piece of Qubecois public art, for instance, the separatist norseman of the St Laurence. Perhaps this might be the quiz stumper for next week? Link's not working, just go to http://www.eurobikemaine.org/ and look for the Guzzi forum. It's there. Maybe I'll repost it here too. Here you go, I'll save you all some point and clicking. Enjoy. This summer's booked for me but I'd go again in a second. Story follows: Well I've been back from my roadtrip for a while. Just got around to sharing the memories of our ride to Quebec and the North coast of greater Maine. For those of you who are still interested, for six days last week (I wrote this in August), Chris Dingwell (Sanctuary Tattoo owner and new owner of Larry Haynes' Le Mans II) and I rode our respective motorbikes up to Quebec City, along the north coast of the St. Laurence River to Baie Comeau, ferried to Matane on the Gaspe, and rode the perimeter of the Peninsula, then back through New Brunswick, Aroostock County, and Far Downeast Maine, all on secondary roads, until the last jam back down the interstate into blistering heat from Bangor southward. http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n178/rs...ewethereyet.jpg Dinner in Quebec City tourist village, but more authentic than merely quaint. It rained on our outdoor cafe dinner and we blasted out of town to find a place to stay. First night outside Quebec City just short of St. Anne de Beaupre, in a lovely inn on the Puce River. Our idea of primitive camping: http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n178/rs...n/Firstcamp.jpg We returned to Quebec City on a neat little road of stone houses and flowerboxes, antique shops and country church towns. We thought we were in France. And we were. All six hours north of Portland. http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n178/rs...gosofQuebec.jpg We spent our second night in Tadoussac, at the mouth of the Saguenay River, apparently the last resorty spot on the north side of the St. Laurence. The St. Laurence is a steep-walled fjord (salt water tidal river) with all sorts of rivers and waterfalls running into it. Some low tides, too. http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n178/rs...lledtheplug.jpg http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n178/rs...in/FukawiQC.jpg Whale-watched at sunset from the top of a 300 foot dune. Camped in a "Yogi Bear" campground. Not bad, once I became a pushy NYer and demanded a better tent site that wasn't squeezed in between two cars. Good bohemian cafe dinner and met a couple from near Chicoutimi, Caroline and Martin, who were on vacation from their teenage daughters, having recently banished them to Cuba for the sumnmer. All along I had been speaking French pretty well, but it got much better once we hit the Amigos (our watering hole in Portland) of Tadoussac - live country music in French, drinking Belle Guelles ("Nice Cheeks") on the deck. http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n178/rs...stysaguenay.jpg Spent most of the next day killing time in Baie Comeau waiting for the ferry. The bowling alley was closed, so we found a beautiful waterfall (Falls of the Outarde) http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n178/rs...ingromantic.jpg and picked blueberries instead. http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n178/rs...ein/bleuets.jpg Met Francois and a crowd of affable drunken Quebecois H-D riders all in the motorcycle ghetto waiting area of the ferry parking lot. Came across very few Americans at all, mostly Quebecois tourists, as a matter of fact. Spent the third night in an "Uncle Ernie's Holiday Camp" tourist hotel on the other side of the ferry crossing, in Matane. The five places we tried previously had no vacancies. We started to get worried as we were still buzzing the town at 11:30 at night, but we ended up a nice old place on the beach, and the bar was still open. This was not the first of our fortuitous discoveries, as it turned out. With very little planning, we cast our fate to the wind and the scant remaining tread left on our tires. http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n178/rs...orientation.jpg Saw Francois leave the same hotel 10 minutes before us on his V-Strom. Rode with him the next couple of days to Forillon National Park along the beautiful and largely uncrowded northern Gaspe coast, http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n178/rs...in/openroad.jpg before cutting inland to ride through the interior mountains. http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n178/rs...coisforpres.jpg Ate lunch with a moose head for company. Rode through Murdochville, a defunct tin mining town and I blew my rear shock seals on the fairly frost-heaved road. (Have an Ohlins now, thank you.) Skipped rocks for an hour on a beach of perfect skipping stones near the tip of the Gaspe. (My Camera battery was exhausted after this point.) http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n178/rs...in/landsend.jpg Another gourmet dinner, not 10km from the campsite. Camped that night under ridiculously bright stars across the road from the beach and watched a satellite cross the sky, and meteorites plummeting through the atmosphere. Rode down the south coast of Gaspe, viewing weird rock formations and riding switchbacks under sheer sandstone cliffs, reminding me of Utah more than the east coast. Said au revoir to Francois at Chandler as he continued his trip to the remote Ile de la Madeleine offshore. We started finding increasingly suburban towns on the south coast, dodging thunderheads and logging trucks, and finally hitting road construction, Canada style, in the New Brunswick French-English linguistic borderlands. Back across the US border at Van Buren, north of Caribou through potato country, then it got increasingly isolated and remote just as we needed a place for the night. Road weary and aching of monkey-butt, we were making big miles to get back on schedule to make up for our days of aimless slacking. Considered camping on the utility line right of way, but found an Uncle Ernie's Holiday Camp on Grand Lake south of Danforth, ME just before dark, where we pitched tent in the playground. Swam in the heated pool before turning in. Ahh, the simple life, another fortuitous accident. Loons whistling that night too. Woke up and headed for the coast to look around Machias and Lubec. Cold and misty on the verge of rain most of the morning, blueberry pie for lunch, Took a leak at the side of the road and ate more blueberries. Then through Bar Harbor traffic and up to I-95, where we jammed back to Portland to beat rush hour traffic. Spent rush hour beering in the garden at Amigos, official watering hole of our home port. One might find some of these places online: Auberge Sault a la Puce, (west of St. Anne de Beaupre, QC) Domaine des Dunes camping, Tadoussac, QC Hotel Belle Plage, Matane, QC Forillon National Park, QC Greenland Cove Campground, Danforth, ME (on Grand Lake)

