gallo_se

I was thinking about the full set of H&B bags and top case, but it really looked to me like a Gold Wing, the point is that being used to the capacity of the California II now I can't switch to lower capacity, where do I put the grill for the barbequeue? and the camping chairs and table? Dp you think that the king and wueen saddle would be a bad idea?

The sidebags are the Moto Guzzi version of the tekno, I mean, tekno manufactured these bags for Moto Guzzi with the Moto Guzzi logo, same shape, same capacity, the frames also are an improved version of the tekno ones, the only difference is that there is an additional bar that crosses the back of the motorbike and connects the 2 frames. For more pictures Ypu'll have to wait next week, cause I unfortunately don't have the bike at hand. What is the story about the mirrors? do I have to change them to look over the top case?

Only the rised handlebar left now.

Yes, same as for the triple clamp plate and handlebar from rosso puro italia, the handlebar has to be pulled backward and lowered a little bit, it goes to touch the fairing only when turning the steering completely, but talking to my mechanic, it would be easy to avoid this by using a different handlebar, a more "straight" one.

Old moto guzzi motorbikes had names of birds, in italian, then it started the period of acronyms and names of USA states, now MOto Guzzi went back to names from the local area around Mandello del Lario, Breva is the name of a local wind, Griso the name of the bad guy in the Promessi Sposi. I'm sorry for what I'm saying, but how could you guys think that the name could be related to grease or to a swedish word that means "pig"????

"Griso" is a dialectal form of "grigio", which means "grey" in english but it is also the nickname of the chief of the bad guys that kidnap Lucia on behalf of Don Rodrigo, in the "Promessi Sposi", a famous italian romance by Alessandro Manzoni written in the 19th century. The romance, by coincidence, is settled on the Como lake, in a town called Lecco, which is very close to Mandello del lario. Is it really a coincidence?

I liked the sand/beige prototype, it reminds me of the falcone militare that was built for Africa

Is it necessary to change the settings of the ECU when changing to iridium spark plugs?

Shame on me, it was Agostini, not Stucchi.

The crash bar shown does not look as the one provided by Stucchi, and it looks nice, where did you get that? will it fit on the Le Mans?

DOn't like the hot? come to Ireland, 18-20°C during summer and 5-10°C during winter. But you have to like the rain, not perhaps heavy rain, but you have to enjoy a shower from time to time. Last summer (fall started the 1st of august here) was very good, it rained less than once a week.

Is there any significant improvement using the iridium spark plugs? I mean, better combustion? engine running better? more "power"?

Understood, thanks a lot for the explanation. Cracks in that rubber might be a problem, it was on my California II, after 20 years, and they were in a very bad condition. I would not worry too much, and ,if they have to be replaced, it is not a long work.

Hi, I don't really understand what part is cracking, my english is not so good, but having a V11 Le Mans with 12500km I am interested, could you post some pictures? thanks

Well, the "california GT" is basically the Breva 1100 with full fairing, that should come out next year, or in 2007, if I remember correctly. it is always good though to have some new ideas.

Glad you got your K&N. Anyway there is something I want to say: I was told that whenever you buy using credit card on the internet, you then have 1 month to reject to pay, by telling your bank that you don't accept to pay a specific thing. If it works like that whenever you buy something on ebay and do not receive it you can delete the payment. Is that correct?

I forgot: if your dealer can borrow you the full set of relays olso......I know, I'm getting even more paranoid, but in Rumenia and Greece I don't know what kind of service you eventually can get.

