g.forrest

i must admit i agree with you on most things pete and am not abought to disagree now on those comments. i just wanted to add to your point of little bikes and fun, simplicity and reliability.many moons ago i owned a honda xl 250 motorsport the second model out actualy traded cb750 k2 for it, rode it to work everyday 60 k round trip[for years, once to cape york, two alpine rallys and many other rallys during the time, had no problems holding 120k on it all day. in its final trim i fitted 305 kit with 32mm mikuni and power pipe and took on two friends for a race up bellbird hill kurrajong heights bells line of road. from a standing start bottom to top. and won [it pulled like a 14 year old] beating cb 750 and z 900 kawa. any way don't want to rattle on too much but had just returned home on me muz when i read your post and yes the muz is of a similiar cheap reliable 53000 k not a problem[ oil changes check valve clearance every ten or so kk and replace tires and drive as needed.all the rest is pure grin. quote=pete roper,May 4 2006, 03:55 PM] Mate, I used to own Lilacs! You don't get softer than that! 3 x LS18's for starters, now THAT'S soft! I'm not absolutely against anything that isn't Guzzi, far from it. But I DO detest muddlesome complexity for it's own sake, I find the endless quest for more power that few people ever use for more than a few seconds and PARTICULARLY the Sacred Cow of German superiority that always follows BMW's round like an abandoned puppy tedious and annoying. I will give them credit for experimenting with a new front end design. For my money Guzzi could take a leaf out of their book and thumb their noses at orthodoxy and put some of their meagre development budget into developing a front end that actually separates the steering and suspension functions, some sort of HCS system would be brilliant. Look at the other things about them though? They all run through gearboxes like a dog with dysentry. My mate john turned up on his V11 LeMans one Sunday in Bungendore when the BMW club were here and they were all over it. One bloke said he thought the bike looked and sounded brilliant but he "Needed the BMW reliability." In the very next sentence he was telling us how he'd had the gearbox rebuilt three times under warranty and his tacho on a 2 year old bike only showed 25,000Km! How reliable does it have to be if the longest ride you ever undertake is from Canberra to Bungendore for Coffee on a Sunday morning! I know we're weird in the country but @#!#$# Me! It's not like you're going to be eaten by the twin-heads on the 30Km of road between the two. Then there is their vile FI system and the fact they surge and pop and burp the whole time and shag out their brake rotor bobbins and their horrible version of the CARC drive must be the ugliest thing ever bolted to the back of a motorbike! It looks like a trench mortar that's been marinaded in vomit! It must weigh about a zillion Kg as well? It can't be lighter than the CARC which is in itself a bit of a porker and none too pretty! There are plenty of motorbikes around that I think LOOK stunning. The only problems I have with them are that I can see how bloody dificult it is going to be to work on the wretched things, I think the amount of power they offer is a joke and I can see that they aren't designed to be a true 'Consumer Durable', at least not in terms that fit MY description of same. Sure, I love Guzzis and I fully accept that I often come across as an irracible, one eyed, bigot. This is because I am but there are plenty of other machines on the market I like, the thing is nobody else, apart from lunatics like me, would rate them. So there is no point in talking about them. I also love small bikes, always have, always will. If great fat turd like me can have fun on a single cylinder 250 on a tight road you'd have to push the bloat-o-meter off the scale to be able to claim that you couldn't have fun on one! Pete 88196[/snapback]

and i saw an italian having to use his legs to make bike work WTF.

[oh dear.i have the picture. quote=mike wilson,May 2 2006, 10:10 PM] More years ago than I really care to remember, a person I knew decided he would fit new grips to his week-old CBX. He used WD40 to get them on easily. He then came along and decide to demonstrate its wheelie capabilities. With his girlfriend on the back. At over 45degrees, the clutch side grip came off. A cartwheeling CBX is a _very_ impressive sight. But not as impressive as an irate girlfriend. In fact, I have to say that she was more than irate. Somewhere, I've got some pictures of the wreckage. mike 87998[/snapback]

recently after a nice sometimes exhillerating sunday morning ride, the usual good ride out, nice coffee bit of tucker, beautiful scenery..all good. did the usual pull up at nearest pub out of town on return at a pub where bikers do, for a refreshing ale. and what do we have. HARLEYS..only out front wall to wall. so two italian bike jockeys get the hard cold stares from those who bother to lift the head, [whats all this shit!] i looks back..supercharged ! wooooh their she is, beautifully machined. well thats why he doesn't wanta know us. look left..patches. well they don't .not so much as a nod from our fellow motorcyclists. bing..it all became obvious. where have they been this day..up the twisties.up the mountain.no..this was their thrill for the day..having it parked out front. and looking the part.

an italian twin which had no chance competing against good jap crap of the period..the rest who cares...ahh italjet 375cc twin called arsewind. 1969.

glad that our country was spared from that crap..

she just enjoys rino penetration..obviously.

welcom to the forum mark. gl 1000 aye..is this yours.

sorry wrong forum.

and one waiting on hairypony.

watch them lassies when ya wee bit drunk..

the other day while cleanig bike out in sun good light i noticed rust on stanchion. down below travel of upper leg. protected by flaring front mudguard where you don't ever look. had to remove front guard to clean up rust and lubricate surface. the culprit..bugs splattered. just keep in mind ! some of the acids they contain can eat through stainless steel. i'm talking up side down forks.. bike just28 months on road.

sorry..it's a great bike. but those mirrors.? otherwise looks perfect imo.

i love it. it looks great. i find some v11 sports look too multi coloured. some don't like the stick ya neck out fairing. i love the true italian colours through centre tank. and its name..

welcome in from lurker world.

minarelli 350 1968

small parrot..seems on one of first rally's..a certain bike of flying eagle fame turned to a mere parrot. a lame one at that.

the dutch army has jeeps..are they DAF.

WOW. sorry. forgot to resize one pic and bang..

just a quick reminder to those on the east coast of aus. may 20-21 for the Qld guzzi club ''ruptured budgie rally'' in its thirteenth year and once again at mingoola on the queensland nsw border 60 k west of tenterfield on the road to texas. [yes we have one, just a wee bit smaller] and once again the nevilles will be there in numbers larger than ever. ciao gazza.

MV agusta 350 1970

oh dear..now they know where i reside...

so its false! that you have applied for a mac's and motorbikes franchise for bungendore..

seems the quiz has become a fizz. and i still want my points back.

just like when ducatis best market was japan.