1972 SS350 Aermacchi/HD Roadracer. (Walter Villa, Pilot)?

I was at the MEME Ruskie Moto fest last summer on my Ural - the only running Russian bike in the bunch, mostly my friends on their motley assortment of crusty British contraptions. Bob Dentico was on his Guzzi sidecar rig for that one. The next week I was glad to get on the Guzzi and getting it up for a rip. I will be in NY for most of the summer for work, but will be up for a weekend here and there, hopefully for some riding and socializing. See you all soon.

Hey guys, I split my time betwen Maine and Brooklyn, NY, now part-time in Troy, NY too. I know the Mainers quite well and take part whenever the schedule allows. Keep me posted, I'll show up, if the babysitting schedule allows, and I'll notify the Mainers. I'll tell you that the Maine get-together (Skowhegan@ first week in September) is wonderful riding (around northwestern Maine backroads at a clip) and a good crew, full of good-spirited hijinx. If I'm not running up and down the NY Thruway, it's the Mass Pike or 684/84. Rode mine last from Troy to Brooklyn in mid-December, the winter that arrived late. Usually I'm in transit while on the Guzzi.

I won't be there, I'll be in NY this weekend, but you'll meet all my chums. I see you got yours running. Nice! I'm in Albany, NY now, back and forth to NYC and Maine, I'll catch up with you eventually. Send my regards. Ray

Ouij, I'm with you. I was wondering how your Sachs rebuild worked out. Sounds like it's not the right way to go. I can't recommend Gaspe highly enough. Also rode the north shore of the St. Laurence from Quebec to Baie Comeau, the gateway to Labrador. Empty, well-maintained roads, like riding in Europe without the airfare, great accomodations and food. I split my time between camping and small inns (auberges). Came back through Northern Maine and ran back down the coast to Bangor and hopped on the interstate to avoid the traffic of the mid-coast. I think some of the BosWash urban-trapped easterners would like the Texas-like elbow room, with only a short hop up to Quebec, and the hell with the language barrier. Passports are still not required, but helpful. The border crossing was a half hour on the way up, 5 mins on the way back. I've driven to Cape Breton and Newfoundland, but never on the bike. That's more of a time commitment. I'd do it if they ever get the Cape Breton TT off the ground. Dave, as always, your input is reliable and to the point. I'll look for Wilbers' US distributor. My brother is a Parts Unlimited dealer and I'll see if he can make any headway in ordering the MG127 through them. Thanks, guys.

gh. Had looked through those; thought I might find updated information. Parts Unlimited does not list the MG127, thought there might be a direct swap. It is a 46 HRCS, but mounting hardware likely differs from the BMW F650, Gixxer, VFR, and Ducati (Monster S4R, ST) applications: eye diameters. rod length, spring tension; they are all listed as different part nos. I may see if P.U. will source the Guzzi kit although it's unlisted in the catalog. Thanks for the help. Any other bright ideas?

