Richard Z

Wow, must be nice to have options on Events to go to. Here are choices are: A Harley Davidson Rally, a Harley Davidson Breakfast run, A Harley Davidson Poker Run, Truett and Osbourne Harley Davidson Bike Drags. I know I missed some. But, You get the point...... Oh yes, Big Dog Tornado rally. (Big Dog=Overpriced Harley Davidson) Big Dog Motorcycle World headquarters is here in Wichita KS. Big Dog is the 2nd largest motorcycle manufacturer in the US. Or so I'm told. Harley Davidson: This generations "Me Too" Bike. Richard Z.

Not to change the subject, but what frame is the green/blue one pictured. It looks like a Ducati aka Paul Smart frame. But, thats just me. Just curious.. Congrats on the bike Carl. It might be nice enough here tomorrow for me to ride mine to work. I stopped by the painter tonight and seen my parts for my Eddie Lawson R1. They looked fantastic. I'll probably spend my Christmas Vacation putting the ELR back together. Richard Z.

That is flippin Awsome......Keep us posted...... Richard Z.

I am learning to ride again.... I have a short trip planned with a couple of stops. Nothing special. Supposed to be 53 degrees here, so it will be a cool ride... Richard Z.

We'll forgive you... Where abouts in Wichita Are you???? As for my Avatar. Eddie Lawson Replica Shield. I have several 70's and 80's Superbikes including a ELR R1 Richard Z.

I didn't understand the language the people were speaking, but I understood what the motorcycle was sayin........"Ride Me"...... Richard Z

This is just me.... But, I think I would have stayed in the Jeep or a Holiday Inn Express. As for the Elk, They would have been safe with me shooting at them. Richard Z.

Well I put 19 miles on the bike last night in light to moderate traffic in the cities west side. Lots of stop lights and the weather was about 40 degrees. Took awhile for the bike to warm up. The is a pesky oil smell and some light smoke coming from the engine. It was dark and I couldn't see anything execpt a haze in front of the headlight. It wasn't that usual smell when starting a new bike. It was more of an oil smell, so I will drop it of back at the dealer for further inspection. My ride: A blast. I rode with a friend of mine. He unburied his Ducati Paul Smart LE and rode with me. I thought he was going to ride his BoxerCup. Nice torque through the lower gears. Surprisingly nimble in traffic. My only negative feedback was the torque being transferred into the bike from the movement of the engine. I was very impressed with it overall and will probably get some more seat time by the weekend. Richard Z.

You guys rock... Thanks for the tips. All good ones... Motorsports in Wichita KS set up the bike. I've never purchased there and never had any service done there. I see visual differences in the adjustments on the forks from left to right. Guess I need to verify that the rebound and dampening are set equally. Im still waiting for the friend to get home so I can go get it. Of course he works later than I and daylight is getting to be a premium right now.... Might have to wait until tomorrow. I don't want to rush my first ride and first impression. As for the twin to the inline 4 comparison, I won't be disappointed. It will be a welcome change. Thanks again, Richard Z.

Its going to be a short one. Picking up the bike at a friends house that we trucked it to on Saturday. I purchased the NEW 2004 V11 Naked and this will be the first time I ridden it. Its also the first bike that I will ride since my accident 3 months ago. I'm going to ride it about 5 miles to my storage building and put it away until a nicer day. What should I expect??? Its my first Guzzi and I am used to overrevving Inline 4's Richard Z.

Very Nice.... Santa was good to both of us This Year....... Be careful on your trek back from Houston. Looking forward to ridin with you soon. Richard Z. BTW. Its going to be in the 50's here today and I'm going to finally ride my sport. This will be my first ride since the accident. The butterflies are killin me..... Richard Z.

Thanks for the tip on the foot pegs. Before I bought the Guzzi, I looked at a 1996 Buell S-1 with only 187 miles on it. Might as well have been new. I didn't like the idea of need a kidney transplant after riding the twin jackhammer a on a long trip. You wouldn't believe how many people tried to get me to buy a Harley for the forward controls because of the leg. I'll buy a Harley when they release the XR1220 that was at the International Bike Show. That should have read XR1200. Not XR1220. I can't seem to be able to EDIT my post for corrections? Richard Z.

The leg should be fine with plenty of Therapy. I will probably have a slight limp. No more water skiing for sure. I was a hour from the hospital and a bunjee cord was used to clamp the leg to keep from losing more blood. The leg is completely numb from the knee down and I have RSD, (nerve ending damage). Should get more feeling in it as life goes on. The Guzzi will probably be the journey and weekend bike. I will use the GPz as my daily rider. I see alot a similarities between the superbikes of years ago and the new naked sport bikes of today. Glad to see that trend. I've had my share of FZR's and GSXR's in the early 1990's to keep away from all that plastic. besides, insurance is much cheaper. The waterbuffalo will still be my albatros of the bunch. Talk about a conversation piece at the local cruise in. Nothing in the world sounds like it and is as ugly..... Thanks, for the warm welcome. Sorry for the odd avatar. I'll have to make a new one that will be for this site and fine with the censors and lawyers. Richard Z.

Its home. I went and picked it up this mornin. Trucked it home. The roads are still wet and Icy. My confidence level isn't what it used to be. Maybe not so much my confidence, but the trust in the cagers we loan the road too. I really can't wait to ride the sport. I have been on so many Ducati's and Beemer's of friends of mine that I'm ready to ride something new and MINE...... Here are the pics from the ride home. Richard Z. Almost forgot... Here is a pic of my skin graft from about 2 weeks ago.

Hello, Just purchased my first MG. 2004 V11 Naked. Red of course. 0 miles. Dealer and I finally agreed on a price. Actually, I agreed on their price. Myself: I've ridden 24 years. Have ridden all sorts of things. Started out with Benelli's and Bridgestones, Had some old Harley's. Currently have, 1982 Kaw Eddie Lawson replica R1, 1982 Kaw GPz750, 1980 Suz. GS1000s Wes Cooley Replica, 1972 Suz. GT750J WaterBuffalo. Why the Guzzi? All my friends ride BMW's and Ducati's. Don't like either of them. I did fall in love with a 2004 Ballabio that I seen and I started looking closer at them. I didn't care for the flat color on the tail section of the Ballabio so I found this new 04 Naked that was red. Almost bought a Ducati S2R but just couldn't get away from the Guzzi. I'm sure I'll have a lot of dumb questions. Most of them because, I can't find the answer in the owners manual. I'll spend the next month lurking at websites since the riding weather has turned ugly in the past couple of days. I am currently restoring my ELR. Over the Labor Day Holiday, September 3rd I was hit by a car on it and ran into a barbed wire fence. My leathers did their job. However, there wasn't any prtection behind the knees and my right leg was severed behind the knee. I spent 36 days in the hospital having my artery, tendons and muscles repaired. I've been back to work for 3 weeks. I'm really looking forward to riding again. Keep the rubber side down, Richard Z.