Coming the other way around, form Italy to Ireland passing through UK last year I had also my first experience riding on the wrong side of the road, I remember I found myself at 6 o'clock in the morning at Portsmouth, it was dark and there was a thick fog that you could cut it with a knife. As long as you are on double carriage roads and motorways is not a problem, since the beginning, you have to be careful when you are on local roads. When I got close to Holihead I had to ride or 80km on a local road, every turn was a bump to my heart, cause I was seeing huge trucks coming straight in front of me, in what would have been my side of the road in Italy, then hopefully they where on their left, and I was also. Anyway, sorry for the digression, I would say that it takes 2 or 3 days to get used to it, the first part of the trip will be on motorways, I suppose, so you will have time to adjust yourself. True is that whenever you get ditracted, for example when you simply start the motorbike and perhaps you are thinking of something ese, your instinct brings you to ride on the other side, so, especially at the beginning, you need to be fully concentrate and remind yourself that you have to ride on the "wrong side". An idea could be to stick a small paper on the tank or close to the instruments to remind you the side you have to ride on. Last suggestion: roads can be very bad in Greece, small and the asphalt, or tar, however is called can be very slippery, due to low quality. Greek are also driving like mad, so be careful. Being from italy I wouldn't mind that, but I experienced that In UK you are used to drive more relaxed and carefully, so, have an extra eye on it. Regarding what to carry, I agree perfectly with what Martin said, I would only add to bring a cover for your saddle, since on the boats they will bind it thightly to the ground with heavy duty ropes, we don't want your saddle to be damaged. Bring with you a lot of sun lotion, that's not for the motorbike avoid parking the motorbike below pine trees, resin is leaking from these trees and it can be very difficult to be removed from the paint without damaging it. If you don't want to leave your motorbike on direct sunlight for all the day, perhaps bring a light cover with you. If you know your dealer well and have a good relation with him you might ask him if he can borrow you an ECU for the travel, that you can give him back when hopefully you will not need it (this is a little bit of paranoy, I know). Daddy would say: always lock your motorbike, don't leave it in dangerous places. Go my son, you have my blessing, and......enjoy your trip.

At 131km from Catania you have "Motogiovane", a huge Moto Guzzi dealer, it also makes personalized motorbikes, check the website www.motogiovane.it . I bought once from them and they were very fast and precise, and the sent the goods directly at my house. At Reggio calabria you have Crea Vincenzo, another very good shop, the only problem is that you have to get the ferry. The second problem is that you will find them probably closed for summer holidays, I know that Motogiovane opens again the 23rd of august. No idea about Crea. Anyway, enjoy the hot and nice weather after work, you will find a lot of wonderful shores where to swim. Are you carrying the Guzzi with you ?

Catherine Bach for sure! I remember when I was a kid I was waiting for the afternoon to watch Hazard, simply to see her, I got always very excited

I will be there saturday and sunday.

Go and have a look to the new www.motoguzzi.it website. News, all the informations about the meeting in Mandello next september (I will be there!) and new accessories for our motorbike, the V11. If you go to the sport touring session and click on the V11 Le Mans and then on "accessori" you will find new soft bags, that are very similar to the tekno ones (according to me Moto Guzzi asked to Tekno to produce personalized soft bags for them), with the fast attach/detach, racks very similar to the tekno ones, but improved, look tougher than the tekno and shouldn't brake as happened to someone with the tekno ones. Hard to explain, there is this one more tubing that crosses tha back of the bike. Price in Italy, 288 euro, 30 euro more than the tekno. Available at the end of august from Agostini. I'm gonna get them.

Just a question: how did you paint the rack in black? what kind of paint did you use?

Unless stated somewhere in the contract that the warranty is not transferable, it is connected to the vehicle, not to the owner, so I would say that you inherit the warranty with the motrbike. About the octane you should look at the instruction manual, if you don't have any cotact the dealer, in italy and europe in general the Le Mans runs with the 95 octane gasoline, what we call "unleaded", I am not sure in USA, cause you have different regulations, but unless the ECU is differently set up, the premium should go, as others already said.

2/ Wow, that’s a lot of vibration coming from a Califorina II: vibrations? 3/ Wow, that’s a huge amount of noise (carbon fiber exhausts) coming from a Califorina II: noise? 4/ Geeze, it’s lucky I like vibration and noise! 10/ I need Throttlemeister bar ends (already ordered…“standard” version, hope they are “heavy” enough) the California II has been patented as a machine that produces good vibrations, therapeutic for all the diseases of the body and soul The Le Mans is a good bike, smooth, generous, solid. Good choice. Cheers