Hey All, Been a while since I chimed in; still running my 2000, now at 19,000 miles and change. I just got back from a 1700 mile run around Quebec and the Gaspe, hit some rough roads and blew the seals on my rear Sachs shock. I'd like to know my options; most alternatives I could find on the site seem sourced from Europe. Are there any cross-listed Ohlins shocks for DUCATI, Buell, or Triumph? I can get a dealer price through Parts Unlimited, but they do not list Moto Guzzi units. If there's a straight swap, I'd gert it significantly cheaper than ordering it elsewhere. Other options? Rebuild the Sachs for better performance? By the way, the Gaspe and north coast of the St. Laurence was magnificent, empty, and full of fast, big sweepers with next to no traffic. Nice and cool too, and found Quebecois quite friendly and accomodating (I speak French). Merci beaucoup en avance...

For those of you seeking more horsepower and oversize components: http://www.bath.ac.uk/~ccsshb/12cyl/

I am attending VMD in Lexington, OH. July 15-17, for vintage motorcycle racing and rally. Ducati is the featured brand, and it seems natural that some of us might attend. I'll be camping, I think, maybe others are like-minded? I'm jamming from Maine across I-84 and 80 on the trusty V11 Sport, then slowing down a bit for Western PA and Ohio. It's run by the AMA Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. I haven't been before, but it's the premier vintage MC rally in North America. http://www.ahrma.org/previews/vmd.htm

One of the weird things I've noticed about these bikes is that they seem to get better mileage a dn run smoother at 80 MPH than 60. These bike get poorer mileage being lugged. If you're used to running lower RPM, try 4k and above and see what happens.

Here's the supplier's site. Scroll down to the BLIR bags and you may be able to get a single replacement bag. The bags themselves were the same for several brands and came with different mounting brackets: http://www.bags-bike.com/linee.htm

Ralph, I've seen them hung under the headlight with zip ties. One I saw looked like it was made for bikes - black and about 2.5 inches by 6 inches. Give your local DOT a call - legally we're entitled to the same amenities on the road. I'd think it would have to be different to gert the motorcycle rate - then the trick would be to affix it to your car.

I used the same mount for a video camera on my Shovelhead for a project I was shooting for work. I know, it was a Shovel for God's sake, but let me say that vibration kills expensive electronics. The Shovel did it in roughly 2 hours of shooting, my guess is that the Guzzi would take a bit longer, but would do it eventually. I think it's the CCD chip, the interface between the optics and the electronics. I'm now looking for a way to mount a camera to my arm or jacket, the body is a wonderfully absorptive medium. This is what I look like now. Some of you old guys prone to flashbacks probably shouldn't look...

I also have a taller touring windshield that I got with the fairing originally. It is '70s Teutonic bizarro, and I doubt you'd want to put a taller fairing on anyway - you really need some air to help take weight off your wrists while running the lower clip-ons. It would allow you to wear a tall Viking or WWI spike helmet, however, but I think those complement actual BMW bikes, not Guzzis with the fairings. Carl had a neat, detailed discussion of aftermarket fairings recently...

Baldini, rear wheel squeak guru.

Mine didn't squeak until I changed a rear tire recently. Now it does so copiously. Someone, I think maybe Baldini, or some other good samaritan, mentioned that the rear axle spacers are a mm short and or misaligned. He also mentioned that I might check my rear bearings, as he replaced his. I haven't confirmed this, but will check when I have the time. Extra friction in rear bearings is not such a good thing, needless to say...

I have the semi-soft Teknos. I am very happy with them, but I should say I did have to do some drilling and grinding in order to get the mounting brackets on the bike.

Hey robbiekb, what restaurant you get sick at? I'm headed there this weekend...

I also think another issue is related to tires sitting around in the warehouse - the rubber on the surface does harden to exposure to air (and light?) Another term for duct tape: Redneck chrome!

Very similar to the Sears mc jack, which I got for less than the Guzzi stand -$107. I've seen it on sale for as low as $89. There're instructions on Guzzitech to adapt it for the Guzzi. Recently I have also used a flat-top scissors-type motorcycle jack under the crossover to remove the rear wheel. Exhaust systems are stronger than you think. http://www.guzzitech.com/GuzziLift-Jeff_B.html

I read an article, years ago, maybe in Motorcycle Consumer News, that advised the same thing - tire grooming - put the bike on a rear stand, running and in gear (Caution!) and you can reshape flat-spots and uneven wear with a drywall rasp and sandpaper. I have not tried this myself, maybe this is the excuse to buy a rear stand. This is not a bad way to restore the original profile if you do lots of highway miles. Also perfect way for posers to groom out their chicken strips...